Cozumel and the chocolate factory
To quote the Lonely Island, Aw shit, get your towels ready, it’s about to go down because we’re going on a boat! Just a short journey from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel, but our first water adventure nonetheless. The ferry ride on the massive catamaran was rather uneventful albeit surprisingly choppy. Seeing the giant brown swaths of sargassum contrasted against the beautiful blue Caribbean was also a bit disheartening.
Once in Cozumel, we immediately hightailed it out of the busy downtown tourist area – definitely not our scene. To shake off our motion sickness and cool our overheated bodies, a nice dip in the water sounded like the perfect remedy. After hiking for what seemed like hours (we probably should have sprung for a taxi) we found a small, rocky (reefy?) beach close to Stingray Beach. I was excited to see a sign designating an area for Nadadores (swimmers). A bit unsure how to navigate the rocky shoreline, I spoke with a gentleman who directed me to an entry point and kindly showed me the best path for a “muy seguro y bonito” (safe and beautiful) swim. His directions certainly didn’t disappoint. Despite the prolific traffic, boats completely avoided the swimming area. And the water was calm, sparkling clear, and full of abundant colorful aquatic life.
Bodies cooled and relaxed, we went to gather our clothes and head out. Alas, the shirt I hung on a tree to dry was gone. Hopefully, some unfortunate local Mexican is now proudly sporting my very sweaty, quite nerdy “Never trust an atom, they make up everything” t-shirt. Not that worried about my 10 year old shirt being pilfered, we did have a problem; that was the only shirt I brought and we were an hour boat ride away from our apartment. We stopped at the first t-shirt vendor we could find and a mere 500 pesos later, I had a very nice Cozumel shirt so we could get on with our day. In case you’re wondering, 500 pesos is almost $29 – tourist prices strike again. (See photo above).
After a long, hot trek back to town, we arrived at our destination, the Kaokao Chocolate Factory. Being connoisseurs of all things chocolate, this visit was like Christmas in April and like my swim, it didn’t disappoint. Our delightful and knowledgeable host Nancy guided us through the chocolate making process from bean to bar. Despite her very anglo name, she’s a native of the Tabasco region in Mexico. She also taught us that the history of chocolate began with monkeys – yep, monkeys, monos as they say en Español. It all started thousands of years ago when monkeys – spider monkeys and other species – spread cacao seeds from South American into Central America. Monkeys (as well as human inhabitants in the area) ate the white sweet pulpy fruit and spit out the seeds allowing the dispersal of cacao trees across wide areas. In fact, monkeys play such a critical role in the natural reproduction and health of cacao forest populations that a lack of monkeys in a specific region can mean no cacao plants at all. ¡Tragedia Absoluta!
So next time you enjoy that cup of hot cacao or chocolate bar, thank a monkey!
On the human side of things, we also learned that the Olmecs were likely the first to domesticate cacao and imbibe in a chocolate drink using processed cacao seeds. There is even evidence that pre-Olmec cultures like the Mokayan people were also drinking a frothy chocolate beverage as early as 1900 BC. So, even though the Mayans get all the credit, they learned the art of chocolate from the Olmecs.
Back to the present day, the next stop on our tour was trying an almost endless variety of chocolate samples. Some of our favorites included the coconut, honey, chili, and time honored 70% varieties. And even on this hot day, Nancy whipped up a batch of traditional Mexican hot chocolate. Hands down, it was the best cup of hot chocolate we’ve ever tasted. For the final stop on our tour, we got to make our own chocolate. Donning aprons and chef hats, looking quite dashing and legit I might add, we hand ground our dried cacao seeds into a paste. Once the chocolate achieved a smooth consistency, we added some sugar and let it cool. The result was, unsurprisingly, absolutely delicious!
Despite gorging on chocolate, it was time for almuerza aka lunch and some real food. A recommendation from Nancy, and quick cab ride lead us to La Perlita. If you ever find yourself hungry in Cozumel, get off the beaten path and head to La Perlita. Our host was incredibly friendly, and the fish tacos as well as the cheese empanadas were incredible! The homemade limonada was the perfect, refreshing drink to accompany our meal on a hot day. And if that wasn’t enough, there was a hummingbird nesting in the restaurant!
Sadly, our day was coming to an end and we headed back to the ferry for the trip back to Playa del Carmen. After 14 miles of walking on a hot Mexican day, we arrived back at our apartment tired, but immensely satisfied.
If you haven’t heard enough about monkeys yet, stay tuned for our next adventure when we get up close and personal with our closest relatives.
Until next time, hasta luego!
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