April 14th through April 25th was our second stay at Casa Mexicana our first was a year ago. It was wonderful to be back and it was truly like coming home!

We had our same Ocean view room as last year. With our own private patio, with patio chairs and a small table and a wonderful view of the ocean and sunsets. The room was large, with AC, nice décor, and very clean with spacious bathroom which had a full-size bathtub with shower, marble vanity, plush towels and hairdryer. The closet was large, including a safety deposit box and an ironing board with an iron…who wants to iron on vacation? Our King-sized bed was firm but very comfortable as they put on a foam pad. The cable TV had about 1/3 or more English channels-some with Spanish subtitles. Next to the desk there was a data port to connect your laptop. The mini frig was a great place to keep our beverage chilled and our other snacks, which we purchased at Chedruai. Chedruai is Cozumel's largest grocery/department store less than a mile away.

The whole Casa Mexicana staff as always was extremely helpful and very attentive. This starts with registration, the bellboy, maintenance, and housekeeping and continues with the entire staff who contributes to the smooth and professional operation. Our check-out was also very efficient with no surprises or “extra” charges added to our bill.

It was great to see both Fernanda and Romy again. They both are very special people extremely helpful and friendly. In our correspondence and reservations prior to our stay and during our visit.

Each morning at breakfast Jimy would warmly greet and serve us as he had the year before. We met Jaime for the first time and he was a wonderful host who made sure everything during breakfast was running well. He was also very helpful answering our many questions about Cozumel.

Each day we had a very tasty breakfast buffet: eggs or omelets were made to order, prepared by Luis for us. The breakfast buffet had many items including bacon, sausage, potatoes, French toast, pancakes, beans, Mexican egg entrées, sweet rolls, croissants, bread, fresh fruits, fresh juices, milk, coffee, tea, cereals, and yogurt. We only needed a little snack during the mid-day.

We were close to many great restaurants, shopping and downtown with little need for taxi as we walked thoughout the downtown area. We ate at many of Cozumel’s exceptional restaurants. The food in Cozumel is great. There is no need for an all inclusive option with the many dining opportunities available.

We returned to the French Quarter one of our favorites from last year and had many enjoyable meals there. The menu has Louisiana Traditional food along with Steaks, chicken and seafood. It was good to see Mike again, the owner. He is a great host and his restaurant serves wonderful food. Located one block south of the downtown plaza on Ave 5 between Salas and Calle 3. We went to El Moro for the first time it is an excellent authentic Mexican restaurant and we had great shrimp “shrimp on wire" (shrimp-kebob). Many locals and tourist at this restaurant you must take a taxi as it is at Avenida 75 Bis Norte, between Calles 2 and 4. Guido's Italian food was as enjoyable as usual make sure you get the garlic bread, located on the waterfront, between 6th and 8th North. Mesa 17 is new restaurant open less than a year at a beautiful location at the top of the little hill that's on the southeast corner of the Corpus Christi Park. Glenn and Trish Terrell are the owners. Glenn is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York. He specializes in ethnic cuisine, especially the foods of Southeast Asia, Latin America/Caribbean, and the Middle East. The food was fantastic and so was the service. Both Glenn and Trish are lovely people. We sat outdoors on a patio overlooking the Corpus Christi Park. Pepe's Grill was still great and if you want steak or prime rib, (which we had) they had the best beef we have ever tasted and the banana foster was to die for and what a presentation! Located between Calle 3 and Salas, one block south of the main ferry docks. The El Museo (Museum Restaurant) is a nice place to eat breakfast and lunch; we ate lunch there our last day as we were not diving. The panoramic view of the ocean across the Yucatan Channel to Playa del Carmen from the second floor was nice… The food is not gourmet and the menu simple with sandwiches and the like. Located on the waterfront at Calle 6. If you want to stay in your room and eat Casa Mexicana does have room service with a limited menu. Which we used the evening after our night dive. The food was good and the service exceptional.

The pool at Casa Mexicana is not large and about 4 feet deep it is on the same floor as reservations with pool lounge furniture and a bar to the side--from pool you have a view overlooking the ocean well above the street and the pod people. After being in the ocean scuba diving and spending about an hour and a half on the beach at Playa Palancar during our surface intervals each day, a large pool(s) or beach is not of great importance to us.

Both the escalator and elevator was at Casa Mexicana a very welcome site after a morning of diving or after walking about town.

The ocean is across the street--small sandy area next to the sea wall with a few local children swimming in the ocean having fun.

We spent our days and one night (one night dive), diving with liquid Blue Divers. Their dive shop is located across the street from the French Quarter restaurant. Roberto along with his lovely wife Michaela own Liquid Blue Divers. Roberto operates the diving side and Michaela manages the business portion. Roberto and his brother Jorge are the DM’s for this “Class Act” dive operation which understand the meaning of customer service. LB is able to offer longer bottom times than most of the operators on Cozumel as they use ST 100 and 120cf tanks. They also use fast, small boats with a maximum of 6-7 divers per boat and a Dive Master (guide).

We can not wait for our next trip to Cozumel to stay at Casa Mexicana and to continue to scuba dive with Liquid Blue on the wonderful Caribbean reefs.