El Cedral
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South of town and just beyond Playa San Francisco, a paved turnoff leads to El Cedral (8 a.m.–5 p.m. daily, free), the oldest Maya structure on Cozumel, located in its namesake village. Once the hub of Maya life on the island, it is the first Maya site that the Spaniards stumbled upon in 1518; allegedly, the first Catholic mass in Mexico was held here.
Today the site is small and underwhelming though it still bears a few traces of the original paint and stucco. (It’s amazing that these remnants are left, despite the passage of time—and its use as a jail in the 1800s.) Tour operators, including horseback riding guides, often bring visitors here to wander about and buy handicrafts.
© Gary Chandler & Liza Prado from Moon Yucatán Peninsula, 9th edition
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