Getting Oriented

A 490-square-km (189-square-mile) island lying just 19 km (12 miles) east of the Yucatán Peninsula, Cozumel is mostly flat, with an interior covered by low scrub jungle and marshy lagoons. White beaches with calm waters line the island's leeward (western) side, which is fringed by a spectacular reef system; the windward (eastern) side, facing the Caribbean Sea, has rocky strands and powerful surf.