Cozumel Essay, Research Paper

Paradise

In Mexico, off the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula is an island. The island is surrounded by

coral reefs filled with life. Ferry boats pass over the reefs, making half-hour runs to and from the

mainland. Dive boats anchor near the coral itself, and divers bob around among the eels, fish, and

lobsters. Cruise ships come in around the reef, and drag anchor through dead reef. The dock that

accommodates them occupies space that used to be one of the oldest surrounding reefs. If it’s

right or wrong, it’s been done, and people pay lots of money to ride on the big luxury liners.

The large dock juts out toward the mainland, and the surf there is calm. The beach is not.

Small children weave in and out of crowds of tourists, clutching cheap bead necklaces, and crying

out the price for their wares. The boardwalk is full of people with suitcases, people with guides

and maps, people with cameras. Taxis wait for any minute signal to rush these people to their

destinations. On the other side of the street are expensive boutiques owned by foreigners. Then

there are the nightclubs, “as seen on MTV,” and the fancy restaurants. The cruise ship passengers

are urged not to stray from the main drag, and most don’t. They wear neon bracelets identifying

them as belonging to the ships. Most store owners have special prices for cruise passengers.

That’s why most things don’t come with price tags on them.

Behind Main Street, the true San Miguel lives. The natives’ stores and restaurants, (much

better than the expensive ones), family-owned hotels and car rental places. The store owners tell

women how pretty they are, to lure them into their stores. Ladies, if you’re feeling insecure, just

take a stroll down Cozumel’s back streets. Even if you don’t buy anything, you’ll leave feeling

like a princess.

The sounds and smells of the restaurants are wonderful, especially right before sunset.

Reggae music plays at a dull roar from one bar and grill. The Crab Shack pumps out Calypso,

and at Prima’s, (funny how the best Italian food in the world is served in Mexico), they always

plays something that sounds both classical and exotic at the same time. Then, if you walk past La

Chosa, you can hear the grill sizzling as they are fry up lobster tails, bacon, steak, and fish, that,

more often than not, end up on the same plate. All the eateries are open-air, so you can hear the

mummer of conversation, the clatter of plates, and someone is always laughing.

At the hotel Las Plaza Las Glorias, on the main drag, but down from the really snooty

places, everyone is invited to happy hour. Everyone watches the red sun sink at an alarming rate,

and count the days they have left in paradise. At the precise moment that the last sliver of sun

drops below water, a band strikes up and sings, “Cozumel,” a song about the beauty of the island.

Then everyone drinks huge margaritas and daiquiris and then either stumbles to their hotel rooms

or to Carlos and Charle’s, the trendy and crazy dance club.

Around two or three in the morning, the karioke clubs finally lose their hard core partiers,

and the music stops, and the owners clean the places. The tourists go to the hotels or the ships,

and in the morning, there are more people with suitcases on the sidewalks, some leaving, some,

paper-white, just arriving. The stores are doing a healthy trade by ten in the morning, although no

one bothers to keep track of the time on the island.