Aileen Friedman

2^nd April and I am blessed to celebrate another birthday. I am more blessed to spend it with family and here in Cozumel, Mexico. So what did I get up to on my special day?

My son-in-law hired a Jeep for the day since the roads we were to travel on would ultimately wreck a car. In the Jeep we all jumped and off we went to the north of the Island feeling much like a bunch of tourists – I guess in a way we were.

Once we exited the main road we realised why a Jeep was necessary, potholes and bumps, stones and whatnot gave us a bumpy but enjoyable ride to our destination; a jetty. From this point it is easy to see Passion Island.

Passion Island is a forty five minute ride in a small boat from the jetty. It boasts beautiful white sandy beaches and lots of palm trees. It is popular destination for the tourist that arrived in Cozumel on the numerous cruise ships. It offers a buffet and bar and a variety of water and beach sports, however snorkelling (if you from a cruise ship will not be including in your package, it is always an additional fee.) You can relax on the many hammocks that are available in the shade between the huge palm trees.

The history of Passion Island is hard to come by, I have been informed that it must have derived its name from the Mayan’s. Cozumel Island was used by the Mayan’s for fertility rites so it is a good guess that this is the origin of the name.

When we arrived at the jetty we were welcomed by a local and he kindly informed us that it would cost 100 pesos each for a return trip this we were willing to pay, still pricey but we accepted this. The Jeep was parked and then we were informed that the cost was now 600 pesos a return trip. Why the increase in fare – no one could tell us and this was unacceptable. The more we explained to the gentlemen that we were not gringo’s and in fact we actually lived on the Island the more he seemed inclined to want to increase the price. What did we do? We got back into the Jeep and headed for the lighthouse.

There is a lighthouse on the east side of the Island and to get there you most certainly do need a 4×4 type vehicle. It is a beautiful scenic route that takes you on the shoreline of the coast between luscious plantations. The road has rugged gravel and stones, huge potholes, narrow turns and bumps and humps, loads of fun in my opinion. But our adventure came to an abrupt halt when we reached a section of thick soft sand, we all knew if we so much as attempted it we would certainly get stuck. As we started to reverse a military Hummer van pulled up behind us with several well armed men. The laughter on their faces (except for the driver) of our predicament assured us with great relief that we were not in trouble. Well now we were in a pickle; we couldn’t go forward and neither could we go backward with their huge Hummer standing in the way. They watched very amusedly for a while as we tried to turn the Jeep around until eventually two men got off the back of the huge Hummer van and directed us in little semi circles. They only helped us until they were able to pass us, then the two men jumped back onto the rear of the huge Hummer van and drove passed waving and laughing. I so badly wanted to take a photo but with the driver scowling so I decided to rather stow my camera.

On our exit we stopped at a beach spot, beautiful and unspoilt or so I had hoped. Unspoilt by tourists but so very horribly spoilt by litter. This is always so disappointing and so infuriating.

Now after two incomplete missions we decided to head off down the road to our favourite beach San Martin. The sea was chaotic with some serious currents but we still swam in the stunning blue waters of the Caribbean refreshing our souls and body.

It was a wonderful and interesting birthday to say the least, thank you my family from all my heart.

If you wish to see all the photos of our Jeep excursions please visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AliandAileenMissions/