Can anyone tell me what we saw?

[k46tank]

We just got back from Coz. and dove three days and one night with Liquid Blue and had a GREAT time. On one of the dives, at Palancar I believe, we saw a large, flat (15' x15' or bigger) concrete object in the sand. It looked almost like a large storm drain or some sort of access hatch. I forgot to ask Julio (our DM with Liquid Blue) what it was.

I'm sure it has been seen numerous times before, but it was quite strange looking. Can anyone tell me what it was?

 

[Tom Smedley]

There was a statue of Christ at Palancar that is now somewhere else. What you most likely saw was the base of that statue.

 

[DandyDon]

You found the tunnel to the other side of the island. I've heard it's cool. You didn't go in?



From one source, it was moved to Chankanaab Park.

One of the best dive sites in the Caribbean. The Horseshoe is a series of tightly packed giant coral heads forming a natural horseshoe rising 30 metres to the surface. Former home of the Christ statue (which now stands in Chankanaab Park), this is still Palancar's busiest deep dive. Remember to take a torch with you to pick out the true colours of the animals and corals.

From another...

This statue was donated by Jacques-Yves Cousteau to Cozumel.

 

[jlyle]

Do you mean this one?

 

[Sue Sue]

We just got back from Coz. and dove three days and one night with Liquid Blue and had a GREAT time. On one of the dives, at Palancar I believe, we saw a large, flat (15' x15' or bigger) concrete object in the sand. It looked almost like a large storm drain or some sort of access hatch. I forgot to ask Julio (our DM with Liquid Blue) what it was.

I'm sure it has been seen numerous times before, but it was quite strange looking. Can anyone tell me what it was?

Whatever you do, do not lift the concrete block. That is actually a plug put there by the Mexican government when the Marine Park was established. If it gets pulled up..watch out...all the water will empty out of the Palancar reef. If it isn't the foundation to the cross, it could be of course any debris from the storms perhaps. Just wondering, when was the cross lost?? Emily, Wilma or other??? Are there any pictures out there before or after? Sue

Addendum: Is the previous post an after picture?
Addendum-Addendum: Well if I would have read all of Don's post, I would have known that the cross was moved..sorry...however, are there any photos of the cross before or after the move?

 

[DandyDon]

Do you mean this one?

Didn't know they'd replaced it.

I'll be there Saturday. Thot about posting a "Bikini Models Wanted" thread, but I usually need a siesta between outings.

Update from http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/

North Atlantic Storm Advisories

There is no tropical storm activity for this region.

 

[k46tank]

You found the tunnel to the other side of the island. I've heard it's cool. You didn't go in?

I couldn't figure out the magic words, "Open Sesame" didn't work.


I had thought about the base to the cross, but this was much bigger, looked to be over 15 feet across. It was not like jlyle's photo, this was flush with the surface of the sand. I didn't dig around it to get any idea of thickness because we were cruising by in the current. It wasn't smooth, the surface had grooves of around 2" wide. Also, if I remember it was not completely square. I think at least two of the corners were "clipped". It did look like a big drain.

 

[Ravzie]

I think Locke and Hurley are down there...

 

[jlyle]

The statue of Christ at Palancar Horseshoe was removed to Chankanaab many years ago. The picture I took was after hurricane Wilma blew the sand away from the platform. It may be covered once again.

 

[humanphibian]

I am fairly certain that this used to be on the top tier in the above photo