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Cozumel Trip Report
We left for Cozumel Friday the 18th a tad worried since Cozumel had just been announced a disaster zone due to the flood that had occurred a few days earlier. When we got to the Island there was still some damage caused by the flood but for the most part everything was clear and most tourists didnt even know it had occurred. We arrived at our Hotel around 11:00 AM, checked in got our AI bracelets and our room number and went to get something to eat. We were staying at the Hotel Cozumel, formerly known as the Brisas Cozumel. We decided to stay at this hotel since we had stayed there last year and had enjoyed our stay. After relaxing for the rest of Friday we were going to do a few shore dives on Saturday, therefore we rented our tanks from the local dive operator (Dive Paradise) and headed towards the dock.
I was rushing to put on my wetsuit and get in the water since it was hot and while wrestling with my wetsuit my back locked up and suddenly I couldnt move. I sat down for a bit, then tried to stand up to no avail. I could not stand up straight. I figured that whatever it was would go away eventually, therefore I had my girlfriend throw my gear in the water and I just slipped it on while I was down there. We finished our shore dive about an hour later but I still couldnt stand up straight or carry anything therefore she had to pull all my gear out of the water. At this point my back had gotten worse and I was in a lot of pain. I really started worrying and decided to go into town to see a chiropractic but being Saturday everyone was closed. I started taking 600 MG of Advil and putting Ice on my back to try and reduce the pain and inflammation but I still could not walk. Sunday was just a few hours away and we were scheduled to go diving with Fernando from Mantaraya Divers www.mantaraya.com but obviously I could not go diving in this condition, my back was very swollen and I could barely walk.
I called Fernando and told him what had happened and he said that mostlikely I had a pinched nerve. I stated that I didnt want my girlfriend to miss out on diving just because of me and that if he could take care of her. Which he did, Fernando picked up my girlfriend the next day on the dock and took her on two wonderful dives where she saw (2) black tip reef sharks, (3) turtles and multiple eels.
Monday came along and I was still feeling terrible. I called Fernando to let him know that I was still having back problems and that my girlfiend and I would be going to the clinic to see a doctor. At this point Im thinking that my vacation is ruined and that I will not be able to dive, but After getting a shot and some muscle relaxers at the local clinic (Clinica San Miguel). I started feeling better and called Fernando to pick us up at the dock the following day. I still had some back pain and could not lift anything up but Fernando and his crew would help me by dropping my gear in the water for me on each dive.
I quickly went from a miserable vacation to a great vacation and did (2) dives the first day, next day we did another (2) dives and the last dive day Thursday we did another (2) dives which were excellent. By far the best dive was on Thursday at Columbia Reef where I was able to take this picture.
All in all I did 7 dives and my girlfriend did 9. We had a great time even though the first few days it seemed like our vacation was doomed.
Id like to thank Fernando from Mantaraya ( www.mantaraya.com ) divers for being so flexible and understanding, allowing us to cancel without any penalties. Most dive operators will charge you a fee if you dont cancel by a certain time, but Fernando understood that this was out of our control and did what he could to re-schedule us. Weve been diving with Mantaraya for 2 years now and just love it.
Places we ate:
La Choza Grill Very Good Food and inexpensive. Shrimp stuffed chili and Beef Fajita (dinner for two) was $25 + tip.
Sonora Grill Good food and moderately priced. Shrimp & Filet Mignon (dinner for two) was $40 + tip.
Pepes Grill Good food but expensive. Lobster Dinner, Steak and flaming bananas (dinner for two) was $80 + tip.
Hotel Cozumel AI food was not that good, but the one night we got to order from the Menu the food was very good. We had a Lobster dinner and a Filet Mignon for $35 + tip.
We left for Cozumel Friday the 18th a tad worried since Cozumel had just been announced a disaster zone due to the flood that had occurred a few days earlier. When we got to the Island there was still some damage caused by the flood but for the most part everything was clear and most tourists didnt even know it had occurred. We arrived at our Hotel around 11:00 AM, checked in got our AI bracelets and our room number and went to get something to eat. We were staying at the Hotel Cozumel, formerly known as the Brisas Cozumel. We decided to stay at this hotel since we had stayed there last year and had enjoyed our stay. After relaxing for the rest of Friday we were going to do a few shore dives on Saturday, therefore we rented our tanks from the local dive operator (Dive Paradise) and headed towards the dock.
I was rushing to put on my wetsuit and get in the water since it was hot and while wrestling with my wetsuit my back locked up and suddenly I couldnt move. I sat down for a bit, then tried to stand up to no avail. I could not stand up straight. I figured that whatever it was would go away eventually, therefore I had my girlfriend throw my gear in the water and I just slipped it on while I was down there. We finished our shore dive about an hour later but I still couldnt stand up straight or carry anything therefore she had to pull all my gear out of the water. At this point my back had gotten worse and I was in a lot of pain. I really started worrying and decided to go into town to see a chiropractic but being Saturday everyone was closed. I started taking 600 MG of Advil and putting Ice on my back to try and reduce the pain and inflammation but I still could not walk. Sunday was just a few hours away and we were scheduled to go diving with Fernando from Mantaraya Divers www.mantaraya.com but obviously I could not go diving in this condition, my back was very swollen and I could barely walk.
I called Fernando and told him what had happened and he said that mostlikely I had a pinched nerve. I stated that I didnt want my girlfriend to miss out on diving just because of me and that if he could take care of her. Which he did, Fernando picked up my girlfriend the next day on the dock and took her on two wonderful dives where she saw (2) black tip reef sharks, (3) turtles and multiple eels.
Monday came along and I was still feeling terrible. I called Fernando to let him know that I was still having back problems and that my girlfiend and I would be going to the clinic to see a doctor. At this point Im thinking that my vacation is ruined and that I will not be able to dive, but After getting a shot and some muscle relaxers at the local clinic (Clinica San Miguel). I started feeling better and called Fernando to pick us up at the dock the following day. I still had some back pain and could not lift anything up but Fernando and his crew would help me by dropping my gear in the water for me on each dive.
I quickly went from a miserable vacation to a great vacation and did (2) dives the first day, next day we did another (2) dives and the last dive day Thursday we did another (2) dives which were excellent. By far the best dive was on Thursday at Columbia Reef where I was able to take this picture.
All in all I did 7 dives and my girlfriend did 9. We had a great time even though the first few days it seemed like our vacation was doomed.
Id like to thank Fernando from Mantaraya ( www.mantaraya.com ) divers for being so flexible and understanding, allowing us to cancel without any penalties. Most dive operators will charge you a fee if you dont cancel by a certain time, but Fernando understood that this was out of our control and did what he could to re-schedule us. Weve been diving with Mantaraya for 2 years now and just love it.
Places we ate:
La Choza Grill Very Good Food and inexpensive. Shrimp stuffed chili and Beef Fajita (dinner for two) was $25 + tip.
Sonora Grill Good food and moderately priced. Shrimp & Filet Mignon (dinner for two) was $40 + tip.
Pepes Grill Good food but expensive. Lobster Dinner, Steak and flaming bananas (dinner for two) was $80 + tip.
Hotel Cozumel AI food was not that good, but the one night we got to order from the Menu the food was very good. We had a Lobster dinner and a Filet Mignon for $35 + tip.
