Part 1 -<BR>Circumstances dictate that I keep this brief but I'll gladly answer any questions that arise either in the forum or by e-mail. Thanks to &quot;TC&quot; and others who had good suggestions in the forum. Much of what has been posted here recently about Coz remains true but as a first time visitor I'll try to update and post new info where i can think of it.<BR><BR>Lodgings: Villas las Ancles was wonderful - incredibly convenient location a few short blocks south of the plaza yet it was quiet at night (heard music from the disco late Saturday night but they are in process of installing new generation windows in the villas that will correct this). Clean, modern and tasteful upstairs room with separate kitchenette, dining and living room area downstairs. Owner Pedro and manager Eyal both live on premises - they were very service oriented and made our stay a memorable one. I can't say enough good things about the property and I will definitely stay there again. No TV or pool but I didn't go to Coz for that. At $50 US per night with tax it is a great value. The hotels on and around the plaza are probably okay but with only seven units and the owner on premises, las Ancles is a better choice for me. Hotel Lorena was next to Blue Angel diving where I did my scuba - looke like a nice, small and basic property. Fellow divers really liked it - TV and ocean view with balcony in all rooms and rates people got seemed to vary from the $50's to about $80 per night. It's a bit of a hike to town (about 1 1/2 to 2 miles) but they have a nice pool. It's right on the road - not sure if traffic noise at night is an issue. I walked by Hacienda San Miguel, out on Calle 10 Norte during one of my afternoon walks. Didn't check out the rooms but they had a gorgeous walled courtyard and it looked REALLY nice. It was recommended to me as being a bit more upscale than las Ancles but my total price with tax would have been about $70 - $75 per night and budget was a factor on this trip. <BR><BR>If staying for more than a few days I will definitely rent a bike next time - it's easy enough to walk most places but it's a great town for biking, especially when you get out of the main business district. There's a bike path parallel to the main highway running south and you can pedal safely to Dzul ha to hang out or snorkel - nice ride.<BR><BR>Very windy and slightly cool our first two days - Chankanaab was not allowing snorkeling due to the waves. We took a cab to Nachi Com Com beach club ($13 going out and $15 return trip). Bought some seviche and nachos at their restaurant (decent food) and lounged and swam a bit. Nice large jacuzzi was warm but not quite warm enough for my GF and the water in the unheated pool was very cold. Ocean was warm.

Part 2 -<BR>Nice town and reasonably friendly people. I found the people in Belize to be warmer and more welcoming in the broad perspective but on an individual level outside of the touristy areas the peopl of Cozumel were very nice. There were as many as 11 cruise ships per day - best to avoid the plaza and touristy area when those folks are around. Rented a car the second day - got the $25 Internet special from Smart car and promptly took it back for a decent $55 per day Sentra. The &quot;special&quot; was an old VW bug with a grabby clutch, a rust hole or two in the floor, no seat belts and brakes that had no response until pressed all the way to the floor, at which point they seized up. Ya gets what ya pay for - buyer beware! We only needed a car for one day to see the back side of the island - it's worth the extra money for a decent car. Back side of the island is gorgeous. We did the eco tour at Punta Sur and saw the lighthouse, then drove around the island. Playa Bonita is okay for drinks and has a great view with nice beach but the food was awful and overpriced. Coco's (Coconut's?) was a few miles further north on a cliff and looked much nicer - have heard that the food is better there.<BR><BR>Dining: first night dinner at Pancho's Backyard. festive atmopshere and great service but it was some of the worst Mexican food I've ever eaten. My &quot;sampler&quot; platter was obviously microwaved and the food was bland. If Olicve Garden lowered their standards and started serving Mexican food they'd still be better than Pancho's - maybe it was just an off night but we were unimpressed and it was not cheap. Dinner at La Cocay the following night was less expensive and far superior. They have an inventive menu, a small intimate dining room and the owner was on hand, carefully overseeing the kitchen and checking on the status of everyone's dining experience. We (my new GF and I) were sharing our first birthday together (we are born on the same day) - the owner insisted on buying us an after dinner drink on the house. We declined as we're not really drinkers - when the bill arrived the the glss of wine and tonic we'd had with dinner had been deleted as a birthday gift - nice touch. Dinner was fantastic and we'll return. IMHO this is by far the best restaurant onthe island. Dinner the next night was at La Veranda - very romantic atmosphere as all had described and the food was excellent (priciest meal of the trip) but service was indifferent and slow despite the fact that they were well staffed and there were only a few tables of diners at the time. <BR><BR>The GF had to return home on the fourth day and I ate on a budget for the remaining days - had some &quot;meals of the day&quot; at Las Palmas and Coffelia - both very good and cheap at $5 per meal. My final night I ate at La Manati - a small cafe I found out at 10th Avenida and Calle 8 Norte - nice atmosphere and terrific food with very reasonable prices. The service seemed a bit harried but they were so nice that it was not an issue - this place seems to fall under the radar but the people are so nice and the food so tasty that I really hope they succeed - worth a visit.

Part 3 -<BR>Wow. If this is short I guess I'd better not post a long report! I'm happy to mention that I saw no panhandlers or street people during my stay and litter was at a minimum. Compared to many of the warm weather destinations I've visited, Cozumel ranks high in this regard. It's not upscale and glitzy (apart from some of the shops on Melgar) but it's a fairly clean and pleasant community. I did lots of walking throughout various neighborhoods at all times of the day and up until fairly late (11 PM) and found it to be safe and easy to negotiate.<BR><BR>Diving: used Blue Angel as they had gotten consotently good reviews form independent sources. When I checked in at las Ancles that I discovered that Blue Angel is owned and operated by Alejandro - her father is Pedro - the opwner of the villas! Nice connections he gives any divers staying at the villas a ride over in the morning when he delivers the groceries for the dive shops little cafe. We used small fast boats all except the first day when rough conditions made it necessary to use a large boat. Small groups, quick access to the reefs and plenty of bottom time. There were assistant divemasters that enable novice divers to surface earlier as they used up their air supply and those of us with more experience (who thus use air more slowly) were able to stay down for the full dive. All my rental quipment was in excellent working order and appeared to be of recent vintage. I paid $260 US for the PADI Advanced Open Water class (four boat dives and one navigational shore dive) and received a discount on my subsequent dives beacuse I had taken the class with them. This brought the cost of my dives to $60 total per two tank trip - this includes rental of BCD and regulator. Well worth the price and their service was great - I highly recommend them. I know there are many other excellent and reputable dive services on the island but steer clear of Dive Paradise - I heard reports from other divers about the quality and consistency of their rental equipment and we personally witnessed a situationin which they loaded up the boat after a dive and were leaving without two of their divers who had become separated from the group (they flagged us down and asked us to get the attention of their boat captain, who was completely unaware that they were missing). The stranded divers could have easily swum to shore but no one should ever be left in that position - scary stuff! Needless to say - thew diving is fantastic! Incredible coral, great visbility and I love the sensation of drift diving. Marine life is less abundant than in Belize but we did see a fair selection.<BR>

Part 4 - <BR>Miscellanous: I am a self professed &quot;coffeegeek&quot;. There is lots of really bad coffee on the island and almost no decent espresso or cappucino. Bring your own coffee or else walk over to Calle 2 Norte between Melgar and 5th and buy a bag of coffee from Caffe Chiapas. They are a relatively new local microroaster who roasts and packages Tollan Organic coffee from the Chiapas province. It's quality coffee but pricey if you buy it in the fancy packages in the stores on Melgar (selling through the tourist shops to cruise ship passengers is the bulk of their business). Visit the store and get in a plain brown bag - you won't be disappointed. Barely passable cappuccino was sampled at Rock'n Java and Zermatt Bakery, the drinks improved at the Coffee Bean and Coffelia (order an extra shot of espresso in the cappuccino - most places in town use way too much milk). The drink at Guido's on Melgar near Calle 8 Norte was much better and served in the coolest glass I've ever seen. La Manati is the ONLY place in town serving a real cappuccino. By my home standards theirs was just passable but by Cozumel standards it really rocks! It also warrants mentioning that the desserts at the Coffee Bean are incredible. I had very good cheesecake at Diamond Bakery (their cafe Americano was also the best regular coffee I had anywhere on the island) but the cakes at the Coffee bean were sinfully good - perhaps some of the best I've ever had.<BR><BR>My only regret is running out of time. It's truly a charming island and worth a visit.<BR>

Owen<BR>thanks for an interesting report. Look forward to checking out some of these places (and avoiding some) in April.