Campana
Guest
After a night with my inebriated mother in law and sisters in law, we retired to Casa Del Mar to see if 260# me and 120# Michele could find happiness in a bed a little wider than a twin. I did find that leaving one arm on the nightstand really helped, but Michele got us moved to a King the next night and I thought it was good to sleep like sardines once a year--you really appreciate a king after that.
Bob banged on my door at 7:45 and told me the boat was leaving in 15, and we hadn't even signed up to go yet. Felt like I was in the flower gardens again. Grabbing a handful of those little granola bars, I said "no problem, let's get money and coffee and haul it". We made it across the street with minutes to spare, and headed out to Santa Rosa Wall, diving with Del Mar, the DM was Carlos, a very Jesus looking guy who was a serious and excellent DM. We were in the water at 8:53, dived 67' for 43 minutes. Bob was now in my .5 mm and I was in my shorts and t-shirt in the 83 degree water, and felt fine the whole dive. Santa Rosa is a big wall, with lots of color. We had Cesar Medina, the videographer with us, and he is one cool individual. He just uses his power and his old style Scubapro Jets to take him anywhere he wants to go. Bob got down just fine, and enjoyed the swim throughs, the sponges and critters on the wall, and seemed to be getting more and more comfy. He was overweighted, and did the fin and sink for much of the dive. He has almost quit waving his arms around, though. The current was very, very light, and the dive was easy and relaxing. After a few moments at the not very deep depth for Santa Rosa, we eased through a few swim throughs, and emerged on the upper part of the reef for a while. The hoovers in the group went on up, and we cruised a bit after that, and went up for our 50' surface break.
We proceeded on to Paradise, once the standard second dive and still very popular. We saw toadfish, ocean triggers, lots of grunts, one little drum (Hello Dee) and an eel. The coolest thing on that dive was the seahorse, a crafty little guy that was clinging to a weed which was his exact color. Carlos was very happy and excited about it, DM's down there always try to find Seahorses and the divers really love them. I think Carlos and Cesar worked very hard.
Later, Bob and I rode the very modern and fast ferry over to Playa Del Carmen, where we met our wives at Senor Frogs where I had a water. Bob and Kathy took off to join the drunken family and head back to the cruise ship where they would ride home to Texas. Michele and I rode the ferry back over and went to dinner, and then back to the Casa Del Mar for the very enjoyable king sized bed. Our room was ground floor, and she walked about 50' to the pool where she could read and sun. I thought it was getting cloudy, and felt it might rain. I called Living Underwater and talked to Jeremy, who said he would meet me the next morning at 8:15 on the Del Mar dock. But, as you know, it was not to be........
A word on transportation for those who haven't been to Cozumel. A cab from Casa Del Mar, probably 3 miles from downtown, is around $4 or 40 pesos. From Reef Club, it's close to $14, I hear. The best policy is to find out the fare at the hotel, and then hand them the correct amount plus tip, rather than ask the cabbie. Many of them might tack on a surcharge for your ignorance. You can rent cars at the usualy rates, or rent a scooter, which I would not do. The cabbies only feel a need to miss the scooters about 1 1/2", even if they have a family of four aboard the scooter (I'm not kidding). I'm very comfortable on Motorcycles, having put 50,000 miles on my Harley, but I don't ride scooters on rough streets with Mexican cabbies about. I'm stupid, but I'm not dumb. The little wheels aren't big enough, that's it.
The ferry from Coz-Playa leaves at 6,7,8,9,10 am, and 12,2,4,6,8,9,10,11 pm (I think that's right). It costs $9.50 one way, and is a very modern, fast, air conditioned conveyance. You actually check any luggage you bring. Drinks are available on board, and there are promotional videos running on the TV. It's actually quite restful and takes around 40 minutes.
Next, Day three, aka "Dave's day off
Bob banged on my door at 7:45 and told me the boat was leaving in 15, and we hadn't even signed up to go yet. Felt like I was in the flower gardens again. Grabbing a handful of those little granola bars, I said "no problem, let's get money and coffee and haul it". We made it across the street with minutes to spare, and headed out to Santa Rosa Wall, diving with Del Mar, the DM was Carlos, a very Jesus looking guy who was a serious and excellent DM. We were in the water at 8:53, dived 67' for 43 minutes. Bob was now in my .5 mm and I was in my shorts and t-shirt in the 83 degree water, and felt fine the whole dive. Santa Rosa is a big wall, with lots of color. We had Cesar Medina, the videographer with us, and he is one cool individual. He just uses his power and his old style Scubapro Jets to take him anywhere he wants to go. Bob got down just fine, and enjoyed the swim throughs, the sponges and critters on the wall, and seemed to be getting more and more comfy. He was overweighted, and did the fin and sink for much of the dive. He has almost quit waving his arms around, though. The current was very, very light, and the dive was easy and relaxing. After a few moments at the not very deep depth for Santa Rosa, we eased through a few swim throughs, and emerged on the upper part of the reef for a while. The hoovers in the group went on up, and we cruised a bit after that, and went up for our 50' surface break.
We proceeded on to Paradise, once the standard second dive and still very popular. We saw toadfish, ocean triggers, lots of grunts, one little drum (Hello Dee) and an eel. The coolest thing on that dive was the seahorse, a crafty little guy that was clinging to a weed which was his exact color. Carlos was very happy and excited about it, DM's down there always try to find Seahorses and the divers really love them. I think Carlos and Cesar worked very hard.
Later, Bob and I rode the very modern and fast ferry over to Playa Del Carmen, where we met our wives at Senor Frogs where I had a water. Bob and Kathy took off to join the drunken family and head back to the cruise ship where they would ride home to Texas. Michele and I rode the ferry back over and went to dinner, and then back to the Casa Del Mar for the very enjoyable king sized bed. Our room was ground floor, and she walked about 50' to the pool where she could read and sun. I thought it was getting cloudy, and felt it might rain. I called Living Underwater and talked to Jeremy, who said he would meet me the next morning at 8:15 on the Del Mar dock. But, as you know, it was not to be........
A word on transportation for those who haven't been to Cozumel. A cab from Casa Del Mar, probably 3 miles from downtown, is around $4 or 40 pesos. From Reef Club, it's close to $14, I hear. The best policy is to find out the fare at the hotel, and then hand them the correct amount plus tip, rather than ask the cabbie. Many of them might tack on a surcharge for your ignorance. You can rent cars at the usualy rates, or rent a scooter, which I would not do. The cabbies only feel a need to miss the scooters about 1 1/2", even if they have a family of four aboard the scooter (I'm not kidding). I'm very comfortable on Motorcycles, having put 50,000 miles on my Harley, but I don't ride scooters on rough streets with Mexican cabbies about. I'm stupid, but I'm not dumb. The little wheels aren't big enough, that's it.
The ferry from Coz-Playa leaves at 6,7,8,9,10 am, and 12,2,4,6,8,9,10,11 pm (I think that's right). It costs $9.50 one way, and is a very modern, fast, air conditioned conveyance. You actually check any luggage you bring. Drinks are available on board, and there are promotional videos running on the TV. It's actually quite restful and takes around 40 minutes.
Next, Day three, aka "Dave's day off
