Juan de Grijalva, after rounding the Guaniguanico…

Juan de Grijalva, after rounding the Guaniguanico in Cuba, sails along the Mexican coast and discovers Cozumel.

The Maya inhabitants flee the Spanish and will not respond to Grijalva's friendly overtures.

The Maya are believed to have first settled Cozumel by the early part of the first millennium CE, and older Preclassic Olmec artifacts have been found on the island as well.

The island is sacred to Ix Chel, the Maya Moon Goddess, and the temples here are a place of pilgrimage, especially by women desiring fertility.

There are today a number of ruins on the island, most from the Post-Classic period.

The largest Maya ruins on the island are near the downtown area and have now been destroyed.

Today, the largest remaining ruins are at San Gervasio, located approximately at the center of the island.