Cozumel for those who don't do resorts
I am not a “sit on the beach and take in the sun” kind of person. So, when the Amazing Ms. D signed up for a week-long writer’s conference in Cozumel, Mexico, I had some planning to do. Cozumel is an island off the coast of Mexico, about 12 miles from the city of Playa del Carmen, on the Mayan Riviera. It is about 30 miles long and 10 miles wide. Close to seventy percent of its population of 10,000 live in the town of San Miguel de Cozumel on its northwest shore. The town of San Miguel is very tourist oriented, in fact its population was less than 10,000 before the airport was expanded in the late 1970’s. At the same time the cruise industry was beginning to take off. Today, as many as 8 cruise ships a day visit the island. This can make the malecón and plaza central extremely crowded when ships are in town. It can make walking along the malecón something to avoid. In addition to the crowds, every store and restaurant has at least one employee on the sidewalk drumming...