Cozumel after Lunch

Off-roading it in Mexico

“CLUTCH AND BRAKE! CLUTCH AND BRAKE!” I scrambled to get my legs working properly. The dune buggy creaked to a stop merely a few feet from the precipice. Jorge drew a deep breath. “You’ll get it.” He looked at the cliff edge. “Soon, I hope.”

Breathtaking sea life and stupendous water clarity make Mexico’s Cozumel one of the top-rated scuba destinations in the Caribbean Sea. A standard day involves being on the boat by 8:30 a.m. and having two dives before lunch.

But what about after lunch?

Tarzan Tours operates an all-day off-roading adventure to the generally inaccessible nature preserves on the east side of Cozumel. The pounding road conditions are notorious. Just being out here in a rental vehicle - even a jeep - will void your insurance.

“You don’t know how to drive stick?” asked Jorge. “You’re gonna learn fast then.” I steered around boulders as Jorge rubbed the whiplash out of his neck. “You’re doing great,” he managed.

After our near-death experience on a limestone outcropping, we ended up on a secluded beach. “Remember, to avoid spinning out in the bare sand, you need to floor it at top speed.” Music to my ears.

We pitched a shade on the isolated shore. Jorge’s “assistant” Rolando started up a barbecue while Jorge told us to put on our fins. “Nobody visits this reef but us. Not even the dive boats make it out here.” We finned out a few hundred meters and saw rays, grouper, and even the cartoon-like trunkfish.

Back on our beach (we felt it was our beach now) we enjoyed Mexican barbecue while the sun set. “Ready for some fun?” Jorge tied the arms and legs of two women together with two pieces of rope. “It is a Mayan puzzle. The solution is very simple.” After twenty minutes of futile struggle, they were disentangled by Jorge in six seconds.

The return journey took us by a Mayan fertility temple. “Only women can wish here,” cautioned Jorge. As an afterthought he added, “Be careful what you wish for.”

Off-roading seems a great way to spend an afternoon after scuba diving. But there is another way to get around besides a dune buggy.

Luisito is a caballero, a cowboy, and a proud Mayan. “Have you ever ridden a horse?” My companion shook her head. Luisito propped her up on a surefooted mare. “Now you have.”

Hotel concierges provide guests with information about Cozumel’s many horse ranches. I selected mine based on its pulse-quickening itinerary. “Into the jungle and on to the ruins,” Luisito shouted.

Birds of prey circled overhead while enormous land iguanas watched lazily from the trees. As the horses picked their way along the rocks, Luisito pointed to caves hidden behind the foliage.

“When invaders came, the Mayans hid here,” related Luisito, peering through the cave crevices. “Also, millions of termites made their mounds in the caves.” He patted a giant mound with his palm. “Feel that. Tough, huh?”

We hitched the horses in El Cedral, the original settlement of Cozumel, where next to a neatly-kept Catholic church stood the ruins of a Mayan temple. “Go in and make a wish,” suggested Luisito. I did, but sadly my backside continued to hurt.

Lingering saddle soreness meant I needed to find an afternoon activity that didn’t involve sitting. The spectacular morning dives gave me just the idea.

Soon, I found myself surrounded by a school of giant rainbow parrotfish. Each was several feet long, a psychedelic color scheme gliding through the water. I fumbled for my dive camera, got tangled in something, and struggled helplessly as my mask filled with water. Sputtering, I stood up. Three-feet-deep water has its advantages.

The giant rainbows, as well as arrow-like houndfish, trumpetfish, and even the occasional spotted cowfish, can all be seen in shallow waters. But you’ll have to venture away from the roped-off areas of the beachfront hotels. And, for most, that means shelling out money for an expensive and brief snorkeling boat tour.

Cozumeleños, however, know how to get plenty of hours seeing the exotic fish that inhabit the reef areas away from the resorts. Even better, it costs nary a peso. The secret?

Drift.

Taking my cue from a taxi driver who “does it all the time,” I packed some money, a protein bar, and an island map into an airtight plastic bag. Four dollars got me a taxi to Playa Corona, a typical beach club with stairs leading right into the water.

The current pulled me north along the reefs, which run parallel to the shore, in a relaxed sea safari. When hunger began to chip away at my appreciation for the breathtaking scenery, I finned to the nearest beachside restaurant.

You’ll never be snorkeling far from one of the many beach clubs and bars that dot the shoreline—there’s always one in sight. This eatery happened to be at the esteemed Chankanaab National Park. I dropped my snorkel, fins and mask right at the seaside patio and ordered up some panuchos—stuffed tortillas—to go with my protein bar.

After lunch, I got back in the water and was immediately greeted by a school of angelfish. I continued drifting and all too soon I was back at my hotel, the Presidente Intercontinental.

The next day would bring another two scuba dives before lunch. But in Cozumel, the fun doesn’t stop there.

Author : Rishi Ganti