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A TALE OF TWO CARIBBEAN ISLANDS--FAST AND FLASHY VERSUS WIDE-EYED AND INNOCENT
Date: 04/16/2003Dear IL Reader,
"When I first set eyes on her 10 years ago, she was quietly beautiful, gentle, and naive. Today, she is shamefully brash, showy, and even garish in her maturity."
So begins Suzan Haskins' report on her recent visit to the sister islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, off Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. She's describing Cozumel...and she goes on:
"Ten years ago, when I first visited Cozumel, I fell in love with the island for its white-sand beaches and languid laid-back lifestyle.
"Then, everything changed. Cozumel got in bed with the cruise ship industry. Today, there are 11 to 13 ships docked off the island on any given day. With upwards of 5,000 passengers per ship, that makes for an awful lot of poorly dressed tourists with video cameras."
Don't despair, though.
"If Cozumel is too advanced for your taste," Suzan continues, "you will be happy to know that little Isla Mujeres, just a ferry ride away from Cancun, is still the pretty, unspoiled little sister. No fast-food franchises, no Hard Rock Cafe, and the most popular form of transportation is by golf cart."
Suzan's complete report is featured in this month's issue of Island Properties Report.
Kathleen Peddicord
Publisher, International Living
P.S. One of Dublin's most notorious brothels will disappear this month. The bulldozers are preparing to move in.
Madame Oblong's house of ill-repute is one of the last remnants of the city's red-light district. Clientele over the centuries has included James Joyce and King Edward VII. The place housed more than 1,200 prostitutes in its heyday at the start of the 20th century.
What's to replace the landmark, one of the best-known whorehouses in the world, mentioned even in the Encyclopedia Britannica? A multi-million-dollar arts and community center. It's the start of a drive to "clean up" the area.
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