 Cozumel
has ranked for years among the top
five dive destinations in the world.
Tall reefs line the southwest coast,
creating towering walls that offer
divers a fairy-tale landscape to
explore. For non-divers, it has
the beautiful water of the Caribbean
with all the accompanying watersports
and seaside activities. It is in many ways
more "cozy and mellow" than the
mainland -- no big highways, no
big construction projects.
 Thanks
to a Jacques Cousteau documentary
on its world-class reefs it has
been a favorite international diving
destination since 1961. It is literally
swimming with diving sites - about
100 have been identified around
Cozumel, and at least a dozen of
them are shallow enough for snorkeling.
The 100 or so high-quality diving
sites include Palancar Reef, Santa
Rosa and Punta Sur. The most idyllic
places to don your snorkeling apparatus
are reached by boat. Half-day tours
cost a pretty penny but are worth
it, though you can save the fare
by walking into the gentle surf
at Playa La Ceiba, Bahía Chankanaab,
Playa San Francisco and elsewhere.
 The
only town on the island is San Miguel,
which, despite the growth of the
last 20 years, can't be called anything
more than a small town. It's not
a stunningly beautiful place, but
it and its inhabitants are agreeable
-- on Sunday evenings, everybody
congregates around the plaza to
be sociable and have a good time.
Staying in town can be fun and convenient.
You get a choice of a number of
restaurants and nightspots. Because
Cozumel enjoys such popularity with
the cruise ships, the waterfront
section of town holds wall-to-wall
jewelry stores and souvenir shops.
This and the area around the town's
main square are about as far as
most cruise ship passengers venture
into town.
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