morecowbells
Contributor
During the month of February, my husband and I usually head to Curacao or Bonaire for our diving fix. We had our place booked, airline tickets purchased for Curacao; but due to Covid testing requirements (PCR test within 48 hours of arrival, which is a tight results turnaround timeline along with a 3rd day test once on the island). We made a last-minute change to visit Cozumel instead. Lodging options were scarce. Our favorite place to stay on the island, Residencias Reef had zero rental units available, as well as any place south of the Fonatur Marina. We were vacationing with another couple whom wanted to use a dive op which would pick up at resort instead of using a cab to get to and from the marina. We ended up booking a room at the El Cid and chose diving through Salty Endeavors since they pick up at piers north of the marina. Our friends ended up cancelling due to a death in the family.
El Cid:
I was apprehensive about staying at El Cid due to mixed reviews. A week before vacation, I called El Cid and requested a quiet room. We checked in on a Sat at 4 pm. At first, they had trouble locating our reservation, then told us they were having computer problems and to grab a seat while it was worked out. About 30 minutes later, we were given the key card to our room. The One bedroom suite was well decorated and laid out. Our patios overlooked the concert stage adjacent to dining room. So much for requesting a quiet room. The unit was actually nicer and larger than I had anticipated. I started out the vacation with a sense of dread as I am used to the quiet ambiance of the Residencias Reef. To my surprise, the unit was quieter than I expected. The evening entertainment was usually done before 10 pm. The walls were thick concrete where you could not hear anything neighboring units. We did not book the all-inclusive option. Too many good places to eat.
Pluses:
Food included Jeannie’s Waffle House. I love their chile rellenos and the fire hot greenish oil that comes on the side with the pico. I know people gripe about La Choza being too touristy, but I love their chicken mole. My husband and I shared some steak, empanadas and Caprese salad at Del Sur. Cielito Grill for their 3 mole chicken enchiladas. New comer Kusam for their craft beer and vegetarian tacos. Keep in mind that ordering a taco means that there are 3 per order. We ended up with way too many, but they were good as leftovers. Tentaciones for their carne al pastor. Ohana has wonderful pizzas. Leftover cold pizza after diving=yum. Of course, my favorite place Punta Sur Cerveceria for their amazing salads and empanadas. We enjoyed some beers at La Internacional Cerveceria with @MMM and @beth_castroll We stopped for some drinks at ‘Welcome to Miami’. Mojito was good, but the ones served at Kusam were better.
A nasty norte moved in and closed the ports on Sunday and Monday. The water was chilly and with a steady breeze, it was challenging to warm up during the surface intervals. Looking at both my husband’s and my computer, temps ranged from 75-77. Crazy. For 10 years, I have dived with a 5 mm Waterproof brand wetsuit. It was always a PITA to don. Over the years my proportions became more robust, it like trying to put sausage back into its casing. I changed things around and purchased a 3 mm full wetsuit and a Sharkskin jacket. I was still cold. While I like the ease of donning the Sharkskin, it would never completely dry overnight, even on the patio, in full sun. I am missing my old wet suit.
Salty Endeavors picked us up the El Cid pier. Babieca is the dive op at the resort, we were not charged to use pier. The number of divers ranged from 5-7 with various dive experience. We were able to dive our computer, but required to max out at one hour. We saw several eagle rays, turtles, eels and very few lionfish. The Palancar spots are popular for obvious reasons, but also were the most crowded. Over my years of diving, I have come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of swim throughs, but love the open drift diving of Tunich, La Francesa and Dalila. Our dive masters were thorough in briefing the dive plan and sites. They were also great at finding critters of all sizes. My only main complaint may appear petty to some of you SBers, however, it rubbed me the wrong way. One day after finishing our second tank. The boat dropped off a diver at Allegro, shortly after, the single engine moaned, groaned and grinded to a stop. I am grateful that I took Dramamine that morning since we were in choppy, rolling seas in a small boat that was getting assessed and worked on. Finally, it was able to putter in reverse only. We were dropped off at a dock north of the Secrets resort in the middle of nowhere. We were told “you all need to get off the boat and get a taxi into town.” Wearing our swimsuits and dive boots, carrying wetsuits, backpack and cameras, we walked on a back road to Secrets where we found a cab. Two of the divers were on a cruise. We split a cab with a lady staying at the Weston. I know these unfortunate events can happen to anybody; I feel it could have been handled more professionally. I e- mailed Salty Endeavors praising their dive guides, also suggesting that it would be good business practice to cover the cab costs since that really should not have been our responsibility. I never heard back.
Below are some pics. After ooking at some pics on this site, I realize that I really need to invest in a strobe
El Cid:
I was apprehensive about staying at El Cid due to mixed reviews. A week before vacation, I called El Cid and requested a quiet room. We checked in on a Sat at 4 pm. At first, they had trouble locating our reservation, then told us they were having computer problems and to grab a seat while it was worked out. About 30 minutes later, we were given the key card to our room. The One bedroom suite was well decorated and laid out. Our patios overlooked the concert stage adjacent to dining room. So much for requesting a quiet room. The unit was actually nicer and larger than I had anticipated. I started out the vacation with a sense of dread as I am used to the quiet ambiance of the Residencias Reef. To my surprise, the unit was quieter than I expected. The evening entertainment was usually done before 10 pm. The walls were thick concrete where you could not hear anything neighboring units. We did not book the all-inclusive option. Too many good places to eat.
Pluses:
- The mattress was actually very comfortable
- The fake beach sandy area had ample shaded lounge chairs which were readily available
- The staff were friendly and helpful-especially Ariel.
- Ample hot water supply
- The Wifi is abysmal. We were told that we would have to pay $50 USD a week PER devise for wifi. We showed them a copy of our reservation which was booked directly through the resort stating that wifi was free of charge for up to two devises per our package booked. After 20 minutes of looking into this, they acquiesced. The speed of this wifi never exceeded 1 mbps, slower than dial up.
- No fans or real ventilation in bathrooms. Unit was saturated with humidity. One bathroom had a window literally opening up to enclosed hallway, overlooking elevators. Running a/c didn’t do much to offset the damp.
- Patio area very small and sad with two Rubbermaid chairs and small table
- Refrigerator was a dorm sized unit
- Elevator must have been designed by the company behind Yugo. Only one was working and it literally could only hold two people sans luggage. Since we were on the third floor, we used the dank stairwell.
Food included Jeannie’s Waffle House. I love their chile rellenos and the fire hot greenish oil that comes on the side with the pico. I know people gripe about La Choza being too touristy, but I love their chicken mole. My husband and I shared some steak, empanadas and Caprese salad at Del Sur. Cielito Grill for their 3 mole chicken enchiladas. New comer Kusam for their craft beer and vegetarian tacos. Keep in mind that ordering a taco means that there are 3 per order. We ended up with way too many, but they were good as leftovers. Tentaciones for their carne al pastor. Ohana has wonderful pizzas. Leftover cold pizza after diving=yum. Of course, my favorite place Punta Sur Cerveceria for their amazing salads and empanadas. We enjoyed some beers at La Internacional Cerveceria with @MMM and @beth_castroll We stopped for some drinks at ‘Welcome to Miami’. Mojito was good, but the ones served at Kusam were better.
A nasty norte moved in and closed the ports on Sunday and Monday. The water was chilly and with a steady breeze, it was challenging to warm up during the surface intervals. Looking at both my husband’s and my computer, temps ranged from 75-77. Crazy. For 10 years, I have dived with a 5 mm Waterproof brand wetsuit. It was always a PITA to don. Over the years my proportions became more robust, it like trying to put sausage back into its casing. I changed things around and purchased a 3 mm full wetsuit and a Sharkskin jacket. I was still cold. While I like the ease of donning the Sharkskin, it would never completely dry overnight, even on the patio, in full sun. I am missing my old wet suit.
Salty Endeavors picked us up the El Cid pier. Babieca is the dive op at the resort, we were not charged to use pier. The number of divers ranged from 5-7 with various dive experience. We were able to dive our computer, but required to max out at one hour. We saw several eagle rays, turtles, eels and very few lionfish. The Palancar spots are popular for obvious reasons, but also were the most crowded. Over my years of diving, I have come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of swim throughs, but love the open drift diving of Tunich, La Francesa and Dalila. Our dive masters were thorough in briefing the dive plan and sites. They were also great at finding critters of all sizes. My only main complaint may appear petty to some of you SBers, however, it rubbed me the wrong way. One day after finishing our second tank. The boat dropped off a diver at Allegro, shortly after, the single engine moaned, groaned and grinded to a stop. I am grateful that I took Dramamine that morning since we were in choppy, rolling seas in a small boat that was getting assessed and worked on. Finally, it was able to putter in reverse only. We were dropped off at a dock north of the Secrets resort in the middle of nowhere. We were told “you all need to get off the boat and get a taxi into town.” Wearing our swimsuits and dive boots, carrying wetsuits, backpack and cameras, we walked on a back road to Secrets where we found a cab. Two of the divers were on a cruise. We split a cab with a lady staying at the Weston. I know these unfortunate events can happen to anybody; I feel it could have been handled more professionally. I e- mailed Salty Endeavors praising their dive guides, also suggesting that it would be good business practice to cover the cab costs since that really should not have been our responsibility. I never heard back.
Below are some pics. After ooking at some pics on this site, I realize that I really need to invest in a strobe
