The Adventure Begins....
Trip Start
May 20, 2012
1
5
Trip End
May 30, 2012
Where I stayed
Cozumel, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Getting there however was more of a challenge than I thought. First of all, there are no direct flights from LAX, and there aren't even any reasonably scheduled departure flights either. First since I was visiting my father in Florida, I had fly from Orlando back home to LAX to pick up my scuba gear. I had a 3 hour layover which was just enough time for my friend with my gear to pick me up, grab a bite to eat, and and get right back to the airport. Then I had to take a 12:30 am fairly short flight to Houston, which is where one of the few flights to Cozumel originates from. After a 3 hour layover in the very nice George Bush Intercontinental Airport, I finally boarded my flight for Cozumel. The flight was super quick and I was on the ground before I knew it!
Well I soon discovered why trips to Cozumel were so super cheap online. It's because the place is nearly deserted! My flight was the only flight on the ground at the entire airport! Must be all the drug violence happening on the mainland, but things seem super safe and quiet around here. And of course as soon as I landed it started pouring rain. Fortunately there is an Air Margaritaville stand right at the front entrance to the airport so I was still able to get my vacation started off on the right track.
I hopped in a hotel shuttle from the airport and headed to my resort, the beautiful Iberostar Cozumel. The shuttle driver said it was one of the nicest and newest on the island and from the photos on their website and the online reviews I was sure I made the right choice. Before I left I checked out the resort on Google Earth and I knew it was located in the most remote region of the island right where the best diving was, but until you actual travel there you really don't understand just how remote the place is. It's the last resort on the very southern tip of the island and the only way to get there is to take one lonely road far outside of civilization. It's actually located not in Cozumel but in the remote southern town of El Cedral. There's pretty much nothing else there except this hotel!
I got to the resort around 1pm, checked into my room which is really nice, and headed over to the dive shop just to check in and schedule everything. Then I immediately headed for the pool bar where I met a bunch of other great divers and other fun people. I was pretty tired from 22 hours of traveling though so after that I went for dinner at the nightly buffet restaurant which is really great, and then went right to bed. I've got a ton of diving to do………
