Trip Report A week with Aldora

[macado]

Nice Report. You basically described my favorite Cozumel trips. Staying at Casa Mexicana, quickly eating breakfast and diving with Aldora. It's about as easy as it gets.

I have only seen a Hammerhead once in Cozumel. There was one hanging around last winter but I kept missing it!

I don't think that the "Aldora pier" is actually owned by Aldora, but at any rate, I believe the question was about the piers at Playa Palancar and Money Bar.

Actually - Aldora now loads from what was the Aqua Safari pier more or less across from Casa Mexicana. From my understanding Dave Dillehay did build the original municipal dive pier (not to be confused with the Aqua Safari pier) but was forced to sell it. Some people still refer to that pier as the Aldora pier or the municipal dive pier.

Ironically the old "Aldora pier" is in a bad state of disrepair. The fingers on the end have been damaged from Nortes and it doesn't appear Ultramar is maintaining it very well. The concrete is crumbling and there are several broken sections with exposed rebar.

For the record:

The pier was built by me in 1998 and I had a plaque on the street naming it as the Aldora Pier. Getting the concession and permission to build it ran into quite a bit of public resistance, and of course that was in the local news. So, most all locals know it as the "Aldora Pier".

In 2004, as a gringo with little clout, I was forced (politically) to sell it to Ultramar/Aquaworld. I did get my cost of construction back but hated letting it go. However, Aldora did retain a permanent right to use the pier for our boats. Others use the pier now under contract with Ultramar.


Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers