I decided it is about time I posted some more photos. These are miscellaneous photos that I have taken since I returned to Cozumel on July 20, 2009.
View of the Cozumel Coastline (looking north) right before landing.
This was taken from my plane, looking to the north, right before I landed at 2:30 pm on July 20, 2009.
A closer view of the coastine right before landing on July 20, 2009
A more zoomed-in view of the Cozumel coastline, right before landing.
Looking up 4th street toward my home.
Looking toward my home, from about 1.5 blocks away (to the west). You can see the apartment building on the left, which is right across the street from my home.
My Street looking from 30th Avenue.
The street where my house is located. The light pole is right in front of my home (just left of the blue home).
Clothes drying on someone's roof.
A typical view — clothes drying, hung on ropes on someone’s roof.
Cute dog staking out his territory on the roof.
This dog is frequently sitting on his roof. He lives about half way down the street between my house and the waterfront.
Closer view of the same dog.
A more zoomed in view of this same dog. He seems to love sitting up here and watching the activity below.
A "Royal poinciana" tree just down the street.
This beatiful tree is a few blocks down my street. I found out (from wikipedia) that these beautiful flowering trees are called “Royal Poinciana” trees. They bloom in the summers, and only survive in tropical climates.
Lots of sidewalks require caution ...
Caution is required when walking on many sidewalks. You never know what you might trip on or fall into.
Another sidewalk that is falling apart.
Another sidewalk. This is more typical as you get further away from town. The sidewalks are in muchy better shape as you get closer to the plaza.
A run-down home one block from my home.
A typical older home just down the street from me.
Another view of the same home.
Homes with yards such as this are quite common. Some people take really good care of their property. Others give it less attention.
Typical religious shrine on someone's home.
Shrines like this can be seen scattered on various homes around the city. Sometimes, even a very run-down home might have a beautiful shrine such as this, or something similar painted on the exterior wall.
Broken Glass on walls to keep people from climbing over them.
It is not uncommon to see walls with broken glass cemented to the top. One can only assume that this is a way to keep people from climbing on/over such walls.
Looking down 4th street, two blocks from the ocean.
This is about four blocks down my street, looking towards the ocean about two blocks away.
The chicken roticerie on my corner.
This is a sight that takes place every day on the corner, just 1/2 block west of my home. When you walk by these cooking chickens, the heat is very intense.
A permanent trash container on the street.
These permanent trash containers are quite common on the streets nearer the center of town. The garbage collection workers manually empty these as they drive by.
Another container for trash.
Another of these permanent containers, made out of something like rebar. This one has a couple of motorcycles parked by it.
Plastic bags with garbage hung on fence down the street.
A couple of garbage bags hanging from the fence just down my street. As I was riding through the rural areas, I witnessed a girl hanging several large trash bags from a tree. I’m wondering now if they do this to keep stray dogs from digging into them.
The trash cans across the street from my home.
These two cans sit right across the street from my balcony window.
These pipes above drain water onto sidewalks below
Not only do you have to look down when you walk, you also need to look up. If you will notice, the roofs of these buildings have pipes coming out. Usually these only drip during storms (runoff from the roofs), but some of them drip all day long with runoff from air conditioners, etc…
More pipes draining the rooftop runoff.
Another view of drain pipes on a different building.
Banana tree by my stairs.
This is a banana tree that grows just below my staircase, just inside my gate. A few weeks ago, I noticed it was actually growing a cluster of bananas.
Looking at the bananas and my bicycle from above.
This is a view from my front door, looking down at the bananas and my bicycle, which I now usually lock to my gate below.
Zoomed in view of the bananas.
I can’t wait to try eating one of these when they get riper.
The spiral staircase to my roof.
It occurs to me that I have never posted a photo of my favorite spiral staircase … the one that leads from my front door up to the roof. This is very small and winding, but it does the job.
One of my plaza friends.
Not sure if I ever posted a picture of one of my common friends on the plaza. He visits me almost every day, but never gets closer than about six feet. Several other lizards and iguanas are around, but they don’t commonly venture out.
Another frequent friend on the plaza.
This old bird is always hanging around my favorite bench in the shade. You can’t see it all that well in the photo, but this little friend is very shabby, with his feathers looking as if he has lived through some pretty rough conditions.
Sign about a new subdivision east of town.
This sign advertises one of two new subdivisions that I have seen being built a few miles east of town. I can’t quite figure out the prices on the sign. These homes are very tiny, each having a lot only about 120 square. Other signs indicate they have one bedroom and one bathroom.
The actual subdivision, east of town.
This is a photo of the actual subdivision. When you get up close to them, these homes seem very tiny and crowded.
One of the homes, one bedroom, one bath
Closer up view of one of these tiny new homes.
Looking east on the main highway, a few miles east of town.
A view looking east on the main highway. This is from the intersection where my new favorite dirt road heads off to the north. This is a few miles east of the city.
Beginning of the dirt road I explored to the north.
This photo is taken from the same intersection, looking north on the dusty dirt road.
Riding up the dirt road.
View about 1/2 mile up the dirt road.
Looking back where I came from.
Looking back south from the same spot.
The road is beginning to narrow.
After a while, further north, the road begins to narrow.
Closeup of some jungle by the road.
Closeup view of some typical trees along this road.
Closeup of some jungle by the road.
Looking ahead, to the left of the road, as I head north on my bicycle.
One of the ranch houses near the end of the road.
This is a photo of one of the ranch houses way out near the north end of the road. This one did not appear to have outside electricity, as there were no telephone poles this far into the jungle.
Another less-zoomed view of the same ranch house
Another view of the same remote ranch house.
The road is starting to get narrower and rocky.
Beyond this small ranch, the road gradually became more narrow and rougher.
Continuing to get narrower.
The road kept getting more remote, less passable.
More of the jungle by the road.
Closeup of some more jungle vegetation by the narrowing road.
This jeep trail continues to get more wild, narrow, and rough.
This is the last photo I took along this particular road. This was taken before I came across the tiny shed in a small clearing–the one where the bleating goats surprised me. A few hundred yards beyond that shed, the road became so rough and difficult that I turned around.
One of the nicer homes in the rural area.
As I rode home, I took some photos of scenery in the more populated areas, nearing the airport. This is a photo of one of the nicer homes with a huge lot that had a well maintained rock wall.
Riding down a dirt road, by the rock wall of one of the nicer homes.
Continuing back towards the city.
This home is built from wooden posts with some type of roofing fabric.
This home is constructed using tall wooden posts, appearing to be about 3 or 4 inches in diameter. The roof is covered with some type of dark roofing material.
Looking out through some of the rural area.
A view looking into someone’s yard. This structure has walls made out of old wooden pallets, and a thatched roof.
A home coated in plywood with a large thatched roof.
This large wooden home has a sign on the front identifying who lives here. I can’t imagine that the plywood walls and thatched roof could provide too much protection in a severe storm.
Another view of the dirt road through the homes.
Continuing to ride through these rural homes.
One of the tiny block/concrete homes
This home looks as if it is only about 10 feet square. Notice that the outside walls are complettely unfinishhed and rough. This type of home build from cinderblock and concrete is very common out in the rural areas.
A tiny home that appears to be made out of miscellaneous wood.
This tiny home looks as if it is constructed from various types of wood. The door is covered by an old blanket, and the window is simply draped with some old screen material.
Looking down one of the roads.
Another typical view along this dirt road.
Four boys that begged me to take their picture
As I pedaled past these four young boys, they suddenly turned around and started yelling “foto, foto, foto” … begging me to take their photo. I stopped, they ran over to me, and posed while I took this picture.
Afterward, I gave them each two pesos (about 15 cents each).
© Brenda Larsen, 2009