NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/rec/travel/17092

Internet Message Format | 1992-12-31 | 6.1 KB

Path: sparky!uunet!usc!wupost!travel!paul.graveline
From: [e-mail] (Paul Graveline)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: CARIBBEAN TRAVEL ROUNDUP7
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 31 Dec 92 01:03:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Travel Online / St. Louis Online - St. Louis, MO
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Paul Graveline)
Lines: 97

(continued)
at  the yacht harbor and the prices were reasonable compared to other
islands i.e. Anguilla.

The  beach at Mango was calm most days with a magnificent view of the
BVI's.  The snorkeling was terrific but the swim to the reef a little
difficult  due  to  the  currents.  We  travelled by car to Gun Creek
(east  end)  and took the ferry to Bitter End for swimming and Sunday
buffet.  It  was  quaint and rustic. At various times during the week
we  went to Spring Bay and Trunk Bay. The kids loved the shallow calm
water.  At  Devil's  Bay  we  discovered  a cave with an ideal wading
pool.  From  Devil's  Bay we took the trail to the Baths with grandma
and  the  3  small  children (5,4 and 2). It was quite an experience.
The  Baths were too commercial and crowded for us although worthwhile
seeing.

One  day we rented a power boat with captain and navigated the length
and  breadth  of the BVI's. We passed Little and Great Camanoe, Guana
Is.,  and  swam  and  snorkeled on Sandy Cay. We lunched at Foxy's on
Jost  Van Dyke. As reported often, he was quite a character. The food
was  good  and  the  stretch  of beach is certainly something to see.
Following  lunch  our 5 year old piloted the boat to Norman Is. where
we  and she snorkeled. The Norman Caves provide an easy and beautiful
snorkeling  site.  Our  journey  continued  past Tortolla, Peter Is.,
Cooper  Is.,  and  Fallen  Jerusalem.  It  was  a  day well spent and
covered a greater distance than we thought possible.

With  the  kids  in tow we also climbed Gorda Peak. The trail was not
well  marked but the views were magnificent. One night we (the two of
us)  dined  at  The  Olde Yard Inn. The drinks and the food were very
good.  We  also ate at Fischer's Cove. Eh! For lunch , we all went to
Thelma's  Hideway, a very local place. The food was great if you have
the  courage  to  go  in.  We  all  had a good time and the kids were
treated very well.

The harbor at night was quite beautiful and is a must to see.

Cozumel, Club Cozumel Caribe by Patricia Wolf
---------------------------------------------
Our  regular  correspondent  Patricia Wolf contributes these comments
about her recent jaunt to Cozumel and Club Cozumel Caribe.

In  general,  I liked Cozumel. The people were generally really nice,
and  seemed  to  enjoy it when I tried to speak my "non-Spanish". For
those  of  you  who  have  had a bad time with the time-share people,
evidently  they  have  been  read the riot act by someone. As for the
Club  Cozumel  Caribe...I was not impressed. So many people have said
that  it  gives  you the most "bang for your buck", but I didn't find
that  to  be  true.  The first room we were in was in the three story
older  wing. We had paid for a suite, but this was not a suite in any
sense  of the word. The ceiling was falling down in the bathroom, and
the  air  conditioning was poor at best. When my roommate took a bath
and  let the water out, it backed up in the drain, and up through the
floor.  It  was  FAR  away from the dive shack, dining room, etc. For
those  who  care, it was right on the beach...however, because of the
palapas  and  palm  trees,  there was no view at all. We had our room
changed  on  the  2nd day to one in the tower with a really nice view
of  the  shore  facing kind somewhat north. It was closer to a suite,
with an archway separating the sleeping area partially from a hide-a-
bed  couch  and  coffee  table.  The  shower  nozzle  turned  into  a
missile...barely  missing  my  eye...when I turned on the shower, but
all else was fine.

The  food...ah,  what  a  subject.  For  those people who are used to
Grand  Lido,  Hedo,  or  Club  Med  buffets...forget it. The food was
fairly  edible but they did not re-fill serving plates when they were
empty  (get  there  when they start serving or forget it!), and there
were  very  few  choices.  The  desserts  were  quite  poor  as well,
although  they  did have a couple of breakfast pastry items that were
tasty.  I  found out on the next to the last day that the only way to
survive  breakfast  was  to  have them special-order a ham and cheese
omelet.  The other choice was a sort of scrambled eggs, usually black
beans,  sometimes  tortillas  rolled  up  and  filled  with something
(scrambled  eggs  and chorizo maybe?) which I liked, and maybe french
toast or pancakes. Not impressive.

As  for  the diving, it is a minimum of an hour (sometimes as long as
an  hour  and  a  half) to the good sites, since it is north of town,
and  the  reef  is  south.  I found that they were less rushed on the
afternoon  dives  (when  they  had  them) but was surprised that they
expected  us  to  climb aboard with ALL of our gear on. I only got to
dive  three  days  since  a  big  "norther" wind came up and blew for
three  days  which  caused one of the Fantasia dive boats to capsize,
and  the  Aquadiver  II  (from  the Club Cozumel Caribe) saved all 15
aboard  by  fishing them out of the very rough seas. So I only got to
dive  three  days  out  of nine(!) mostly due to weather. They closed
the  port  and  would  not  allow  boats out for the next three days.
Another storm was due, so we left a day early.

We  went  on  a  trip  to  Tulum  and  Coba  (the  Mayan ruins on the
peninsula)  when  the  storm  started, and on the return ferry we saw
many  ill  and  frightened  people  get off in Playa Del Carmen. Many
crossed  themselves (I thought it was rather funny), and I think that
a  lot  of  people planning on returning to Cozumel on this, the last
ferry,  chickened out. It was rough, but none appeared to get sick on
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