Cozumel is the largest island of Mexico, surrounded by a spectacular chain of coral reefs, a paradise for the plungers. Since the documentary one realized by the oceanographical explorer Jacques Cousteau in 1961, Cozumel became a place of predilection visited by thousands of plungers each year.

Hundreds of boats of cruising make stopover there. The sea which bathes the island abounds with innumerable underwater species, coloured reefs and wrecks of Spanish galleons. In fact, more than 30% of the visitors of Cozumel are plungers, or want to become it! The others can observe an astonishing variety of migratory birds which remain there during part of the year, visit the Chankanaab national park, make storing, go to fish or, quite simply, rest on one of the splendid beaches.

As of year 300, the island was occupied by a Maya tribe. It became thereafter an important commercial port and a great ceremonial center. The women of the coast came by dugout in Cozumel to adore there Ixchel, the goddess of Fruitfulness. More than 35 archeological sites are disseminated in the island, but only one handle is currently put at the day. Curiously, it is the popularity of the chewing-gum in the United States which is at the origin of the economic rebirth of Cozumel at the beginning of the century. Cozumel was indeed a stopover towards South America on the road of importation of the chicle, the basic commodity of chewing gum, extracted the sapotier.

After a short dawdling in the center of San Miguel, on very animated Plaza del Sol, where you will have happiness to hear mariachis Sundays evenings, you will be able to go to admire interesting vestiges, like a statue of the Ixchel goddess and heads of stone snake, as well as a olmèque jade famous person in Museo of Isla de Cozumel (import duty; tlj 9:00 with 17:00; AV Rafael Melgar, between Calle 4 and Calle 6).

The ruins of the island testify to the importance of Cozumel as a ceremonial center. The majority of the vestiges are small square buildings low height. Since the quasi-destruction of El Cedral, San Gervasio (import duty; tlj 8:00 with 17:00) became the most important group of ruins of the island. One finds there a group of small sanctuaries and temples set up in the honor of Ixchel, Maya goddess of the Fertility.

To the south of the San Francisco beach, a surfaced road leads to the oldest construction of the island, El Cedral. Before the hurricane Roxanne (1995), one could still see in El Cedral of the traces of frescos painted by the Mayas. As if this site had not suffered already enough: in 1518, the Spaniards almost reduced it to nothing. It was then with the turn of the Americans, during the Second world war, to shave it to make place with a landing strip.

At the southern end of the island this time, the ruins of Tumba del Caracol draw their name from a temple whose square base is overcome by a cupola in the Spanish snail shape (: caracol), today with destroyed half. It is believed that this site was built in homage to the wind or to the Maya god Kukulcán.

Lastly, on the north-eastern coast of the island, Castillo Real presents an small group of ruins which includes/understands a tower, the remainders of a pyramid and a square temple, fissured in the medium. One still distinguishes, inside, of the coloured frescos.

Impassioned exoticism will not fail to go to the park of Chankanaab (import duty; tlj 8:00 with 16:30; Carretera On, km 9), one of the most beautiful sites of the island. The lagoon of Chankanaab is a natural aquarium supplied with sea water by underground tunnels. One can observe there about fifty fish species, shellfish and corals. In the park even, a path makes it possible to discover 350 types of plants and tropical trees coming from 22 country. A museum devoted to the life of the Mayas was also arranged there. To 320 m with broad, the coral reef of Chankanaab attracts crowd of plungers with its thousand coloured species.