Cozumel’s Garden Resort - Villablanca

Cozumel’s Garden Resort - Villablanca

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Flying into Cozumel always feels like coming home. I am a long way and another lifetime from the place I call home, so this is a special feeling. This particular trip I was discovering that the home of my childhood was reaching out again.

My friend, Lena, and I are traveling alone together, minus family. The first time it is excruciatingly painful to leave the kids. This time it is proving to be a wise choice. We are reconnecting to a part of us that is not wife, mother, businesswoman, or teacher. We are simply women. We can sleep in or stay out late with no one to worry about. My friend is a runner and heads out early to see the sunrise. I am a reader and watch the sunset from my lounge chair. We both like to write and dance and see all the sights from the top-of-the-line restaurants to the hole-in-the-wall hot dog stand, from the big yacht to the tiny canoes, and from the developed beaches with the ever-ready cabana boys, to the wild rocky shores splashing with rough seas. We remember the past, cherish the present, and plan the future. We challenge each other to greater things, cry and heal together over great hurts, and generally help each other make life changes we have been avoiding. Then, we go home to be better at all the roles we hold.

We are heading down to Cozumel for a few days lounging around Villa Blanca, so we are naturally excited. Despite several trips to Cozumel, I could not recall that particular hotel. I asked my teenage daughter (also my computer guru) to do a little on-line research for me. As soon as she heard the name she exclaimed, “Mom, that's the hotel with the shark! You, know, the one you always want to stay in every time we drive by."

Villa Blanca is on the road about a mile south from San Miguel. It is just across the road from the sea and not too far from a public swimming beach and the lighthouse. You notice first the lush tropical hibiscus hedges surrounding the gleaming white walls that front it. There's a huge white shark watching over the reception area. Every time I drove by I murmured a wish to stay there. And since we drove by about a hundred times over several trips to Cozumel, the children just rolled their eyes when I said it. Yet more than just the beauty of the hotel, there is something calling me, making me feel I had been there before.

We drive up on a glorious Caribbean day. The white of the pillars reflect the bright sunshine; a mild breeze blows off the sea carrying with it the hint of far away places. There are places you go that are nice and then you leave and it becomes just a vague pleasant memory. There are places where you walk in and you know immediately you have come home — a place you would come home to if you could live in a soothing, elegant space in which your every need is attended to. We step into the cool of the reception area, check in quickly, then we are given our room number. Juan carries our luggage and in numerous other ways rescues two ladies in distress; he is there with a smile that never wavers despite vast quantities of luggage. While we explore our room, lean over our balcony, and make ourselves at home, Juan sees to our bags and makes sure all was in order. Being copious drinkers, of water that is, we are delighted by the large five gallon water jug in

our room. Many hotels on Cozumel provide a two-liter bottle each day and charge dearly for any extras. We are cheap at heart with the habit of stopping at Chedraui’s (the local grocery) to pick up gallons of water — not much fun to haul around town (we generally walked everywhere). So this is a delightful introduction to our home away from home — an annoying, time consuming and expensive detail avoided.

While Juan was around we do our best to maintain the dignity befitting writers of our stature; however, the minute he leaves we become giddy with rapture. Our room is huge. The bed is king size and comfortable. Behind the bed is a half wall supporting white columns dividing our bed from a sitting area; behind the wall is a large couch-cum-daybed facing arched doors leading to the balcony. We look over the railing into a lovely manicured garden and we could see the sea waiting for us beyond. Both my friend and I are writers and we could already feel inspiration. The flavor of the room is English Colonial, and I feel that we have entered a "Twilight Zone" between Mexico and Africa, a sort of coming together of two places I dearly love.

Needing a nap, I slide between cool sheets. Somehow, listening to the silence I feel myself becoming serene. I yearn to be elegant and enchanting as befitting such a setting. Dozing off, I dream of high tea served in an English garden in a far-off colony of the Empire. Alas, there is not an elegant bone in this body and eventually I had to wake up and face that fact. Fortunately, waking up to reality is not too much of a hardship in Cozumel. The dying sun slipping into ocean is elegant enough for all of us. Huge and golden it looks as solid as an ingo; as we watch, the bottom orb melts into the water, putting out the fire out while spreading golden bullion across the sea. Watching the sunset is a requirement here and there are several places on the property you can enjoy this time.


Next to the pool is a the snack bar, “Las Adas” where you meet other sun worshippers. Above is a pavilion waiting for your viewing pleasure. Alternatively, you can put forth a small amount of effort and stroll across the street to get up close and personal with the sea. Just across the road is Temptations restaurant with a patio where you can relax with your favorite beverage. You might sit on a lounge chair on the beach or sit on the seawal. You can walk out onto the pier but returning divers have much equipment to take care of so please be civil as you worship in this most ancient of rituals. Despite the trip being too short for all we are planning, we slow down each night for this cosmic treat.

The sea is the main event for most visitors to Cozumel, and Villa Blanca is the perfect site for one of the most important sea events. The hotel is located on the Villa Blanca Reef and Wall, and
How To See A Kiwi

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Bobbi Buchanan, Jetsetters Magazine Editor – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com

About the Author

Bobbi Buchanan, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com