Cozumel Archives - My Healthy, Happier Life

ashleyd / December 27, 2012

Our New Year’s Vacation Tradition

Over the years, I’ve come to dread New Year’s Eve more than any other holiday. In college, most of my close friends were in Atlanta while I was down in Savannah, wishing I could be with them to celebrate and party but not wanting to cut my vacation with my family short. When I moved to Philadelphia, each year we’d try something different, whether that meant hanging in and cooking a romantic meal together or doing the hotel party thing with friends. But, three years ago, our first New Years Eve in New York City, we experienced New Years Eve in a way that we’d never be able to top. Our friend Liz worked for BMO at the time, a company who has a huge office in Times Square, directly across from the ball. She was able to invite friends to the office to watch the ball drop while we toasted to the new year. It was so much fun and such a quintessential New Year’s Eve experience, especially in New York.

After that, we both agreed we were tired of the traditional New Year’s Eve plans and decided to get friends together for a trip instead. We thought that nothing would be more fun than to plan a tropical, warm vacation with friends after the Christmas holidays so we could all toast the new year with a Corona while enjoying some fun in the sun before the brutal winter months.

Last year, since it was our first time, we only went away with one other couple and planned an easy trip using American Express travel. We looked at prices and ratings before choosing a resort in Cozumel due to reasonable plane prices and the fact that it is located between Seattle, where they live, and New York City.

Here are a few of the posts from last year’s Cozumel trip: 027

As you can see it was absolutely fabulous! We loved the experience of relaxing with friends over the holiday. Therefore, this year we decided to make it a larger experience for more of our friends. Back in July, we sent a quick email to friends asking if they’d be interested in a tropical vacation with approximate costs of airfare and renting a house on either Turks and Caicos and St. Croix. Now, five months later there are 9 of us spending the next six days together in St. Croix. I ended up using VRBO to rent a large house in St. Croix with a pool, full kitchen, grill, and plenty of space for everyone.

To say that we’re excited is an understatement! The house is just as we imagined and the views are spectacular! I’ll check in each day to share our adventures with you!

A winner will be announced tomorrow morning from my Thank You giveaway!

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ashleyd / January 3, 2012

New Year’s Eve in Cozumel

When we decided to head south of the border for a New Year’s Eve vacation with our friends Ryan and Amy, we all wanted to have a relaxed vacation which meant we spent very little time doing research or making reservations ahead of time for any of the meals or activities.

This worked out just fine until New Year’s Eve. We wanted to go “off campus” for our New Year’s Eve dinner versus going to the included prix fix dinner and show that our resort hosted.

After spending an hour on Fodor’s and with our Cozumel guide book we had a list of three restaurants which sounded like perfect options. Unfortunately, our first two options were fully booked except for an 11pm availability. We decided to try La Cocay, a Mediterranean restaurant in Cozumel.

Located on a small quiet residential block, the restaurant is in a small converted home and courtyard. Very cozy and inviting, we knew this would be a perfect New Year’s Eve restaurant for our small group.

We were immediately greeted with a glass of champagne and their prix fix menu.

The menu gave diners an option of three appetizers, main courses, and dessert in addition to the two welcome tapas. For 890 pesos, or $64, this was a wonderful deal versus what we would normally pay for a similar experience in New York City or Savannah.

The tapas and champagne were the perfect way to start our meal and both were delicious, especially the smoked salmon with capers.

Between the four of us we were able to sample all the appetizers as Ryan chose the soup, Bo and Amy indulged on escargot, and I went with the salad. The mixed green salad was the unanimous winner and was not only plated beautifully but was bursting with flavor. Topped with baked goat cheese, the mixed greens, apples, and pears were held together by a spiralized beet and then dressed in a tangy pomegranate vinaigrette.

The escargot was good but too rich for my liking.

Ryan said the crab soup was delicious as well and included a large baguette crouton and plenty of seafood.

The main courses were where the restaurant truly showed their skill. The scallop entree, paired with a sweet potato and pumpkin puree was beyond my wildest dreams and is a meal Bo and I would love to recreate back in New York. The scallops were cooked perfectly, tender on the inside and seared to a nice crisp on the outside.

Ryan’s rib eye was cooked to perfection and exactly what he wanted. Much to our delight, it was also large enough for him to enjoy while also sharing a few bites with the table.

This dining experience was phenomenal due to the wonderful food and even better service. We truly felt like a guest in their home and a personal friend the entire evening. The staff was very attentive, never letting a wine or water glass get less than halfway full. One of the most memorable parts of the evening was when the staff confirmed that Santa indeed vacations in Cozumel after his arduous Christmas tasks.

A Fayetteville native, Santa comes down to Cozumel for two weeks post Christmas each year and has become a local favorite while he’s in town. He carries candy canes and happily obliges photograph requests! Copy of 029

Copy of 035 It was a wonderful evening and the perfect way to celebrate the New Year before returning to our resort for a New Year’s Eve beach party complete with drinks, party hats, and a DJ.