"Cozumel -crystal waters island" Isla Cozumel by eugini2001

The capital of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo is Chetumal. Cozumel is a teardrop-shaped island ringed by crystal waters.
Cozumel is 50 miles south of Cancun and about 10 miles from the coast of Mexican Yucatan Peninsula. The Island is approximately 30 miles long and 9 miles wide, and has only one well-developed road, the rest is wild area. In addition, The Island of Cozumel lies 12 miles of Playa del Carmen on the East coast of Mexico Yucatan Peninsula. There are approximately 70000 people on the island. They have a school, the attendance of which is mandatory. School looks OK among many huts around it. Cozumel is a teardrop-shaped island ringed by crystal waters

Mayan site

The history of Cozumel is linked to the Mayan civilization. It was a sacred Mayan shrine referred to as Ah-Cuzamil-Peten, or “Island of the Shallows”. The approximate date of the first Mayan settlement is 300 AD. In the 10th century, the Mayan civilization began to decline. The primary reason for the decline was the influence of the more aggressive Toltecs. Many Mayan were killed in battle or sacrificed, while some were assimilated into the conquering tribes. By the 12th century, the Toltec cult of the god Quetzalcoatl, meaning “plumed serpent” dominated the Mayan culture. Fighting ended in 1540, when the Spanish invaded the Yucatan Peninsula. The last Mayan city, near Lake Peten in Guatemala, fell to the Spanish in 1697. The amazing thing, now, in 2007, our guide Patricia’s grandfather still speaks Mayan.
In 1880, Tom Adam invented chewing gum by adding sugar into “Mayan gum”. To help quench their thirst the Maya were known to chew on the tap of the zapote, a tree readily found on the Island throughout much of Central America. Also, Mayan people should had been very open minded and respectful for another people’s God if in 1517 Spanish explorer Juan de Grijalva arrived and the first Catholic Mass was celebrated.

mexican national dress

Although pirates used Cozumel as a base in the 17th century, the island was not resettled until 1848, when people sought refuge from the “war of the Castes” on the Mexican mainland. This struggle, an often-violent attempt by natives of Mayan ancestry to regain their lands, lasted until surrender to government troops in 1901. Important land reforms and freedom for the Indians resulted from the Revolution of 1910-1917. By 1970, the population had reached 10000. Just as a reminder today, some 67000 people inhabit this island paradise.

• Pros:another warm country
• Cons:undeveloped