True Social Distancing at Its’ Best!
Anna Trosper
11/24/20
2020, what a year it has been!Not the year I thought it was going to be for sure – I had so many plans, and they all have been canceled or changed. My husband and myself had a trip planned to Belize in April, well that did not happen. We were so disappointed, had been planning this trip for a year. We are going to rebook for next year – in the meantime July was our 20th wedding anniversary and we were at this point just ready to get out of the house and go somewhere. Mexico was open for travelers, and well, Cozumel is our home away from home, so we got our flights, booked our room, and off we went.
We stayed at the Secrets Aura in Cozumel, Mexico. There were not many people at the resort, and the ones that were there kept to themselves for the most part. Everyone was to wear masks when walking around the resort or in town. In the pool or when eating you could have your mask off. The resort was very clean, and staff did a great job of keeping everything wiped down and clean. I will go over more about my stay at Secrets Aura in another blog.
As I said above, it was our 20th wedding anniversary! So, I wanted to do something in Cozumel that we had never done before. We go there a lot; we love to scuba dive. We have made so many friends on the island over the years that this trip felt so different that we could not go and spend time with them, do to COVID. The government had opened the scuba shops and tour groups with a limited amount of people on the boats and with restrictions of wearing masks on the boats also. So, I reached out to a friend I have met that does private tours. I booked a day with him for just my husband and myself. BEST day ever!!!!!!!
He’s name is Adrian – He is known as Adrian of Cozumel – Very well known on the island and has a great reputation. I spoke with him and told him what I was looking for and he put together a trip of a lifetime.
To start off our day Adrian picked us up right at the dock at our resort. The only thing we brought with us was sunscreen, hats, and our snorkel gear. He would supply the gear, but we have our own and I felt better using ours. It was the perfect day, not too hot, the sea was calm so off we went. It was my husband, myself, Adrian, and the captain on board and no one else. We started heading south down along the Cozumel coastline. As we traveled Adrian pointed out things that we had never seen before that you cannot see from land.
I had asked him if we could stop at a spot called El Cielo, this is a sand bar off Cozumel that is known for starfish. Adrian said he would rather take us somewhere different, at first, I was disappointed but when we got to his destination I soon knew why. We stopped in an area where there where no other boats at all around. We got out and started to snorkel. I have never seen so many starfish in my life, vibrant colors and so big. There were sting rays and so many fish. We hung out there for a while and then we were back on the boat and off we went – next stop our own private beach! This spot looked like it was right out of a movie. Not a soul in site! Adrian set up a table and chairs with an umbrella for us on the beach, brought us margaritas and chips with homemade guacamole. My husband and myself set out on a long walk down the beach – this was truly one of the best experiences ever in all my traveling. We walked picking up shells and just spent time alone in a beautiful spot. When we got back Adrian had lunch made and was waiting for us. This was first - class service all the way. My husband even brought his drone to fly and Adrian helped us get some amazing shots of us together. When it was time to head back to the boat all we had to do was get in – everything else was taken care of.
When we left Adrian asked if I wanted to see why he did not want to go to El Cielo and I said sure. It took about 5 mins to get there but when we did, I understood 100% why. There had to have been 50 boats there all docked and everyone out in the water. It was crazy – I am so happy he took us to his spot!
On our way back to our resort he had the captain make one more stop – We put on our snorkel gear and over the side we went – this time he also had us hold onto a life preserver that was tied to the boat – We where right over one of the main dive spots we dive at most of the time. It was so different seeing from up top and not below. Adrian signaled to the captain and off we went. They pulled us for about a good mile or two. The water was so clear and calm it was amazing. We even had a turtles swim up to us.
When it was time to go back, we loaded back onboard and off to the resort we went. It was truly a day we will never forget.
I would love to help you plan your next adventure. If you have any questions or would like to set up a time to talk I can be reached at: annat@wishesfamilytravel or my Facebook page.