East side of Cozumel – vol. 3

The east side is wacky and weird. It is as far off the beaten track that you can get when it comes to Cozumel. This is where crashing waves and storms batter against the coastline, creating the perfect backdrop for some fun adventures.Today we’re going to explore a little bit more from this other side of Cozumel. We’ve taken a few different trips to this side of the island recently, to take some photos of the night sky and one early morning for the sunrise. We figured that opposites attract, so this might be a good way to tie these two story’s together.

It’s a whole other world on the other side of the island. We like it just the way it is. The east side is more rustic, in need of a makeover that will probably never come. It has been battered by the storms and crashing waves. You will not need your snorkel on the east side of the island, as it is quite rare that you swim on the east side of the island, as the winds and waves are constantly crashing up against the shore. Over on this side of the island, where it is hard to get to and you don’t have cell phone reception, far from the beaches and the cruise ships.

Visiting the east side t is a nice throwback to what Cozumel was, in a time long before either of us arrived on the Riviera Maya. The following photos will show off several very different views, showing off some off-hours, including the middle of the night and the crack of dawn.

Adventures on the East Side

During our time living on the island we would often hop in the car and go for a drive around the island. It takes little bit less than two hours to do the circle around the island, that is if you don’t stop. There are several great spots to stop for a few minutes, either at one of the small beach bars or at an isolated stretch of sand. You will not have to share the space with many others.

We have made several journeys to the other side. In 2020 we saw turtles nests scattered on the beaches, some of them with fresh tracks leading to the ocean. One of the big highlights for us was a trip to this side to take some night time photography.

Neither of us has had much experience when it comes to night time photography, so our first few experiments aren’t going to win any awards anytime soon. When one of our friends on the island invited us to join him for an evening of taking pictures of the stars, we couldn’t say no. He knew the sky would have no moon and a great view of the milky way.

The east side turned out to be the perfect spot for this. Most importantly, there is much less light pollution, which means it’s perfect for taking a few long exposures. We plan to experiment more with some star-studded photography this summer in Canada. Stay tuned for more experiments in the near future.

Our final Sunrise on Cozumel

We are evening people. We have always had a preference for sunsets (which is why can somehow come up with four volumes of sunset pictures from the island). During our strange 2020 on Cozumel, we managed to catch two incredible sunsets on the East Side, one in early January (the second morning of the year) and another at the end of July, a few days before we said goodbye to the Riviera Maya.

This was one of the last things we did before saying goodbye to our home and beginning the long journey back to Canada. We’re not sure when we will be back again, but we know that we will cross paths with Cozumel again. Sharing this last set of pictures from the east side is partially a way for us to say goodbye to the island… for now. With travel restrictions and visa stuff in front of us right now, we won’t be planning any big beach trips for 2021. Both of us fell in love with Cozumel during our 2.5 years living there and it will always be a big part of our story.

We hope you enjoy the last photography-centric post from our time on the island. There should still be a few travel guides (and maybe another snorkeling video or two) coming from, so stay excited. This is where our most recent journey ends.

East side of Cozumel – Vol. 3