From: paul.graveline@travel.com (Paul Graveline) 
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: CARIBBEAN TRAVEL ROUNDUP7
Date: 31 Dec 92 01:03:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Travel Online / St. Louis Online - St. Louis, MO
Reply-To: paul.graveline@travel.com (Paul Graveline) 

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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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