El Mirador - An Arch in the Surf
Photo: Jon Kolbert, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
A stop on Cozumel: San Miguel and the Island, a free self-guided tour.
El Mirador means the lookout, and this is the place to stop and look. The sea has spent thousands of years working at this limestone shelf, and it has carved out a natural arch, a bridge of rock with waves surging under it.
The rock here is the same stuff that makes up the whole island: old coral reef, lifted above the sea and turned to stone. Look closely and you can see shells and coral in it. The surface is sharp and uneven, so wear real shoes, not flip-flops.
This is not a swimming beach. Waves and currents here can be dangerous, and spray can soak the rocks without warning. Keep back from the edges, especially when the surf is up, and keep children by the hand. Watch the arch for a few minutes, though: every set of waves fills it, empties it and throws spray into the air, and no two are alike.
Getting here: Keep heading south and then west as the coast road bends around the island's southeast corner. El Mirador is signed on the left near kilometer 31.
Did you know?: At about 48 kilometers long and 16 wide, Cozumel is Mexico's largest island in the Caribbean and its largest permanently inhabited island.
Photo op: From the lookout area, frame the rock arch side-on and wait for a wave to burst through underneath it.
More on Wikipedia: Cozumel
Stops on this tour
- Plaza del Sol - Where the Island Says Hello
- Iglesia de San Miguel - The Archangel Who Hid
- Museo de la Isla - The Island in One Building
- San Gervasio - Pilgrims of the Moon Goddess
- Punta Morena - Where the Island Turns Wild
- Chen Rio - A Pool the Rocks Built
- El Mirador - An Arch in the Surf
- Punta Sur - Lighthouse at the End of the Island
- El Cedral - The Village of the Vow
- Chankanaab - The Little Sea and the Reef
- San Miguel Waterfront - Sunset Over the Channel