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Cozumel is the biggest island in Mexico, located on the Yucatan Peninsula (East
side of México, in the Caribbean) with an extension of 392 square km, 28 miles long
and 10 miles wide. It is separated from the Yucatan Peninsula by the Yucatan channel
which is 12 miles wide. The town of Cozumel is called San Miguel with a population
of approx. 75,000 people. Most of the population of the Island resides in the town
of San Miguel, on the west coast of the Island facing mainland.
A little bit of history of travel to Cozumel: Ancient Mayans considered Cozumel
a sacred shrine and referred to it as Ah-Cuzamil which translates to "Island of
the shallows" At that time, the Mayans would sail from mainland to the Island to
worship the goddess Ix-Chel, goddess of fertility and wife of the god Sun.
During the Spanish colonial period, from the 16th to the 19th centuries, numerous
visitors continued to arrive. However they were not particularly welcome as the
Island had become a base of operations for the many pirates and cut-throats that
infested the Caribbean at the time.
In the 20th century, the commercial success of coconut and chicle (chewing gum)
provoked new interest in the area and the first hotel, the Hotel Louvre, opened
in 1924. That was followed by the Hotel Yuri in 1932, but it was not until the 50's
that Cozumel became a popular tourist destination and the most important cruise
ship port in Mexico, third in the Caribbean and fifth in the world.
Cozumel, with a population of a little over 75,000, now welcomes more than 2,500,000
visitors every year and is considered one of the most important tourist destinations
in Mexico. With Luxury hotels and first class facilities and services, Cozumel vacations
offer its visitors a wide variety of things to do and places to stay. Travel to
Cozumel is world renowned for its diving because of the second largest reef in the
world, and attracts SCUBA lovers from all over the world all year long. Selecting
a Cozumel vacation package is the best way to realize the best vacation value.