Column for Jan. 27, 2011

Just this past weekend, my wife and I returned from a Western Caribbean cruise vacation to Key West, Florida and Cozumel, Mexico. We had a great time, all things considered. There were some inconveniences that were beyond our control or that of the cruise line, but we still enjoyed ourselves.

I figured that since so many Mexicans have come to my country, I would return the favor. The major difference is that I went there legally, contributed to their economy rather than taking from it, and left to return to my own homeland. I had never been to Mexico before. I was a little surprised at some of what I saw.

Usually when someone goes to a tropical island paradise, they take in the scenery of brilliant blue ocean, palm trees, flowers, historic sites, and relax by the coarse sandy beaches. I did do just a little bit of that, but I wish I could have done that even more. Actually, I got some nasty scrapes on my legs from swimming in the Caribbean Sea in a Cozumel beach. There are plenty of rocks on their coast, as I found out.

As our tour bus drove across the island of Cozumel and outside of town, we passed through a lot of run down, unkempt buildings. I saw lots of people dwelling in relative squalor. Many businesses operated out of broken down buildings with thatched roofs. The docks were run down and ugly. There were many old Volkswagen cars in Cozumel. Many Volkswagens were manufactured in Mexico in the 1970's, so that makes sense. Being in the warm, sunny weather, the bodies of many of those Beetles seemed to still be in good shape.

I was surprised to find a resort island in this condition. Cozumel exists primarily as a tourist destination. All merchants take American dollars besides Pesos. Many merchants also take Euros. I found a lot of nice little shops that catered to European and American visitors and the trinket/souvenir market they generate. There were also shops that sold pharmaceuticals over the counter that are only available by prescription here in the U.S. (but should be over the counter, instead). Jewelry shops and bars were readily available.

Our tour guide told us that Cozumel has come a long way since she was a child there. There never used to be any colleges when she was growing up on that island, so she had to come to the U.S. to study. Now there are three collegiate schools, we are told, on an island of only 95,000 people. Those 95,000 people live within just 10% of that island. They now have total water filtration for the entire island and a safe drinking water supply. That is progress, it seems.

There were at least some people making a decent living. All merchants spoke good English. I don't know if the bar/restaurant on the beach we went to was any indication of the rest of Mexico's resorts, but they charged a good amount of money for food. We declined to pay $12 for the cheapest entrée available. While in Mexico we never ate any Mexican food, but within a few days we were home and ate Mexican food at a Smithfield restaurant. Go figure.

A T-shirt vendor refused to negotiate any lower on his price and I walked away without the purchase of two shirts. Perhaps he could afford to wait for some other big guy to come buy his larger shirts eventually, but I was not willing to pay his prices. Some of the lower priced shops were doing a brisk business. We spent a good amount on gifts for family at a few of these shops ourselves. Why then was there so much apparent poverty on that island?

I don't blame Mexicans for wanting to come to America and earn more money. I am sure that outside of the higher priced tourist shops, there was much poorer commerce going on. If the conditions of some of the people and buildings were any indication, I am sure it was the case. If Cozumel was any indicator of conditions in other areas of Mexico, I can certainly understand wanting to leave.

I compare that one tropical island to Key West, which is in America. Key West is a booming tropical paradise with high real estate prices, a lot more commercialism, and a lot more development. Other than proximity and a difference in economic systems, I am still pondering the real differences between the two tropical islands. Both had things that attracted me, and both had a few drawbacks. All things considered, however, I do believe that I prefer the American way.