Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 7, 1991 TAG: 9104070231
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D/5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANN OWENS GILLILAND SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: COZUMEL, MEXICO LENGTH: Long
So long neglected. A dowdy island stepsister to its glamorous mainland neighbor, Cancun. A cinder girl left behind while Cancun danced at the ball.
But wait. A lot of people liked lt that way. Scuba divers and others, who love Cozumel's barefoot lifestyle, creamy beaches and underwater wonders, chortled. "Hah, let them all eat cake and let them eat lt ln Cancun," they cried. "Leave us our island ln the sun."
Then nasty rumors surfaced: Plans were to double the number of hotel rooms in Cozumel by the early 1990s.
Alas, that may be true.
Cozumel - smudged face and all - is growing up. Three hotels - the Plaza las Glorias, the Fiesta Inn and the Calinda Hotel have sprung up around the island's main city, San Miguel.
The Calinda has two swimming pools, a fully equipped spa, a 4-kilometer jogging track in the jungle, and, gasp, a nude solarium on top.
Still others are planned at the far south end of the island adjacent to the Palancar Reef. "San Francisco-Palancar" will have three hotels, 1,400 rooms, a shopping center, sports clubs and a water purification plant, or so the sign says. But two men working at a motorbike rental are not so sure. "They haven't got the money yet," they said.
Money seems to be no problem at the north of town where several new luxury condominiums have gone up as well as a pricey lobster restaurant complete with wandering geese in the landscaped yard.
Even more shocking than the nude solarium are Cozumel's first commercial billboards along the beach road announcing `Donatello's, Best Italian Cuisine on the Island."
Donatello's? Isn't that in San Francisco? It is, but it's also in downtown Cozumel next to Orbi department store. Pretty in pink with an indoor fountain and plant-bedecked courtyard, Donatello's is elegant by anybody's standards but certainly Cozumel's, with a tuxedoed maitre d' who, it turns out, is a local dressed up. So are the waiters.
Still, the rest of downtown San Miguel looks familiar. White-washed palm trees struggle to grow down the middle of Rafael Melgar, Cozumel's main street that loops around the 28-mile-long island. The plaza, somewhat barer after Hurricane Gilbert, still bustles nightly when locals doll up and turn out to stroll, sit on the wall or buy shaved ice at the corner push wagon.
The locals - who consider themselves more Mayan than Mexican - are Cozumel's best assets, brilliant sea aside. Typically short in stature with prominent noses and cheekbones and a shock of straight black hair, these Cozumelenos are friendly and unassuming.
Shopping - it's there in abundance - is definitely Mexican, including a Mexican market squeezed into an alleyway a half-block behind the plaza where vendors hawk embroidered dresses, shells, silver jewelry, black coral, and "Dive Cozumel" T-shirts.
Cozumel's aging taxis, seemingly held together by baling wire, still belch noxious fumes and queue up on Melgar at the pier. But not for long. Taxi business in Cozumel is brisk and still a bargain.
Happily Rolandi's Pizza is still there, tucked inside a plant-filled courtyard where Swiss-German owner Guido Villeger serves puffy garlic bread, icy pitchers of sangrias and different and delicious pizzas baked in a brick oven.
Another culinary must is the calorie-laden and sumptuous bananas flambe at Costa Brava on the south end of downtown. The preparation is a show in itself.
Still another familiar downtown staple - though enlarged to twice its original size - is upstairs at Carlos 'n Charlie's and Jimmy Kitchen. Great for happy hour and a late-night haunt of the younger cruise set, Carlos 'n Charlies serves noisy fun plus ribs and cocktails. It's entertaining, too, to sit on the seawall across the street and watch the goings-on inside. To find it, just follow the loud singing.
And at the downtown pier, ferries still dump hordes of passengers from Playa del Carmen who come to play or work for the day.
Lying 12 miles off Mexico's mainland, tucked beneath the Yucatan Peninsula, Cozumel was once a sacred center of the Mayans whose ruins lie in the dense low-lying jungle. It was rediscovered by Juan de Grijalva in 1518 and later became a playground hideout for pirates. Scuba divers discovered it in the '50s after Jacques Cousteau uncovered the magic of the three-mile-long Palancar Reef.
San Miguel and all hotels face the inward side of the island where, on most days, the spectacular Caribbean lies as flat as a lake.
Several kilometers south of town is Chankanaab Lagoon, an underwater park. An excellent snorkeling area, it has one of the prettiest beaches on the island plus a nice beach bar, restaurant, scuba shops, showers, and a lagoon full of bright fish.
Farther down the road is San Francisco beach, a nice but usually crowded watering hole that offers swimming, water sports and flower-laden drinks, and farther still is the new Playa Sol club, where a one-priced ticket gets you a lunch buffet and beach party.
Along the way watch for side roads leading into the thick jungle. Turn left at El Cedral and follow the road to a village where a few thatched-roof huts are built in a clearing. Next to a little church is a small vine-covered ruin, one of many that dot the island.
Another is on the sandy, bumpy lighthouse road at the extreme south end of the island. Slip the lighthouse keeper a few pesos and he will allow you to climb the steep spiral stairs to the top of the lighthouse where the view of both sides of the island is spectacular.
In contrast to the hotel side, here on the windward side the surf breaks wildly over craggy lava stone along endless stretches of deserted beaches. Great for solitary beachcombing, shelling and picnicking. Plan to stop for a cold drink at the Naked Turtle and have your picture made with an iguana. Really.
Yet, despite a flux of fancy shops and a flurry of fancy hotels and eateries, Cozumel is still a barefoot kind of place. Visitors still wear rubber thongs and swim suits on main street. And locals and visitors like still sit along the seawall at night, watching the incessant stream of taxis and motorbikes.
Cozumel is not the glamour girl that Cancun is, and probably never will be. But it's no longer on its knees sweeping cinders from the chimney while Cancun wears the glass slipper to the ball.
Cozumel's going dancing, too.
\ Know before you go:
\ When to go - From 73 degrees (December-January) to a high of 81 during summer months when humidity ls also highest. Tropical rains can occur any time, most likely September-October. Cool, very casual clothing goes anywhere.
Money - $2,800 pesos (June 90) equal $1 U.S. Bank hours 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. U.S. currency accepted almost everywhere as are major credit cards. NO personal checks anywhere.
Getting around - taxis are cheap - about $1.50 from hotel to town. Cars run about $40 a day; automatic motorbikes that seat two, $25 a day. Fun, but watch roads carefully for holes, bumps and loose gravel.
Shops - Open from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., 5p.m.-9 p.m. Closed Sundays.
Drinking - Hotels furnish pure bottled water in rooms. Downtown restaurants serve fresh water and ice. (Some hotels own purification plants.) Elsewhere drink only canned or bottled drinks.
Eating - Island specialties are seafood - including reasonably priced lobster - and Mexican dishes. Don't eat from street vendors.
Passports - Mexican tourist card required (see a travel agent or airline check-in), plus passport or proof of U.S. citizenship, and $12 U.S. departure tax per person.
\ Ann Owens Gilliland is a Dallas free-lance writer
by CNB