I am in the last few days of counting down to my trip to Cozumel. We leave on a red-eye this coming Wednesday.

It´s just been too long since my last vacation - it´s been a bit of a drought since the tech-crash in 2000/2001.

We have gotten a room at the Coral Princess Hotel. The Coral Princess is known for its spectacular snorkeling reefs right off their beach. So we will literally be able to step off the beach and be on top of world class snorkeling.

Here are our trip plans:

Day 1. Arrival in Cancun around 8am. The trip to Playa del Carmen is still up in the air. There are buses, but we arrive so early I would rather not wait for those to start running. We should be able to get a ride share or a cab for a reasonable rate though. I have been brushing up on my price negotiating techniques again, and I hear the real going fare runs around $45 for that ride. Then ferry from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel, and a quick cab ride to the hotel. After (or before) check-in we will hit the beach adjacent to the one by our hotel to help hubby brush up on his snorkeling skills. I actually intend to wear my swimsuit under my travel clothes. If they don´t have a room ready for us right on arrival we can always head to the beach! Then we are off to snorkel for the rest of the day. Dinner has been planned with some friends in San Miguel that night. Who knows - after dinner they might give us a short tour of the city.

Day 2. A boat trip out to the offshore reefs have been planned for most of the day. With scuba diving for me, and snorkeling for hubby. He is not quite up for taking his scuba license yet. I aim to make a believer of him with this vacation though.

Day 3. I plan to get up just before sunrise to snorkel off the beach by the hotel. Then grab a cab ride to Dzool Haa marine sanctuary to spend the day snorkeling and hanging at the beach. Dinner in town.

Day 4. Another sunrise snorkel should be in order. We will get a car for the day and go "beach hopping" to find the best snorkeling on the island. Then we can always return to the hotel and enjoy the sunset while we snorkel some more.

Day 5. Ahh, sunrise is at 6:30am, but its so worth it to catch the fishies that time of day. Return to a favorite beach for some more snorkeling. We might even leave the water long enough to do a bit of shopping in San Miguel.

Day 6. Early morning snorkeling by the hotel before saying good bye and return to Cancun by ferry & bus. Think I will make it up at 6am again?

Dinner spots planned -

I still haven´t planned it all out. The first night we are meeting friends at Tony Rome's I hear it´s an excellent spot. La Choza's also comes highly recommended. So does the Churros in the Plaza. I love churros. Yum! I certainly look forward to some Mexican lobsters on the grill..... Ohh Boy!

Now - if I haven´t managed to make myself into more of a prune than a human by being in the water for hours a day, then I haven´t done my job!

This time we are passing on the Mayan ruins, and some other tourist attractions in the city. I know we are probably missing out - but I miss the water something fierce!

BTW, did you folks know that Cozumel used to hold the major shrine for the Mayan Goddess of Love and Fertility?

I will pass along a trip report when I get back.

Warm regards, Malene