"Picnic Area"....Spam....Miracle Whip....Wonder Bread....RC Cola....God, how did I survive the fifties....
"Coz on a budget" Trip Report - Feb. 2009
- Thread starter rainmaker
- Start date
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matthewjen
Contributor
I love RC cola
firstdive2005
Contributor
Nice pics and vid. I love following the eels as they hunt also. Might have to leave my wife at home to see what it's like to live that cheap. That's what it cost me to leave her alone a day while I dive. lol.
You said you didnt need to tip the dinner bill, what about the dive boat/dmaster?
You said you didnt need to tip the dinner bill, what about the dive boat/dmaster?
Martha
Contributor
Great trip report! Thanks for sharing.
Spam wasn't allowed in our house when I was growing up. My dad was on a bomber crew in WWII, and he got stuck on one of those "slow boats" home at the end of the war where everyone was seasick for many, many days and the meals were spam, spam, spam, spam...
OP
rainmaker
Contributor
Thanks for the kind words concerning the pics and video. I was surprised that the sharp tailed eel was totally oblivious to me, even though I was only about 18 inches away and following it around with a camera.
Tipping was expected for the boat captain and divemaster, and also for housekeeping services at the hotel, but I forgot to list this in "overall costs" and now the "edit" feature is no longer available.
So, I'll amend the original post to say that the overall cost was about $1,575, which includes tips and also the gas for driving round-trip from my home in Georgia to the airport in Charlotte, NC. I think that's everything.
firstdive2005
Contributor
My VR3 cost more than that, that's funny. Still I cant believe how little money you spent. When I was walking around with my wife and looking at the less expensive(not a slight on the business) facilities I said to my wife that it would be neat to try these out so it doesnt cost so much....... She said she would visit me.
firstdive2005
Contributor
Rainmaker- The pier debris out in front of the ray net must be full of life now. The last time I was there, 2 years ago, the sea fans where just starting to come back. Also it nice to see the sea horses back. They have taken up all over again.
rainmaker-
Could you elaborate a little more on the shore diving? Where all did you go for your 30 shore dives? At those depths your bottom time would have been awesome. How far did you end up from your entry points?
-Brad
OP
rainmaker
Contributor
All the shore-dives were made on the area of reef, rocks and rubble between Blue Angel Resort (formerly Caribe Blu Hotel) and Villablanca Hotel. The distance between the two hotels is probably .3 - .4 miles.
For all dives, I made my entry at Blue Angel and went south toward Villablanca. When the current was cooperating, my favorite thing to do was to make 2 or 3 dives into the current going from Blue Angel toward Villablanca, then reverse course and make 1 or 2 dives with the current, ending my dives back at my starting point at Blue Angel. The current usually is mild-to-moderate and nearly always runs south to north (from Villablanca toward Blue Angel).
At those shallow depths, I could usually get about 100 minutes from a single AL-80 tank. However, instead of making 1 long dive, I preferred to make several shorter dives. These were pretty laid-back, slow moving, take-your-time, "macro" dives. The object wasn't so much to see one big thing like a shark or ray, but to see and appreciate all the smaller critters.
There's a nice beach between the two hotels that can be used for surface intervals. It is fun to bask in the sun, rest, watch the dive boats and cruise ships go by and watch the jets land.
If you don't want to start your dive into the current, you could suit-up at Blue Angel, then take a taxi with all your gear to the piers and small shore-entry area near Villablanca, then dive with the current back to Blue Angel. However, I'd check to make sure the current is running south to north before doing this.
Underwater navigation back to Blue Angel from Villablanca is pretty simple. If you stay at a depth of 18 - 20 feet and keep the reef to your right, you cannot miss the sting-ray pen that is next to Blue Angel. All you need to do is get past the pen, take a sharp right, and when the depth gets down to about 8 feet, you'll be directly in front of the dive shop.
Hope this helps.
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