I finally went ashore in my first
foreign port . . . Cozumel, Mexico!
I was supposed to have lunch with the cruise director, but
unfortunately, she was held up and unable to make it ashore. Regardless, I went alone, found a restaurant
off the beaten path, had some guacamole and chips, some corn quesadillas with
cheese and shrimp, and a few margaritas.
I practiced my Spanish with my waiter, Francisco, and he, his English
with me.
In addition, today is PAY
DAY! After 4 years of struggling,
it is a wonderful feeling to have a decent paycheck with which to pay bills and
still have a bit left over!
From a visitors guide
(www.dsdmexico.com) . . . and with proper grammatical changes . . . the history of Cozumel, which I include not to bore my readers, but to include, as this is also my "journal," of sorts . . .
The first Mayans settled in Cozumel
2,000 years ago; however, during the classic period 300-900 A.D. – a time when
priests were at the top of the social hierarchy in the Maya world and life
revolved around religious ceremonies – Cozumel became one of the most important
sanctuaries in the Yucatan region.
Cozumel derives its name from the Mayan words Cuaam (swallow) and Lumil
(land of), which form the word Cazamil (land of swallows). The Mayan word changed with time to the
Spanish name of Cozumel. The
Mayans believed the island to be a sacred shrine.
Religious pilgrimages were common
to the island, especially from women who were either pregnant, or wanted to get
pregnant. They paid homage to the
goddess Ix Chel, the deity of the moon, pregnancy, and childbirth. It was a tradition among the Maya
People in general to make the trip at least once in their lifetime to the
shrine of this goddess. By 1200, in Middle America, there existed an important long distance trade in
which Cozumel was a key link. It
was on this island where all kinds of merchandise arrived from far-away
places. Goods were temporarily
stored before being sent in canoes to other distribution points. It was by 1518 that the Spanish
explorer, Juan de Grijalva, arrived to the coast of the island on Holy Cross
Day (May 3rd), named this land as “Isla de la Santa Cruz,” and
proclaimed the land as property of the Dona Johanna and Don Carlos, Kings of
Spain. The Spanish arrived to
Cozumel on May 6, making a peaceful stop on the island, received by the locals,
exchanging gold and a variety of goods.
Juan de Grijalva ordered the
chaplain, Juan Diaz, to offer a mass on the same place that the islanders had a
temple. Therefore, on May 6th,
the first Catholic ceremony was held in Mexico, at a location named by the
Spanish-like Saint John (currently named Las Casitas (little houses), where
every year, mass is still celebrated by the locals. The visit was followed a year later be Hernan Cortes. Cozumel was the first site touched by
the army of Hernan Cortes, in what is now Mexican territory, becoming the
starting point for the conquest of Mexico.
The Mayan ruler of Cozumel
accepted their domination peacefully.
The conqueror proceeded to destroy many of the Mayan temples. By the time Cortes left Cozumel, the ancient
civilization lie in ruins. At the
same time, an outbreak of smallpox killed thousands.
By 1525, Francisco de Montejo
made a request to the king of Spain to authorize the conquest and development
of the Isla of Cozumel (Montejo was one of the captains that arrived with
Cortez 9 years prior). Don Francisco
de Montejo arrived in Cozumel on September 29, 1527, and gave the Christian
name of San Miguel de Cozumel.
As the Spaniards became more familiar with the coast of the Gulf of
Mexico, they realized they did not have to stop over in Cozumel, excluding it
as a port of call for Spanish ships.
At the same time, 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. The mestizos founded San
Miguel on the west coast and the Mayans settled at El Cedral. From the mid-19th Century to
the beginning of the 20th, Cozumel’s economy boomed and it became
and important port.
The depression (1930’s) seriously
affected the island economically, but it bounced back during World War II, and
was “put on the map.” The U.S.
built an air base for planes hunting U-boats in the mid-Atlantic, and an
airport was built.
Drawn by the clear waters,
frogmen came to train and returned home with stories of magnificent underwater
vistas. Jacques Cousteau’s
declarations in 1960, about the richness of the coral reef surrounding the
island, made underwater enthusiasts aware of Cozumel’s existence. By 1970, Cozumel’s population quickly
grew to 10,000, and today, the island boasts a population of more than 75,000.
