Secrets Aura Resort Cozumel Mexico June 28 to July 5, 2026

Sergio at breakfast.

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This adventure is a gift to Terryl honouring her birthdate sponsored by her parents Ken and Mickey Smith in Thunder Bay, Ontario July 9, 1950.

  When I began fermenting this journey AC Vacations came to mind where a packaged holiday including airfare, transfers to and from Secrets Aura Cosumel, a Junior Suite King with a full two sided terrace walkout completes a pseudo bed-like couch, lounging chairs, table and walk-in pool that wraps around our abode; all this with food and drink for seven relaxing days.

    Terryl has the ability to make people happy and Sergio is no exception--he is our cover shot for this post which will include my musings and happy people holidaying and working in an ambiance of tranquil beauty found on our trips to Mexico: still our southern neighbour.

Miguel (with wine and margarita)

Ground floor Suite and meandering pool throughout the grounds

The Birthday Girl in yellow

A McPope is at it again

Many little walkways

A waterway never ends

A grass thatch roof over Oceana restaurant

Lots and lots of sandy beach with a temperature of 29C

    These pictures reveal a full beach undisturbed by a 2025 storm that significantly reduced the breadth of the beach on the mainland last seen in March 2026.

    We walk about 25 yards from our place and find a path meandering along the ocean's edge where we sit listening to the sound of birds, wind and water creating a symphony of nature.

    And at night the sun sets directly west of us while we and others enjoy a meal at the end of day 2 on June 29.

      The morning of June 30 I'm awake at 05:30 and on the deck reading news and a variety of assorted emails. The complimentary WiFi is excellent by any standard and without promotional blurbs of any kind. This morning I opened CPAC and found Mark Carney's address at Davos in Switzerland February 2026. I have heard it many times during the past four months and on each occasion I am grateful that Canada has him for our Prime Minister. His material and delivery, in my opinion, places him at the top of the world's political men and women. 

    Around 10:00 we leave for a breakfast at Oceana where Sergio and Elizabeth will welcome us and lead us to our table, always in the shade, starting with ice coffee and a plate of fruit and yogurt. But first, let me show you two pictures taken during that five minute walk:

    This part of Cozumel is breathtaking in my view. After a pleasant breakfast we stop at a little bar and ask for two margaritas; one with salt around the rim, and Terryl has one with salt only halfway:

    About three hours later all of a sudden I've got a swimsuit on and my shoes are with Terryl as I walk over the first little bridge, but before I reach the second my feet are burning like hell fire on the patio stones. If the air temperature is 30C the patio stones must be 50C so I race to the grass relief. At this point I'm thinking about the return trip still with no shoes on my feet.

    Terryl is sitting on a chair on our balcony across the wandering pool ten yards away and I call out, "It's my feet, they are on fire." Two people are passing me and hear all of this and want to help. It's a 'failure to communicate' with no more to add here. I go as fast as I can over the little bridge and jump into a puddle of water giving me time to plan my escape from an hour in this beautiful pool of 25C water.

    I was in the water for 40 minutes doing glute, back and leg exercises without pain. After which I decided to exit the pool in front of our suite. Picture this if you can: from the ground floor suite without hand rails the first step is 6 inches down, the next step is another 6 inches and now you are on a flat surface with a 12 inch water depth X 60 inches wide, the next step is a 48 inch water depth X 60 inches wide. Those specifications are consistant throughout this meandering river of a pool.

    Here goes getting out: lift the butt out of the 48" water and sit, no problem; slide the butt over the 12" water depth over the 60" width; now we lift the butt onto the first step; now we lift the butt onto the second step; the only thing required is two part; lift the butt onto the patio floor--no problem; however, for the life of me I can not get up from a sitting position with my knees at the same height as my chest. Twenty minutes pass with Terryl and me giving all we could think of, and executing none of it, that would lift me off the floor. 

    Miguel, our gentleman with the drinks happens by and comes to the rescue. With one mighty heave I'm standing upright. After that accomplishment I walk into the abode, replace my swimsuit with a dry pair of shorts and shirt, and proceed to rest until dinner time.

    Our evening is eventful. There is another buffet on the beach opening up at 19:00 only 30 yards from our place. Secrets Aura has a giant tv screen mounted on the sand at the far end of the buffet, and, on the screen will be a FIFA football game between Mexico and Ecuador beginning at 21:00. Loads of Mexican fans, some wearing the green with three shoulder stripes jerseys completed the crowd of visitors eager to watch their national team win the match.

    We were assigned seats right next to a nice couple from London Ontario who flew on the same aeroplane as us. We first introduced ourselves while boarding our pre-arranged transportation to our resort.

    Of course we toasted everyone at the table and the conversation evolved pleasantly for Terryl and me. We'll be seeing them again around a quiet dinner table without the blaring announcers and all the hype demanded by such an important occasion.

    We hit the sack before the game ended, so we'll drop the winner's name in sometime tomorrow.            Buenas noches muchachos.

    

    It was a huge win for Mexico at 2 Ecuador 0. We heard the revelry far into the night. Everyone in Cozumel will be very happy today.

Today is Canada Day in Mexico too.

    The temperature in Cozumel will reach a high of 30C and duly noted, that Toronto's high will be a sizzling 35C caused by a huge heat dome affecting southern Ontario and many northern states in the USA. That's 95F (35C) where one's body struggles to cool itself, dramatically increasing the risk of heat exhaustion and heatstroke. [Google AI]

    At this resort the staff begin to convert a beach area for another buffet and an evening of song and dance to commemorate Canada Day. They did a marvellous job in a beautiful setting.

    From 19:30 to 22:15 we had Chardonnay wine, Strawberry Daiquiris, Dos Equis, tasty Mexican cuisine and enjoyed a lively display of singers doing songs made famous by Canadians like Shania Twain, Celine Dion and Michael Buble. To top it all off their finale was our Canadian National Anthem. 

    This guy sings and plays in several languages too.

    Each day is another sunny day with few wispy clouds drifting by this part of Mexico. We are here for seven days and oddly enough we have zero regrets that shopping, golfing, cooking and other retiring habits of our lives in Port Credit are entirely absent. Is that a sign of a 'Good Vacation?' Let's say it is just for now.

    On our penultimate night in Cozumel the resort opened another restaurant named Windows. The specialty here is Spanish Tapas. We arrived at 18:30 and went in right after a party of eight boisterous Texans; we were seated at a nice table for two in the next room.

    After this photo was taken by our waiter Alexandro he asked if we had our choices for dinner. We had not seen the menu and he then replied it was close to the front entrance of Windows. People all over the world  have cell phones and so do we.

On the the above pictured menu the meals where presented as Combos 1, 2, or 3 with two deserts to follow. Each Combo had three different servings of a delightful assortment of Mexican dishes that we could enjoy with a glass or two of Chardonnay for Terryl and a Long Island Ice Tea for me.  

    After dinner and from our Studio's terrace performers gave us a Fire Show only thirty yards away.

    This evening was just like the other five where the air was motionless and tepid. Again, we retire early but want to add that our large smart TV has not been turned on in six days. Buenas noches amigos; if you would like to sleep outside, knock yourself out.

    It's July 5 and our visit to Cozumel and Secrets Aura is coming to a close. We slept well last night after the July 4 celebration of the USA Declaration of Independance. And what better way to close our blog post than a few photos of the people and the event that included a fantastic beach buffet with music, dancers, singers and more fireworks:

This is our new friend Bindi

   Hasta pronto a nuestros amigos mexicanos Sergio, Manuel, Rossana, Carlos y muchos mas que hicieron de este cumpleaños algo tan especial. Nuestro mas sentido pésame con mucho cariño de parte de Terryl and Gary.