John and I had the opportunity to drive around San Miguel, the only town on the island. We had wanted to go to the Mayan ruins on the island but it was closed being Sunday so instead we drove through the town, down the little side streets and glimpsed how people live here. I would have loved to stop and talk and become acquainted with people. The town was laid out in a grid pattern and it didn't seem as though one neighborhood was any better than another neighborhood. I did glimpse houses with nice cars and gated driveways next to a small concrete block houses with almost no yard. Even so the nice houses weren't nearly as large and fancy looking as the houses can look like in the US. There were little shops and little cafe type restaurants on every block and the people were out chatting and talking, kids playing in the streets, and dogs hung out on the roof.

It seemed as though most people owned a scooter. I think that Canada and the US are the only countries that have strict scooter laws. I've seen photos of people riding three or four on a scooter and this was certainly true in Cozumel as well. It was just as common to see people standing in the back of a pick up truck leaning over the cab as someone was driving down the street. I even saw a chihuahua riding on the top of the cap. Bummed that I missed that photo.

Another mode of transportation were these little bikes. They could haul merchandise, groceries and even whole families.

I look at my washer and dryer so differently now. Since it was humid there, it took a long time for wet clothes to dry and my clothes just ended up wet and stinky. Most people had their clothes out to dry so dryers were obviously not a common household item. I now look at my dryer with appreciation. Another thing I noticed were the colors of the building. They were turquoise, yellow, green, orange, blue, white, and red. The colors were vibrant and different yet they seemed to coordinate perfectly with each other. The buildings themselves were concrete, no wood. The locals that I talked to said that wood didn't last in hurricanes but concrete did. They know all about hurricanes. 5 years ago, hurricane Wilma stayed over the island for 3 days and ruined not only buildings, and vegetation but also the coral reefs in the ocean. The reefs are starting to come back just now but on the island you can still see ruined buildings that have just been abandoned after the hurricane. Still talking about the buildings, most houses looked as though they were as big as my living room.

We needed to stop and get gas and I practiced my Spanish, what little I know, with the attendants. They were happy to practice their English and would repeat the words for me as many times as I needed.

I could have spent a week wandering around. It was different, beautiful and incredible. I feel so overwhelmingly wealthy. It was a stark contrast from the hotel to actual Cozumel. This was what I wanted to see.