Trip Report Cozumel- December 20-31, 2020

[ducatiwv]

Nobody paid any attention to my kit (two Sony A6000's, 1 housing, couple of extra lenses and 1 strobe)

Thats Great to hear, I really want to have enough gear, since I m not sure when I can afford to go back

 

[tarponchik]

Thats Great to hear, I really want to have enough gear, since I m not sure when I can afford to go back

Of note, I spread my kit between 2 bags, one of the cameras, the lenses and the chargers in one bag, the rest of the stuff in another.

 

[Trailboss123]

Day 7, Dec. 27th: Well, I got out for my 2 morning dives with Tres Pelicanos. I can see why they have such a solid reputation here on the board. I walked a block and a half around the corner from Casa Mexicana and showed up at the shop at 7:40am and we were on our way shortly thereafter via pickup down to the marina. We had a nice little International group of 5 divers: Canadian, British, Austrian, German and me. We had some serious discussion about diving Maracaibo for our first dive, but since the Austrian and German couple had just arrived the day before and it was going to be their first dive of the trip and first dive after a bit of a layoff, I suggested it might be better to do one of the Palancar sites instead and let them get acclimated a bit. That was a good decision… We dived Palancar Bricks. There was a bit of an upwelling and the water temp dropped a couple of degrees down to 78. It was a great and relaxed dive, but visibility dropped down to about 40 feet and a tad cloudy.

The 2nd dive was at Punta Tunich and WOW! Currents were moving briskly, and the water was clear and 2 degrees warmer. Three spotted eagle ray sightings (2 of them quite lengthy) and two sleeping nurse sharks. A few turtles and all of the other usual suspects. Excellent dive.

We made our way back to the marina and took the same pickup back downtown to the shop for drop off. It was an enjoyable morning with 3P’s on the Skinny Shark.

I walked a couple of blocks with all of my gear to Casa Cuzamil and settled in for lunch and 45 minutes of NFL ticket football watching before walking back down to the Aldora Pier and hooking back up with my wife and our Blue XT Sea boat and crew for our afternoon dives. We cruised back south to Palancar Caves. Did some lengthy swim-throughs and ran into various turtles and a 6-foot green moray out free swimming with us for a bit of time.

Everyone was wanting to get back closer to town and finish up the second dive sooner, rather than later, so we spent the surface interval cruising back north slowly and decided to dive Paradise Reef. It was a great choice. We had it to ourselves and it was basically a twilight dive. Just perfect! Crabs and eels galore! Juvenile drum fish, scorpionfish….

Was a great day of diving. We got back in time for a quick shower and back down to Casa Cuzamil for dinner and to watch the 4th quarter and my Seattle Seahawks get the win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Day 8, Dec. 28th: Two morning dives today. We went to Palancar Bricks for dive 1. I had done it yesterday with 3P’s, but my wife and the others with us today had yet to dive it this trip. Visibility was a bit better than yesterday and the water was warmer also. The Palancar dives can be done with so much variety that even the same site and drop can end up being a completely different dive. Such was the case today. We zigged today, where we zagged yesterday, and it was a completely different dive. It was a super relaxing dive. We had a couple of brand-new divers with us on the boat (one from N. Carolina and one from Minnesota). They were a joy to be with. Infectious enthusiasm, wide eyed, don’t know what they don’t know yet and very competent.

Dive 2 this morning was at San Francisco Wall. I love that dive site. We had 3 Spotted Eagle Ray encounters, also some cool and large Balloon Fish that reminded me of Bonaire. We had a moderate speed drift. It was a fun morning. As I write this, Mrs. Trailboss is getting a 90-minute private massage in our hotel room for $40. Someone that came recommended off of the Cozumel 4 you Facebook site. I will have to follow up and let you know how that went.

 

[Trailboss123]

Various pics from the trip:

 

[Trailboss123]

Love that black eyeball!

 

[Trailboss123]

Nurse Shark

 

[Trailboss123]

I forgot to mention that I finally had the pleasure of meeting @flyboy08
Our paths have crossed a few times over the last few years in different locales, but we have never had the opportunity to connect face to face.

It was great to meet him and his lovely wife a few nights ago, even if ever so briefly.

 

[morecowbells]

Came back and had dinner at one of our new favorite restaurants on the island (Bombay Delights). Excellent Indian food and currently the only Indian food option on the island after the closing of Bindiya. It was a nice break from Mexican fare and a good Xmas day option, since a lot of other places were closed for the day anyway. Bombay Delights is owned and operated by Indians from the Bombay area. .

Awesome report and a pleasure to read! I love Indian food, so thanks for the tip on the Indian food. One of my favorites

 

[flyboy08]

Missed the Indian cuisine, but got to meet TB...next time on the island we’ll be sure to hit it up...I love Indian food much more than it loves me....I lived and taught in India, so I know....

enjoy the remainder of your trip! We’re decompressing in Puerto Morales for a few days prior to heading back to the Big Apple.

 

[scubadada]

Love that black eyeball!
View attachment 633167

Beautiful Smooth Trunkfish