Cozumel - the island with 2 faces / Cozumel - la isla de las 2 caras

So this is it - our first Caribbean island! You can reach Cozumel from Playa del Carmen (which is terrible, like the little sister of Cancun, absolutely awful) by ferry, and the journey takes just over half an hour. The island is surrounded by intact coral reefs, making it THE place for diving here in Mexico. That's mainly why we chose this island and want to try diving here.

On the first day, we're exhausted from the overnight bus ride, but we manage to get on a Colectivo (bus) and go to a beach on the other side of the island. The bus is an ancient vehicle (completely broken), decorated with pictures of Spongebob and equipped with a deafening music system that the driver, ignoring all passengers, has on full blast while dancing to his music 😆 It's a fun ride to a beautiful beach, which is full of Mexican families because it's Sunday. It doesn't really feel like the Caribbean vibe, but it's still good!

The hostel is a hit - we feel at home from the first minute! On the first evening, we meet some very nice people at a concert in the hostel garden. Since the hostel offers diving trips with two Colombian brothers, Lukas and Mateo, we don't hesitate and go out with them on the second day. There are also two Swiss people on board who we met the previous evening and who are friends with the Colombians, as well as Mateo's Argentine father-in-law. So the atmosphere on the boat is really friendly and pleasant! In total, we dive twice at two different reefs, and we're completely blown away. I was quite nervous beforehand, but afterwards, I'm totally fascinated by this new world full of vibrant colors and an unparalleled diversity of species. It's an underwater national park, and the visibility is very good in the clear Caribbean waters!

Because we liked it so much, we decide to do the Open Water course, which is a basic diving course. Originally, we wanted to do it in Colombia because it's supposed to be cheaper there. But the reefs here are supposed to be much more beautiful, and we feel very comfortable with our dive instructor Mateo, so let's go!

However, the next day we have to take a break because David has ear problems. We had planned to rent a scooter and explore the island. But in the end, we end up renting two jeeps with a total of 10 people (a mix of Mexicans, Colombians, Uruguayans, Swiss, and us) and driving to the other side of the island, where there is a nature reserve. It takes a little while, unexpected incidents delay the departure, and the concept of punctuality is defined differently here, but it's worth it 😁 We go to a wonderful, very secluded beach that actually looks very Caribbean 😉 We drink, dance, barbecue, and make a fire in the evening! It's a fantastic day!

David's ear is okay again, and we can start the course the next day! In shallow waters, we have to complete various exercises that at first look easy but are more complicated underwater and exhausting, so we're completely exhausted in the evening! Mateo also explains some theory to us, which we deepen the next day because it will be tested in a short exam at the end of the course. We also have to pass buoyancy exercises during the first dive on the third day, which is basically the core skill in diving. In the second dive, we dive with a group of more experienced divers at the Paraiso reef and, thanks to the skills we have acquired, we can enjoy the experience much more than on the first day. We are calmer, more relaxed, go with the flow, consume less air, and can fully concentrate on the surroundings! In addition to thousands of colorful fish and corals, we have seen turtles, lobsters, barracudas, small rays, and even a nurse shark in the 3 days! And of course, we passed the exam and are now officially certified divers 💪🤘

Cozumel is certainly not the most beautiful spot in the Caribbean, but we had a fantastic time here! We're a bit sad as we say goodbye to the island with 2 faces. 2 faces because it's both a diving and nature paradise with great people, but on the other hand, the island is visited daily by several huge cruise ships from Gringolandia (USA), and of course, the town on the island is made for gringos... It's not as bad as in Playa del Carmen, but it's not nice. Maybe it's comparable to Mallorca, where many places are more German than Spanish. But since we got to know the good side of the island, we will often and fondly remember it!

This is the first time for both of us to go to a Caribbean island. To get to the island of Cozumel, you have to go to Playa del Carmen and take a ferry from there for half an hour. The hostel where we're staying is very nice, mainly because we met lovely people who welcomed us from the first day.

Our plan here in Cozumel is to try diving and see if we like it. It seems that there are beautiful coral reefs on the island. If we like it, we'll try to get certified in Colombia, as it's apparently cheaper there. The same hostel where we are staying offers a day of diving, so we booked it here. The next day, we set off to a beach called Colombia, where there seem to be beautiful coral reefs. There are two instructors on the boat: Lukas and Mateo, who are brothers, and 5 other people: Mateo's Argentine father-in-law, who is visiting because he just had a grandchild, two Swiss brothers who are friends with Lukas, and us. So the atmosphere on the boat is very good. We do two dives at different points of the reef, and the experience is wonderful. We see many colorful fish, beautiful corals, a turtle, and a barracuda. Since we enjoyed the experience so much and felt so comfortable, we decide to get certified with the guys from the hostel.

Unfortunately, we can't start the next day because I still have a blocked ear since yesterday, so we'll try the day after. However, in the meantime, a fabulous plan emerges to spend the day: rent 2 jeeps to explore the north of the island in the natural reserve with some of the guys from the hostel. After some logistical problems with the cars and a path of sand, rocks, and water, we reach a beach just for ourselves, there is absolutely no one and nothing, and this beach really looks like what everyone imagines the Caribbean to be like :) We have a great day, including a barbecue, and luckily my ear is completely clear now, so we'll start with the certification tomorrow!!

We meet Mateo around 1 pm to go to Tiquila Beach, where we will do some basic learning exercises. Everything seems very easy when they explain it to you outside the water, but everything gets a bit more complicated when you're underwater. Anyway, we manage to do the series of exercises and arrive back at the hostel around 6 pm totally exhausted. In bed, we start studying some theory because there will be a written exam in the end (like a driving test), but we fall asleep right away.

The next day, we have to do buoyancy exercises. We manage to do them with Mateo during the first air tank. For the second tank, we join another group of divers to dive at the Paraiso reef. Now that we have the basic knowledge and can stay much more stable underwater, we enjoy diving much more, consuming less air, and being able to concentrate much more on our surroundings. Just before ascending to the surface on our last tank, we manage to see a small nurse shark. When we get home, we finally start studying since the next day we'll have the theory exam.

We passed the exam!! And we are now PADI certified divers, which allows us to plan our own dives individually up to 18m, and what's more important, our future dives will be cheaper if we book them with someone because the guide won't have to explain how to dive every time. We're very sad to leave Cozumel, as we were delighted with the people there, but now we're heading further south to Tulum!!

In conclusion, the island has two faces, one full of tourists disembarking from the cruise ships and filling the promenade and main street of the city, and another that we have been able to experience, enjoying the smaller, less touristy but very beautiful sites that the island offers.