the sharkman
Contributor
I will do what I can to keep this report from being too long, but it willl be hard. It was ten days, and every day was outstanding (except day one)! Thanks to the Scuba Board for all the tips. This trip included Five 2-tank dives, plus Four afternoon dives, plus Advanced Open Water certification with Dive Paradise.
My first trip to Coz:
Day 1- We flew into Cancun. I would not do this again. Taking the van to the ferry and then the ferry acrossed was a pain. There was a large storm that came in and the ferry was horrible. People were vomiting all over the boat. I saw a kid throw up and miss the trash can, which caused another girl to run off covering her mouth, which caused... it sucked.
Finally got to Plaza Las Glorias (PLG). Not impressed at all with the room, however I soon realized it was perfect for a dive vacation. Asked immediatley for mattress pad (thanks to scuba board advise), but they looked at me like "The Gringo is already asking for upgrades", so I did what I thought was best-I STOLE one from an unlocked storage room, and it was perrrrfect.
Day 2- Woke up to Red flags (rough water). Debris was all over the streets from the storm. No dive boats today, Senior. Lo Siento. Walked to Jeannies Waffle House for Waffle Supreme. Awesome!
Lunch was at Pancho's Backyard . Awesome!
After the two Margaritas wore off, we went against many scuba boarders advise and rented a moped which was absolutely cool. Yes, very dangerous. It is something to see the locals riding with 3 people on a moped, sometimes dangling an infant off the side. Yes, I recommend against the mopeds, but yes it was a lot of fun.
Dinner was at the Lobster House . Awesome! Amazing how much lobster you can get for about 23 bucks.
Day 3- Woke up to yellow flags. Cool. Walked to Dive Paradise to begin AOW certification after having brakfast at Rock'N Java. This is the best place to have breakfast, to me. Very friendly staff who greeted me with a handshake or high five on our visits. It was cool to watch the Mexican Navy through the window as they went about their daily duties. Then AOW class with Pico, our instructor (Pico was very intelligent and a pleasure to be around. He was portly and wore a speedo which I would've rather done without however). Love ya, Pico. Shore dives: Nav dive, and then Peak Buoyancy dive. School of Baracuda and a spotted Moray highlighted these shore dives.
Had lunch at Dorados De Villa near the Plaza San Miguel. Very good strawberry margaritas. Very good conversation with other guests. Walked town, shopped, and visited other dive shops. Noticed Aqua Safari had very friendly and clean dive shop. Also Micheles and Dive House stuck out from the many we visited.
Diner was at Primas . Awesome. Lived up to the expectations. Had lobster diablo. It was very cool when the owner rode up on his FAT BOY Harley Davidson.
On the walk back to PLG we noticed Carlos and Charlies was absolutely crazy. My wife and I stopped by for a beer to say we did, and then walked our mid-thirties butts to bed. Funny how it seems like yesterday, I would've been there till they closed. Now, I look at the partiers and ask my wife to "please tell me I didn't do that back then". She says I was worse. No way.
Day 4- Boat Diving. Yes! My first boat dive ever, and it will be Palancar Deep. Second dive was Las Palmas. If you told me the visibility was infinity, I might believe you. Yes, it was on a "cattle-boat" (as all our dives were) but I loved it. Met some great people on those boats. DM's were Luis and Jaime. They fit my style well. Rowdy, but in a good way. They really took care of buisiness. Their "sailors" were fast at changing your tanks, giving you a hand, etc. If you dive with Dive Paradise, I hope you get one of these two amigos.
Dinner was t La Veranda and it was my favorite place on the trip, which is saying a lot since we went to some great places. A young blonde guy from Norway plays guitar there. He is backbacking and enjoying life right now. He is an incredible guitarists, and my standards are pretty high. When he busted out with "Amazing Grace" which holds many Military and Law Enforcement memories for me, I was "Amazed". Please tip him well if you see him. Mention Amazing Grace and he'll remember me. This place has a beautiful dining area in the back that you can't see from the street.
Day 5- Dive 1- Palancar horseshoe. Videographer hung out with us today and made a very cool video. Had to buy it because I was in it. But really, it was great. Dive 2 was Villa Banca. Wont go into too many details because every dive on the trip was awesome. Lots of jellyfish. I've never seen so many, and I was stationed in Hawaii. Afternoon dive was at Villa Blanca (again).
Dinner was at La Cocay. Had a couple Merlots and filets. Awesome! Eat here.
Day 6- Dive 1 Wreck Dive (also a first). Very cool. Awesome to see its mass just appear out of nowhere. Very easy swimthroughs, however a lot of current, so having gloves was nice.Dive 2 was Yucab. Saw a nice Ray.
Thought lunch was important because it was at Rock'N Java and the tortilla soup was the best I had in Coz, and very good tuna sandwich. Afternoon dive was at Las Palmas. A grouper wouldn't leave us alone as he wanted to hang out and eat our bubbles.
Dinner was at El Moro . The friendliest place we ate on the island. Took a cab there, and walked back against others advice. As we walked through "the hood" a bunch of youngsters were playing in the street. They kind of stopped as we walked by, and behind us we heard one of the kids say loudly "!Gringos en la barrio!". Oh, it was a good time for all!
Day 7- Dive 1- Santa Rosa Wall. Nice Swimthroughs. Dive 2- Tormentos. Very colorful Reef. Took afternoon dive off to off-gas for Night Dive tonight. Night Dive was at Paradise. Lots of Lobster, Octopus, Morays.
Dinner was at Restaurant at Costa Brava. (Costa Brava Restaurant?). Great Salsa. Great Service. This place should get more recognition.
Day 8- Dive 1- Palancar Gardens. My favorite dive spot. Beautiful. Dive2- Yucab Reef. Great Color. Afternoon Dive- Paradise Reef (my least favorite dive spot, but better than anything in Northern California).
Dinner was at La Choza. Shrimp kebob. Nice. After dinner we went to the Plaza area for the sunday night town gathering. I recommend not missing this because it is fun.
Note: I noticed hardly any, if any at all, cruise ships on Fri- Sun. The town changes when there are no cruise ships. People smile at you more, they seem friendlier. It is more fun, more jovial, more town-like.
Day 9- No dives today. Rented Jeep to cruise around island, which is a must. I thought twice about the jeep rental, but since he had a "one day only special for gringos, since it is Monday, and 10 am, and it is a white jeep". How could I pass that up? I must be the ONLY person on the island that got THAT sweet deal. Visited the following, which I strongly recommend: Mr. Sanchos, Rastas, Playa Bonita (nice!), Chen Rio, Coconuts (check out the photo albums. Guys, CHECK OUT THE PHOTO ALBUMS!), and then Mezcalitos. After returning to PLG, we watched one last sun set into the ocean from under a palapa. After which, began a reluctant mental transition back to regular life.
Thank you for reading, if you made it this far...
Sharkman
:guitar:
My first trip to Coz:
Day 1- We flew into Cancun. I would not do this again. Taking the van to the ferry and then the ferry acrossed was a pain. There was a large storm that came in and the ferry was horrible. People were vomiting all over the boat. I saw a kid throw up and miss the trash can, which caused another girl to run off covering her mouth, which caused... it sucked.
Finally got to Plaza Las Glorias (PLG). Not impressed at all with the room, however I soon realized it was perfect for a dive vacation. Asked immediatley for mattress pad (thanks to scuba board advise), but they looked at me like "The Gringo is already asking for upgrades", so I did what I thought was best-I STOLE one from an unlocked storage room, and it was perrrrfect.
Day 2- Woke up to Red flags (rough water). Debris was all over the streets from the storm. No dive boats today, Senior. Lo Siento. Walked to Jeannies Waffle House for Waffle Supreme. Awesome!
Lunch was at Pancho's Backyard . Awesome!
After the two Margaritas wore off, we went against many scuba boarders advise and rented a moped which was absolutely cool. Yes, very dangerous. It is something to see the locals riding with 3 people on a moped, sometimes dangling an infant off the side. Yes, I recommend against the mopeds, but yes it was a lot of fun.
Dinner was at the Lobster House . Awesome! Amazing how much lobster you can get for about 23 bucks.
Day 3- Woke up to yellow flags. Cool. Walked to Dive Paradise to begin AOW certification after having brakfast at Rock'N Java. This is the best place to have breakfast, to me. Very friendly staff who greeted me with a handshake or high five on our visits. It was cool to watch the Mexican Navy through the window as they went about their daily duties. Then AOW class with Pico, our instructor (Pico was very intelligent and a pleasure to be around. He was portly and wore a speedo which I would've rather done without however). Love ya, Pico. Shore dives: Nav dive, and then Peak Buoyancy dive. School of Baracuda and a spotted Moray highlighted these shore dives.
Had lunch at Dorados De Villa near the Plaza San Miguel. Very good strawberry margaritas. Very good conversation with other guests. Walked town, shopped, and visited other dive shops. Noticed Aqua Safari had very friendly and clean dive shop. Also Micheles and Dive House stuck out from the many we visited.
Diner was at Primas . Awesome. Lived up to the expectations. Had lobster diablo. It was very cool when the owner rode up on his FAT BOY Harley Davidson.
On the walk back to PLG we noticed Carlos and Charlies was absolutely crazy. My wife and I stopped by for a beer to say we did, and then walked our mid-thirties butts to bed. Funny how it seems like yesterday, I would've been there till they closed. Now, I look at the partiers and ask my wife to "please tell me I didn't do that back then". She says I was worse. No way.
Day 4- Boat Diving. Yes! My first boat dive ever, and it will be Palancar Deep. Second dive was Las Palmas. If you told me the visibility was infinity, I might believe you. Yes, it was on a "cattle-boat" (as all our dives were) but I loved it. Met some great people on those boats. DM's were Luis and Jaime. They fit my style well. Rowdy, but in a good way. They really took care of buisiness. Their "sailors" were fast at changing your tanks, giving you a hand, etc. If you dive with Dive Paradise, I hope you get one of these two amigos.
Dinner was t La Veranda and it was my favorite place on the trip, which is saying a lot since we went to some great places. A young blonde guy from Norway plays guitar there. He is backbacking and enjoying life right now. He is an incredible guitarists, and my standards are pretty high. When he busted out with "Amazing Grace" which holds many Military and Law Enforcement memories for me, I was "Amazed". Please tip him well if you see him. Mention Amazing Grace and he'll remember me. This place has a beautiful dining area in the back that you can't see from the street.
Day 5- Dive 1- Palancar horseshoe. Videographer hung out with us today and made a very cool video. Had to buy it because I was in it. But really, it was great. Dive 2 was Villa Banca. Wont go into too many details because every dive on the trip was awesome. Lots of jellyfish. I've never seen so many, and I was stationed in Hawaii. Afternoon dive was at Villa Blanca (again).
Dinner was at La Cocay. Had a couple Merlots and filets. Awesome! Eat here.
Day 6- Dive 1 Wreck Dive (also a first). Very cool. Awesome to see its mass just appear out of nowhere. Very easy swimthroughs, however a lot of current, so having gloves was nice.Dive 2 was Yucab. Saw a nice Ray.
Thought lunch was important because it was at Rock'N Java and the tortilla soup was the best I had in Coz, and very good tuna sandwich. Afternoon dive was at Las Palmas. A grouper wouldn't leave us alone as he wanted to hang out and eat our bubbles.
Dinner was at El Moro . The friendliest place we ate on the island. Took a cab there, and walked back against others advice. As we walked through "the hood" a bunch of youngsters were playing in the street. They kind of stopped as we walked by, and behind us we heard one of the kids say loudly "!Gringos en la barrio!". Oh, it was a good time for all!
Day 7- Dive 1- Santa Rosa Wall. Nice Swimthroughs. Dive 2- Tormentos. Very colorful Reef. Took afternoon dive off to off-gas for Night Dive tonight. Night Dive was at Paradise. Lots of Lobster, Octopus, Morays.
Dinner was at Restaurant at Costa Brava. (Costa Brava Restaurant?). Great Salsa. Great Service. This place should get more recognition.
Day 8- Dive 1- Palancar Gardens. My favorite dive spot. Beautiful. Dive2- Yucab Reef. Great Color. Afternoon Dive- Paradise Reef (my least favorite dive spot, but better than anything in Northern California).
Dinner was at La Choza. Shrimp kebob. Nice. After dinner we went to the Plaza area for the sunday night town gathering. I recommend not missing this because it is fun.
Note: I noticed hardly any, if any at all, cruise ships on Fri- Sun. The town changes when there are no cruise ships. People smile at you more, they seem friendlier. It is more fun, more jovial, more town-like.
Day 9- No dives today. Rented Jeep to cruise around island, which is a must. I thought twice about the jeep rental, but since he had a "one day only special for gringos, since it is Monday, and 10 am, and it is a white jeep". How could I pass that up? I must be the ONLY person on the island that got THAT sweet deal. Visited the following, which I strongly recommend: Mr. Sanchos, Rastas, Playa Bonita (nice!), Chen Rio, Coconuts (check out the photo albums. Guys, CHECK OUT THE PHOTO ALBUMS!), and then Mezcalitos. After returning to PLG, we watched one last sun set into the ocean from under a palapa. After which, began a reluctant mental transition back to regular life.
Thank you for reading, if you made it this far...
Sharkman
:guitar:
