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Cozumel Island is the third largest, the most populated, and the most important tourist island in Mexico. Cozumel derives its name from the Mayan words Cuzam = swallow and Lumil = land of, so Cuzamil is the Land of Swallows.
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Located in the Carribbean Sea, 10 miles at the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula, separated by the Yucatan Channel, (Meridian 87-Parallel 20.5) it emerges as one of the most significant jewells in the paradisiac Mexican Caribbean. it is 9 miles wide by 35 miles long. |
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The island is covered with lush jungle vegetation and surrounded by rocky coastlines, white-sand beaches, lagoons, and mangroves. The waters encircling the island have an impressive array of coral reefs that are part of the Great Mayan Reef, the second largest reef system in the world. |
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Full of history, as well as a vast heritage and culture |
The Mayan Times |
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Cozumel has been continuously occupied since the ancient Mayans built a shrine there to Ix-Chel, the Mayan goddess of fertility and childbirth. Traditionally, every Mayan woman must make a pilgrimage to the shrine on Cozumel at least once in her lifetime to pay homage to the goddess. This tradition is continued in the modern day with the: |
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| Represented every year exactly with same kind of wooden canoes used by the Mayans. |
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Cozumel´s geograpfical location, made the island an important spot in the Mayan trade routes. Different kinds of merchandise arrived from far away places and were temporarily stored on the island before being sent in canoes to other distribution points |
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European Settlement of Cozumel |
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By 1518, the first Spanish explorers discovered the island and Juan de Grijalva arrived on Cozumel´s coast on the Holy Cross Day (May 3rd). He named the land as “Isla de la Santa Cruz” and proclaimed it to be the property of Don Carlos and Doña Johanna King and Queen of Spain. |
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The first Spanish settlements stablished on the island and remain to our day as the town of "El Cedral" . Every year on May 3rd the Holy Cross festivity is still celabrated. |
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| One year later, Cozumel was the first site in what is now Mexican territory where Hernán Cortés (the Spanish conqueror) set foot. Thus, the island becomes the starting point for the conquest of Mexico. |
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In 1524 when the conquest culminated, the Mayan ruler of Cozumel accepted Spanish domination peacefully and the conquerors proceeded to destroy many of the Mayan temples. The ancient civilization lies in ruins. |
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| On September 29, 1527, Francisco de Montejo (one of the captains who arrived with Cortez eleven years prior) reached Cozumel after a request made to the kings of Spain to authorize the development of the Island. |
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| Upon his arrival he gave the Christian and actual name of San Miguel de Cozumel. Festivity still celabrated every year on that same day, day of Saint Michael the Archangel. |
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As an immediate effect of the conquest, Mayan trade was nullified and the cult of the goddess Ix Chel suppressed. The islanders, deprived of their principal economic activity, were forced to depend only on agriculture for their survival. At the same time, an outbreak of smallpox killed thousands. The Spaniards soon stopped showing any interest in the island turning it into a minor port of call for Spanish ships. Between 1519 and 1570, the island's population plummeted from 40,000 to 30 people, then finally became uninhabited by 1600. |
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During the 17th century Cozumel was used as a base of operations by notorious pirates such as Henry Morgan and Jean Lafitte. England and Dutch pirates landed on the land to capture Indians and Spaniards as slaves. |
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| In the meantime, the few local natives, Spaniards and Mestizos were busy producing chicle, used for chewing gum, collected from the sapodilla tree. |
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During 1847 the Caste War was launched across the Yucatan peninsula and thousands of people choose the island as a refugee. The mestizos settled at San Miguel on the west coast and the Mayans at El Cedral. Some descendants of these families still live on the island. |
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Since the mid 19th century and the early 20th century Cozumel´s economy boomed thanks to the abundant supply of Zapote (sapodilla trees) with increasing chewing gum production, Cozumel became an important port on international shipping and commerce routes. |
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Unfortunatey the invention of synthetic |
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diminished the demand for chicle. |
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| In October 1929 Cozumel is visited by the famous U.S. aviator Charles Lindbergh as part of his exploration flights searching for Mayan archaeological sites. |
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By World War II, Cozumel´s airport started to be constructed by the US Air Force as a military air base. The airport was opened in 1943. |
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Touristic Industry |
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During Great Depression of the 1930s, and the war on the 1940s, Cozumel´s economy was seriously affected. It was until the early 50s that tourists started to visit island. One of the most important pioneers in the tourism industry was Ilya Chamberlain, who established the first tourist hotel with nightclub on the island: The Maya Luum. |
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| Since then, the island has become the favorite vacational destination for many public figures such as Hollywood artists, presidents, magnates and more. |
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During that time, Bob Mar an expert diver from U.S. introduced SCUBA diving on the island by teaching young locals how to practice this exciting water sport. By the early 60s Cozumel was visited by the famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau and he discovered one of the most impresive and beautiful reefs: Palancar. |
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Jacques Cousteau's popularization of Cozumel's coral reefs resulted in a boom in the diving industry. More and more tourists and divers were attracted by the underwater nature that Cozumel has to offer. Today Cozumel is one of the top 10 dive sites in the world and it is part of the second largest barrier reef in the world: the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. |
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In 1968, the island is visited Ariadne. But it wasn´t untl 1974 when the principal cruise lines include Cozumel into their itineraries |
| Mby the first cruiseship in its history: The |
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is one of the most impotant cruiselineM |
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with the arrival of the Bolero ocean liner Norwegian flag. This might be cosnidered as the genesis in the cruise ship industry. Today, Cozumel destinations in the world. |
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21st Century |
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In the beginning of the 21st century the port of Cozumel a worldwide leader in the cruise ship industry, receiving more than 2 million passengers in more than 1,000 ships every year from the most important lines such as: |
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| In 2005, Cozumel´s growing and developing economy was suddenly interrupted by the terrible impact of the most destructive and biggest meteorological phenomenon in the island´s history: hurricane Wilma. |
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Three days of continous rain, sustained windspeeds near 175 mph with higher gusts and an extremely slow forward motion from 4 to 12 mph made Wilma such a terrible and destructive hurricane. The extraordinary spirit of the islanders encouraged themselves to clean up all of Wilma´s mess, and in less than a month Cozumel was ready once again to receive the firsts guests from cruise ships. |
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2009 was also a significant year for Cozumel. First in May, all tourist activity is stopped, and the entire economy effectively shut down, due to the sanitary crisis derived from the swine flu originated in Mexico. Fortunatelly, two subsequent events helped Cozumel forget the terrible months after the health emergency. |
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On July 10, 2009, Cozumel was named "Island of Peace" and was awarded "The Banner of Peace" by the International Committee for the Banner of Peace. A non-governmental organization officially affiliated with the United Nations. The trimaran Tzamná set sail to spread a peace message from Cozumel around the world. |
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In November, Cozumel hosted more than 2,000 athlets from all over the world, as part of the first mega thriatlon in Mexico: The IronMan Cozumel 2009. The event was deemed so successful for all: athlets, organizers, sponsors and the community that it continues to be held on the island every year. |
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Today, Cozumel island is one of the most visited vacation destinations arround the globe, with an international airport, three piers to receive international cruise ships and two ferry piers connecting the island with the mainland (one for passengers only, one for cargo and vehicles.) The island offers around 250 different lodging options, inlcuding GT, 5, 4 and 3 stars international resorts and hotels, hostels, B&Bs, villas, vacation rentals and cabains for all tastes and budgets. Excellent restaurants, shopping areas, supermarkets, public transportation. and car, scooters and bike rentals make it easy to get around and live on the island. All this with an enormous variety of breathtaking natural beauties and wonders. |
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Most important, though, is Cozumel's enormous variety of breathtaking natural beauties and cultural heritage. Spend your days snorkeling or diving in the coral reefs, exploring the jungle hiking, biking or in a 4x4 vehicle, relaxing on any of the beautiful white sanded beaches. Or put the cherry on top of your vacations by delving into Mayan history with a visit to Cozumel's authentic steam lodge. No matter which you choose, your visit to Cozumel will be a special one. |
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