Cozumel, WOW!

[Callie]

Just got back from a week in Cozumel!

It was great!

Just got my OWC at the end of august. Had to do my cert dives in a local lake. Visibility was about 6" (yes, that's 6 inches), everyone dropped to the bottom and instant silt cloud. I try to think of it as a good learning experience.

So here's the Coz report.

1st dive was a shore dive (also my first salt water dive). We dove at Chankanab Reef. It was great, lots of fish, all shapes sizes and colors. Met Gloria, the resident barracuda , she's about 4' long and has a great set of teeth! DM took us a short ways into a cave, no lights so we couldn't go far.

2nd dive was a boat dive. Went out with Pro Scuba. Raul was our DM. I was with my brother in law, the DM and 3 other divers (a nice small group). We dove Punta Tunich Wall. WOW! It was awesome. Dropped to 99' then drifted along the wall. Current was pretty strong. The colors of the corals, sponges and fish were great. Saw a spotted drum, a large lobster, a barracuda, a good sized grouper and lots more. Dive lasted 38 minutes. Had no problems, it was a great 1st boat dive.

3rd dive (again with Raul) was at Yucab Reef. Another drift dive. Current was more moderate, gave me a better chance to look at everything. Saw more lobster, the fish, sponges and corals were as good or better as Punta Tunich. We also saw a Cozumel Cat, can't remember the real name, but it's a catfish looking fish that is indigenous to Cozumel. The depth of this dive was between 35' - 50', water temp was 86, dive length was 48 minutes.

4th dive (again with Raul) included my brother in law, sister and one other diver. We dove Palancar Gardens. I loved it. Not as many colorful fish as the previous dives, but the corals were awesome. The coral heads were huge, towering above us. Our depth was between 50' - 85', dive time was 36 minutes, current was light. We saw a couple of turtles. The vase sponges were beautiful.

5th Dive (yes, Raul again) Same group as Palancar, we dove Dalila Reef. A very nice drift dive, moderate current, depth 40' - 73'. Lots of large angels (Queens, french and grey), some queen triggers, lots of parrot fish, another barracuda, lobster, 2 large grouper, and best of all a nurse shark only about 5' but that was big enough for me.

Wish I could have gotten more dives in, but still it was a great start for my dive obsession .

Can't wait to go back.

Kathy

 

[Fishkiller]

Callie your from Phoenix??

Which lake did you cert in? Were you glad that you have no viz cert dive to get you ready?

 

[Callie]

Yep,
Phoenix girl born and raised.

Did my cert dive at Lake Pleasant. It was a small group, me, 3 dive instructors and 4 boys (around 12-14 yrs). Visibility before we stirred up the silt was about 5'- 9'. Glad the vis was low, figured if I could handle it doing all my skills, I would be better off later on if I ran into the same situation sans DM. It was a bit scary, but just kept a hold of the instructors hand or BC to make sure we didn't get separated. Was also good for the compass nav skill (no possibility of cheating )

Kathy

 

[Fishkiller]

I know of two shops offering trips to COZ in November,,
ones even affordable




Sign in at the Intro and Greet section then we can talk all about the wonders of lake diving compared to ocean diving, naturally there would be the disscussion about beach diving in Arizona people talk about wearing fins or not heck I'd just drive my truck it'll still take eight hours to get to the salt water. :tree:

Did you get any new ideas on how to set up your reef tanks after your dive in COZ?





native desert dweller

 

[malleycat]

Hey Callie - Glad to hear you had such a great time in Cozumel. I was there last December - stayed at the Iberostar Resort and dove with Dressel Divers. We can't wait to go back! Where did you stay? Did you get the chance to go into San Miguel at all?
We decided not to go to Coz right now because it's still hurricane season - did you have any bad weather?

Liz

:tree:

 

[Callie]

We stayed at The Reef Club. I really liked it. It was quiet and relaxing. Only went into town once. Rented a car to see some sights. Went to the east side and had a couple drinks at Coconuts, had lunch and did some shopping in town.
We didn't go with a dive shop. Went with a package from Apple Vacations. All inclusive 7 days, $750.00. Another $130.00 for the 5 dives. Had 2 non divers (another sister and niece). Taught my niece to snorkel, she's 4 years old and took to it like she was born to it. The staff there were excellent, always had on a smile, very friendly and the service was great. The weather was great, no rain the 1st 2 days, then a short shower each afternoon or evening lasting about 10 or 20 minutes. Left at the right time, started raining friday night around 11:00 pm, rained hard all night and still raining saturday morning when we flew out.

Bank account is empty now so probably won't have another trip like it till maybe easter.



Fishkiller -
Lots of ideas for the reef tanks, the problem is how to bring back a 3sf chunk of the reef, customs might be a little tough and there goes my weight limit


Kathy

 

[Callie]

Thought I'd post a couple of dive pics from the trip. I believe they were both taken during the Yucab Reef dive. This one is a Lobster

and this one is a Toad Fish

.

Sister is still learning how best to use her new camera. Hopefully we'll have more and better pics of the next trip.

Kathy

 

[syruss32]

Originally posted by Callie
Yep,
Phoenix girl born and raised.

Did my cert dive at Lake Pleasant. It was a small group, me, 3 dive instructors and 4 boys (around 12-14 yrs). Visibility before we stirred up the silt was about 5'- 9'. Glad the vis was low, figured if I could handle it doing all my skills, I would be better off later on if I ran into the same situation sans DM. It was a bit scary, but just kept a hold of the instructors hand or BC to make sure we didn't get separated. Was also good for the compass nav skill (no possibility of cheating )

Kathy

I used to live in Phoenix and am surprised the vis was even 6".

 

[phxcamera]

Hey Callie,

You mentioned 6 inch viz at Lk Pleasant in Phx....

Did you go with Diver Dave's training classes? Gary was the instructor??

If so, Wow! Small world on the internet!!

If not, Hey, lemme know if you're in the mood for planning a local (or not so local) dive....My wife and I are always willing participants

 

[Natasha]

Great trip report. Cozumel diving is one of my favorites. Maybe THE favorite!
We have a group trip going March 2nd to March 9th 2002. 14 divers going so far. Quite a few from this board. There is still space available. If you want more info, let me know.
:sunny: