For thousands of years the seekers have come…

And they still come to Cozumel.

– Father Oviedo Hernandez, Legends of Old Mexico, 1847

As Fr. Hernandez remarked over 150 years ago, seekers still keep coming to Cozumel, the largest Mexican island. The difference, however, is in numbers – there are now about two million a year!

One might think because of the large number of visitors annually, that Cozumel must be a big island. Surprise, surprise, it is only 48 kilometres from north to south and 16 kilometres from east to west. This Caribbean isle is situated 18 kilometres off the eastern coast of the mainland Yucatán Peninsula.

To visit Cozumel, I took a bus from Cancun and travelled 70 kilometres to Playa del Carmen, where I caught the ferry to the island.

I was among some 150 passengers in this air-conditioned boat. Not all were tourists, though. A co-passenger explained, “As you can see, there are also the ‘Cozumeleños’ who make trips to the mainland to do their grocery shopping or to attend to other business.”

As I looked around, I could see the island residents with bags of provisions such as beans, canned foods and potatoes. The trip from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel lasted about 40 minutes. These ferries sail every hour from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m.

How can a small island attract about two million visitors a year, I wondered. Soon, I knew.

“Cozumel, though small, is one of the top cruise ship destinations in the Caribbean,” an island tourist promotion officer told me, adding with an air of pride, “Perhaps in the world.”

I wondered if he was telling me the truth, but when I disembarked from the ferry I noted there were eight large cruise ships off the island coast. Small boats were ferrying ship passengers to and from the island as if rehearsing for a movie.

In fact, about 50 cruise ships per month, or 600 per year, call at the island, bringing in about a million passengers eager to visit the its tourist attractions. Passengers from cruise ships, therefore, make up about half of the total visitors to this Caribbean isle.

Some of these passengers also take the ferry to the mainland Playa del Carmen from where they make quick excursions to Tulum, the only Mayan site that fronts the sea and Chichen Itza, another Mayan site, which was declared one of New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.

Just a few decades back, Cozumel was a sleepy fishing community. And then in the early 1960s, French explorer Jacques Cousteau declared in a documentary that this area has one of most fascinating scuba diving sites in the world.

After that announcement the island was never the same. First by the thousands and then by the tens of thousands, diving and snorkel enthusiasts descended on the isle from planes, ships and from the mainland ferries.

The important factor here is the Mesoamerican Reef, at 1,000 kilometres in length, the largest and most picturesque in the Western hemisphere, and second only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in the world. As well, the clear Caribbean waters allow visibility of about 150 to 200 feet.

The island has become so popular among divers and snorkellers from all over North America and Europe that San Miguel, its only town, has about 70 stores that cater to them with the relevant gear, guides and trainers.

Visitors who love other water-related activities can visit the Chankanaab National Park where they can join in the interactive Swim with the Dolphins program.  There are, in addition, boating trips and lagoon tours by kayak. For those who love out-of- the-ordinary experience, there are Atlantis submarine trips, parasailing adventures and jungle tours.

Cozumel was inhabited by the Mayans for over a thousand years. It is claimed that women from the mainland Mexico used to visit this isle to pay homage to Ix Chel, the Mayan Goddess of fertility, at least once in a lifetime.

Then in 1519 came the unwelcome visit of conquistador Hernán Cortés who demolished most of the Mayan buildings. Today, only a few remain, including the Castillo Real or “Royal Castle,” and San Gervasio, the island’s largest Mayan site.

The Carnival of Cozumel, similar to the New Orleans Mardi Gras, attracts thousands of visitors from North America and Europe. Considered one of the most spectacular events in Mexico, it is celebrated for three days prior to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

The carnival parades include dancers wearing multi-coloured costumes, business floats and musicians.  Locals as well as visitors join in the festivities, especially after the end of the formal ceremonies, and enjoy themselves at this noisy event until the early hours of the morning.

For more information about Cozumel go to: www.islacozumel.com.mx.  For other information about Mexico go to: www.visitmexico.com