[Paddlewise] Cozumel advice?

My wife has meetings on Cozumel for a week this spring.  I'll be going 
along - so I'll have about 6 days to explore the area.  I'd like some 
advice on kayaking in that area.  I'll be looking for a few good days 
trips.  As I have limited coastal paddling experience (sorry, I'm a 
somewhat land-locked Midwesterner) it would seem that just renting a boat 
and heading out would be foolish at best.  So this means some sort of tour 
operation.  The questions then are:
1) Any suggestions on specific tour operators in that area?

2) Any suggestions on particular paddling routes or areas?

3) When looking at tour operators, how should I evaluate them in terms of 
safety?  What are the minimums that I should expect in terms of equipment 
(strobes on PFDs, VHF radio for leader?, paddlefloats or other rescue 
equip, etc etc), planning, etc?  I tend to be fairly anal about 
safety.  I've done some other coastal day tours where as participants we 
were shown how to get in the boat, put on a PFD, and a basic stroke - 
beyond that, most in the group were clueless - for most it was their first 
time in a kayak.  If something would have happened to our tour guide, most 
in the group would have been at a complete loss as to what to do next.  A 
contingency plan was never duiscussed in any fashion.  When I listen to 
stories of disaster trips even with experienced paddlers involved - I 
always think of these day-tour groups and what could have happened - and 
what my role might have been in the situation.

Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions,
Keith

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