Trip Report Coco View Resort trip report the week of July 17th.

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arubabob1

Contributor
Messages
260
Reaction score
128
Location
Aruba
# of dives
1000 - 2499
So my Daughter, Kyra 28 and Me, 57 Love to dive and snorkel. I have a snorkel business in Aruba. Aruba Bob Snorkeling, so that gave us the opportunity to do a lot of diving in our time. Kyra is over 600 dives and I am over 1,000. So most of those dives were in Aruba, Then next comes Curacao and Bonaire, since they are a 15 min plane ride from Aruba. Bonaire is 30 min. Then we did a 2 week trip to Maldives. 2 weeks in Grand Cayman. 2 weeks in Cozumel. And now a week in Roatan at Coco View Resort. This forum has really helped us choose this trip. If my Wife, a non diver would have come this trip. we probably would have picked a resort with a pool and a beach. But this place is perfect for divers. Several months ago, when we decided to come here, I checked at the office and they only had the 2 bedroom house, Coco Casa, available for this week. Otherwise the place was booked for July and Aug. Kyra is on summer break for Nursing, so this is when we had to come. So far, we hit the nail on the head. They were at the airport with a sign. They load your bags and drive you to the spot, where you jump on a smaller boat and maybe 10 to 12 minutes, you get to the real small Island. So now you really feel safe, because you are on your own private Island. And these guys have it all figured out. Everything is set up so nice. It takes all the work out of diving. So we are only in to the first couple days of our trip. But the food has been fantastic! The people are fantastic. The grounds are fantastic, We are Loving the 2 bedroom, 2 bath, full kitchen, screened in porch, deck around the house on stilts. Ocean is about 20 steps away. They have bikes so you can ride to the main area in 2 or 3 minutes. Or you can walk it in 10 min. This house would really be nice for 2 couples or a family of 4. I went on a early morning bike ride and when I came back, a security police officer, with a gun, came walking from our house area. He was just walking around for security. So far, its a very safe place to be, And the 2 dives today, was fantastic. Out of all our dives we have ever done, the structure, coral, fans, colors, are the best I have ever seen. So far, it just lacks alot of fish. In the deeper waters, you just don't see many fish, But so far, sea horses on every dive. I have only seen 2 in my life over the 1,000 plus dives. Then when you get to the shallow area for the safety stop, then you do see more tropical fish. Out of 3 dives, I seen 1 parrot fish today. In Aruba, we see toms of parrot fish. But I am not complaining. I am just stating the facts. And our week is just getting started, so I can reply back with some more info, as we get more dives in. As far as the 3 square meals a day, we don't drink. so you get free coffee, lemonade, water and fruit punch free. So we are all set. But it is a xtra cost for soft drinks and alcohol. But I can't tell you on the prices, because we haven't used that service. The plane ride was 2 hours from Miami and they are 2 hours before our time at home. Eastern Standard time. So its very easy to get here and we will chime back in later in our trip. We did sign up for the Shark dive. They only go 1 morning this week. So its on Wed. The dive boats are very compfy and have great captains and dive masters. You are assigned to the same boat for the week. That's nice, because you get to know everyone on the boat pretty well. Sorry to ramble on, but so far, so good!!!!! Aruba Bob & Kyra.
 
Glad you're having fun!

Funny that you've only seen one parrotfish; when I was there last month, I couldn't get the parrotfish to stop and pose for a picture, they were too busy munching on coral!

Assuming you read this while you're still at CocoView: Spend some time exploring the front yard--the coral heads and rubble near the Prince Albert, but away from the bulk of the divers at the P.A. itself.

Looking forward to more from you later!
 
Generally you won't see many huge schools of fish, although they do show up at Mary's Place. Last trip there were so many fish there we passed on doing the swim through and hung outside with the guide, watching them.
An hour before sunset, a dive along the coral heads on the CCV side of channel will reveal many cleaning stations in use. The night diving can be good, as long was the blood worms aren't out and about.
Enjoy the rest of your stay!
 
Glad you made it and hope you guys have a great time. You mentioned their time compared to your's...I'll add that they don't do daylight savings time, so when comparing to regional U.S. time zones, something to know based on your season.
The plane ride was 2 hours from Miami and they are 2 hours before our time at home. Eastern Standard time.

Richard.
 
2 dives? I hope that was just before lunch. I recommend you stay off he internet until you go home and focus on getting that dive count up! Have fun. Some dives have more fishlife than others. Menagerie is usually pretty fishy and watch out for squid at Calvin's Crack in the shallows (and, of course, the toad fish).
 
The "fishiest" dives I have done at CoCo View include 40 Foot Point (out in the blue away from the wall) and the top of Newman's Wall (only if comfortable with shsllow surge). Hope that you have a chance to hit one of those.
 
I was there and it was Sunny on Thursday.

The point: Observations are quite tied to the moment they were made. Everything changes.

I’ve spent maybe 400± days of diving at Coco View. Fish come and go, they will do what they will.

Weather and visibility changes, often by the minute.

Dive #2 and #4 from the boats are the “drop off” dives. Some trip reports fret that “they are always the same”. This is a great example of perceptions. Observational qualitative perceptions change over the years with increased experience base. You look at more stuff…you see more stuff.

When there are such negative comments, it is often suggested…”change your depth”. Something as simple as that can alter an entire dive.

For several months, there was reported a huge fish ball that was in the Channel, right next to the Prince Albert Wreck Shore Dive. The day we arrived for a two week stay, we did the shore dive. There was that fish ball. Just spectacular. We never saw it again, no one did, it just moved on.

Over the last few years, a female Hammerhead has been in that same spot, right there on the shore dive access.

Point is- you can’t see fish balls nor Hammerheads…certainly not if you’re sitting in the bar. Hell, even if you’re diving, you might not see it, unless you happen to glance “that way”.

Keep diving, you will “see it all”. CoCoView is an easy way to increase those odds.

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. And these guys have it all figured out. Everything is set up so nice. It takes all the work out of diving.

I toll’ya :wink:
 
Well I could stay off the internet until I go home, but when you get up at 4 am, what else are you suppose to do?

We did the shark dive today and it was one of my best dives in over 1,000 dives. The boat ride home was pretty choppy. But the Sharks and big groupers were amazing. We only had 8 in our group and they normally take 16, so that was really nice. And for some reason, this week, all the other boats are full, but our boat has had my daughter and I and another family of 4. So we are having a blast. My daughter hunts lionfish and has been getting about 15 every dive. She has shot over 4,000 in the past 7 years, so she pretty well nails everyone. Each dive sight is different and I do see more parrot fish on our safety stops. See manta rays everyday. Sometimes 4 or 5 a dive. See big groupers on every dive. My Daughter has a few bug bites, but I haven't noticed anything. She puts spray on, and I never have. I guys I am not sweet enough. The diving is still Amazing, and I am so glad we picked this resort. Everyone is so laid back and it is really nice. You can knock yourself out, or you can chill. Tomorrow is the covid testing so you know what that means. A few more days and then we are out of here. Water temp is 85 at 80 feet deep. That's really nice. One thing I did this trip for the first time. I brought one of these boot dryers. They are sweet. I have a heavier pair of dive boots for like Bonaire shore diving. Its really hard to dry them out good. I even put my lighter high top booties on the dryer. Everything is bone dry in several hours. You put them out in the sun to dry and you get a soaker. Its hard to start with dry boots or booties. They are plastic, so they don't weigh much. They just plug into a outlet. The food is still really good here and they do a great job of mixing it up. I would never want to stay anywhere else when I come back to Roatan. The camera guy here is great help if you have questions on setting your camera. He really takes great pictures. I will report back in a few days when the trip is over. AB
 
Sounds good. Were they all Caribbean reef sharks, or did you see any nurse sharks or other species? Any idea what species the big grouper were?

Richard.
 
Definitely going to have to try the cocoview :) Also love those boot driers, bulky to bring but starting the dive in Dry Boots is worth it :wink:
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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