Introduction

Mexico’s original Caribbean playground was named Cuzamil, meaning “Land of the Swallows,” by its first inhabitants, the Maya. However, it was Ixchel, the goddess of fertility, that they worshiped here and the remains of centuries-old Mayan temples and ceremonial centers still dot the island.

Proclaimed by oceanographer Jacques Cousteau to be one of the world’s finest diving destinations, the approximately 30 mile long and 10 mile wide island is home to the world’s second largest coral reef and is ringed by some 30 dive sites, most of them concentrated along the west coast.