Diver Kat
Contributor
Alan & I zipped off on the Friday afternoon Funjet flight direct Austin to Cozumel we were a bit late getting in, so upon landing, tried to dodge the Timeshare guys, jumped into our transfer van and headed out to Villablanca Hotel. Nancy was already gone for the day, so we checked in, dumped our gear and decided to head out for a bite. Ended up at Panchos Backyard and had a terrific dinner. (Pretty much all our dinners including some specific menu items - were chosen from all the great recommendations everyone has made on the board recently thanks a million guys!!) Next morning, bright & early, we headed around the corner to Papa Hoggs to check in and setup our dives for the week. Margaret was off, but Mike was there. He quickly took care of our paperwork and payment, so we grabbed a quick for breakfast at the Hoggtown Café, before crossing the street to the dock to get our boat & DM assignment. With regard to Papa Hoggs I can say we had absolutely no complaints. Mike & Margaret run a well-organized, safe operation and gear everything around what you want to do. Each day we were asked where we wanted to dive and grouped with others of similar experience. The boats are small but fast, the DMs and captains are all attentive, but Carlos was by far our favorite DM. We had him 3 of our 5 days and he quickly developed a sense of when we needed some guidance, and when to let us roam. Papa Hoggs even let us store our gear at no extra cost, as well as reserved Aluminum 100s for Alan to use diving at no additional cost a big savings over some other dive op quotes. Heres a quick rundown of the weeks dives:
Day 1 - we decided to take it easy and do a couple of get comfortable dives so we went to Chacanaub Reef and Paradise Reef. Carlos was DM. Saw a Splendid Toad Fish, and some Goatfish along with the usual lobsters, 4-eyes, Angels, grunts, etc.
Day 2 Palancar Horseshoe & Las Palmas Reef. DM was Gabriel. The Horseshoe was absolutely spectacular with swim-thrus, towering coral heads and lots of small fish. At Las Palmas there were lots of large jacks that would nibble on divers tanks & BCs as they followed them. Also saw a lovely bright orange seahorse.
Day 3 Santa Rosa Wall & Tormentos Reef. DM Carlos. Both nice dives, saw some tremendously huge lobsters on Tormentos, as well as good fish variety.
Day 4 Columbia Reef & Yucab Reef. DM Carlos had the boat & DM to ourselves this day. At Columbia we saw a very tiny frogfish as well as a very large grouper. The swim-thrus and the caves were beautiful. At Yucab we saw numerous Barracuda, several spotted moray eels (one quite large) as well as tons of Queen Angelfish.
Day 5 Palancar Horseshoe & Punta Tunish. DM Giovanni. We loved Palancar Horseshoe so much the 1st time, we decided to go back, but actually started out at a different section of the Horseshoe and ended up in Palancar Gardens at the end. The Horseshoe was again great, and at Punta Tunish we had our first dive with a decent current. Currents had been running very mild all week. We actually ended the dive running into a whirlpool during our safety stop, and started to get pulled down until we realized what was going on and compensated. This was also the first time we ran into jellyfish (in the whirlpool) and everyone got a few stings here & there. It was a rather interesting occurrence, and when we all surfaced, you could actually see the water spinning on the surface. All in all a wonderful week of diving Papa Hoggs was everything we were looking for in an dive operator ..
VillaBlanca Hotel: Nancy was terrific! We had a great time hanging around the pool in the afternoons with her. We had a superior room, and I would stay there again in a second - but it is NOT a luxury hotel. The rooms are clean but basic. The bed was decent but not soft - but after hearing that all the beds in Mexico were very hard - I was happy. There were 2 sets of shelves along with a hanging rod for clothes - no dressers. A ceiling fan that on high could blow you over (we kept it on low) and good bright light fixtures (there have been some comments about some hotels using very dim bulbs.) The frig was actually fairly large - took a while to get fairly cold, but not super cold. The 5 gal. purified water bottle with a pump top was fine. The floors of the entire room & bathroom are some form of marble or polished stone, slippery in the humidity but fine as long as youre careful. The shower was a trip - a whole bunch of knobs - never quite sure what was what - but eventually the water got hot. Water pressure was so-so but I know us Americans are spoiled. No shower curtains so water kind of splashed out, but no big deal. The water is somewhat discolored and they advise you to use the purified water to brush your teeth, etc. Nancy runs the poolside snack bar, and Fabian normally cooks (he's a sweetheart!). The tacos and fajitas were good - we didn't try the burgers.
Restaurants & misc: Friday night - Panchos Backyard. Alan had the Mex. Combo, I had the stuffed chicken, both were excellent. Saturday night El Moros Shrimp on a Wire was everything everyone had said on the boards to die for, and Ray (I assume the owner) was terrific. Alan had the chicken with plantains & potatoes, was very nice. Sunday night The French Quarter Alan had the Jambalaya, I had a Wahoo w/crawfish special excellent! Monday night we walked down to Ernestos (near El Cid La Ceiba) and had some very nice fajitas. Nice little spot to watch the sunset and the boats come in and clean up for the night. Tuesday the BIG Anniversary night of course we had to go to La Cocay. The food was WONDERFUL, and not near as pricey as we had expected. ($15-$20+ for entrees.) I had a Salmon sashimi appetizer with a salmon/scallops/squid/mussel dish cooked in a basil broth and Alan had a chicken entrée that was a take-off on Chicken Cordon Bleu that was delicious. For dessert we had ordered their house specialty a kind of Chocolate soufflé - it was a perfect finish to a lovely meal. Wednesday night we took some of our new dive friends out to El Moro we liked it so much and Ray was very happy to see us again. The Garlic shrimp was very nice and Alan had the Mole which was good but no match for Thursday night . After dinner we went to Rileys Tavern a tiny barebones place a few blocks off the Plaza appears to be a local divers hangout. Its apparently new since even the taxi driver was unfamiliar with it. Got the info from an instructor at Papa Hoggs, so we stopped by after dinner at El Moro to have a few beers ended up playing a crazy dice game and winning 70 pesos! Then on to Senor Frogs for a few hours of craziness, and finally back to VB to crash thank god no diving in the morning for us!! Thursday we did the obligatory rent a car and drive around the west side of the island. Lost the car keys at Punta Moreno swimming but luckily, some kids showed up and found them in the water. Got back on the road and headed down to Chen Rio for some lunch. Alan actually ate grouper sautéed in garlic for lunch was quite nice. Finished the drive around the southern end, then headed back to VB for the afternoon siesta . Thursday night our final night we hemmed and hawed and finally decided to go back to Ponchos. It was even better then the first night. I had the lobster Gazpacho & Alan had the Cilantro soup for starters. Both were delicious. For entrees he had the chicken Mole (the best hes ever had!!) and I had the stuffed (with nuts & plantains) poblanos - very, very good!! (also managed to do all our gift shopping at Cinco de Sole the store Panchos is attached to great silver sale going on
Friday get up, pack up and head out to the airport for the uneventful (but sad!!) flight home .. Cant wait to go back!! Thanks to all for the various input on Dive Ops, Restaurants & other misc.
Day 1 - we decided to take it easy and do a couple of get comfortable dives so we went to Chacanaub Reef and Paradise Reef. Carlos was DM. Saw a Splendid Toad Fish, and some Goatfish along with the usual lobsters, 4-eyes, Angels, grunts, etc.
Day 2 Palancar Horseshoe & Las Palmas Reef. DM was Gabriel. The Horseshoe was absolutely spectacular with swim-thrus, towering coral heads and lots of small fish. At Las Palmas there were lots of large jacks that would nibble on divers tanks & BCs as they followed them. Also saw a lovely bright orange seahorse.
Day 3 Santa Rosa Wall & Tormentos Reef. DM Carlos. Both nice dives, saw some tremendously huge lobsters on Tormentos, as well as good fish variety.
Day 4 Columbia Reef & Yucab Reef. DM Carlos had the boat & DM to ourselves this day. At Columbia we saw a very tiny frogfish as well as a very large grouper. The swim-thrus and the caves were beautiful. At Yucab we saw numerous Barracuda, several spotted moray eels (one quite large) as well as tons of Queen Angelfish.
Day 5 Palancar Horseshoe & Punta Tunish. DM Giovanni. We loved Palancar Horseshoe so much the 1st time, we decided to go back, but actually started out at a different section of the Horseshoe and ended up in Palancar Gardens at the end. The Horseshoe was again great, and at Punta Tunish we had our first dive with a decent current. Currents had been running very mild all week. We actually ended the dive running into a whirlpool during our safety stop, and started to get pulled down until we realized what was going on and compensated. This was also the first time we ran into jellyfish (in the whirlpool) and everyone got a few stings here & there. It was a rather interesting occurrence, and when we all surfaced, you could actually see the water spinning on the surface. All in all a wonderful week of diving Papa Hoggs was everything we were looking for in an dive operator ..
VillaBlanca Hotel: Nancy was terrific! We had a great time hanging around the pool in the afternoons with her. We had a superior room, and I would stay there again in a second - but it is NOT a luxury hotel. The rooms are clean but basic. The bed was decent but not soft - but after hearing that all the beds in Mexico were very hard - I was happy. There were 2 sets of shelves along with a hanging rod for clothes - no dressers. A ceiling fan that on high could blow you over (we kept it on low) and good bright light fixtures (there have been some comments about some hotels using very dim bulbs.) The frig was actually fairly large - took a while to get fairly cold, but not super cold. The 5 gal. purified water bottle with a pump top was fine. The floors of the entire room & bathroom are some form of marble or polished stone, slippery in the humidity but fine as long as youre careful. The shower was a trip - a whole bunch of knobs - never quite sure what was what - but eventually the water got hot. Water pressure was so-so but I know us Americans are spoiled. No shower curtains so water kind of splashed out, but no big deal. The water is somewhat discolored and they advise you to use the purified water to brush your teeth, etc. Nancy runs the poolside snack bar, and Fabian normally cooks (he's a sweetheart!). The tacos and fajitas were good - we didn't try the burgers.
Restaurants & misc: Friday night - Panchos Backyard. Alan had the Mex. Combo, I had the stuffed chicken, both were excellent. Saturday night El Moros Shrimp on a Wire was everything everyone had said on the boards to die for, and Ray (I assume the owner) was terrific. Alan had the chicken with plantains & potatoes, was very nice. Sunday night The French Quarter Alan had the Jambalaya, I had a Wahoo w/crawfish special excellent! Monday night we walked down to Ernestos (near El Cid La Ceiba) and had some very nice fajitas. Nice little spot to watch the sunset and the boats come in and clean up for the night. Tuesday the BIG Anniversary night of course we had to go to La Cocay. The food was WONDERFUL, and not near as pricey as we had expected. ($15-$20+ for entrees.) I had a Salmon sashimi appetizer with a salmon/scallops/squid/mussel dish cooked in a basil broth and Alan had a chicken entrée that was a take-off on Chicken Cordon Bleu that was delicious. For dessert we had ordered their house specialty a kind of Chocolate soufflé - it was a perfect finish to a lovely meal. Wednesday night we took some of our new dive friends out to El Moro we liked it so much and Ray was very happy to see us again. The Garlic shrimp was very nice and Alan had the Mole which was good but no match for Thursday night . After dinner we went to Rileys Tavern a tiny barebones place a few blocks off the Plaza appears to be a local divers hangout. Its apparently new since even the taxi driver was unfamiliar with it. Got the info from an instructor at Papa Hoggs, so we stopped by after dinner at El Moro to have a few beers ended up playing a crazy dice game and winning 70 pesos! Then on to Senor Frogs for a few hours of craziness, and finally back to VB to crash thank god no diving in the morning for us!! Thursday we did the obligatory rent a car and drive around the west side of the island. Lost the car keys at Punta Moreno swimming but luckily, some kids showed up and found them in the water. Got back on the road and headed down to Chen Rio for some lunch. Alan actually ate grouper sautéed in garlic for lunch was quite nice. Finished the drive around the southern end, then headed back to VB for the afternoon siesta . Thursday night our final night we hemmed and hawed and finally decided to go back to Ponchos. It was even better then the first night. I had the lobster Gazpacho & Alan had the Cilantro soup for starters. Both were delicious. For entrees he had the chicken Mole (the best hes ever had!!) and I had the stuffed (with nuts & plantains) poblanos - very, very good!! (also managed to do all our gift shopping at Cinco de Sole the store Panchos is attached to great silver sale going on
Friday get up, pack up and head out to the airport for the uneventful (but sad!!) flight home .. Cant wait to go back!! Thanks to all for the various input on Dive Ops, Restaurants & other misc.
