Few Questions on Cozumel

[Lateralus]

Cozumel May 17th - May 24th.


I have about 20+ dives under my belt. I had a 2 tank dive in Cozumel last December. Dove Palancar Caves @ 85 feet. Best Dive of my life. I also dove La Francesca.
la francesa on Vimeo


GF just got certified and has some nerve damage to her ear that occurred on her open water certification course in March. She has a real bad time equalizing and she takes a while to get down. I know currents are a big thing in Cozumel and don’t want her to drift away while she descends to the bottom.


A Few Questions


1.) Suggestions on Dive Ops? I used Deep Blue last time and they were pretty solid. Only thing is I had never dove past 50' and they put me on the advanced boat. I told them I had never dove past 50' and they said today would be your first day. I'm fine that I did it, but don't want my GF to be forced into something she isn't comfortable with, especially if she just got certified.

2.) Car Rental? What insurance do you actually need? I’ve heard conflicting things. It’s her birthday weekend and she definitely wants a car. I tried to talk her into talking a cab everywhere but she won’t budge from the idea from having her own car. My roommate said he rented a car for a week in Cozumel for less than $75 bucks. My GF booked a jeep for a week and after it was all said and done, the total cost came out to be $440. The majority of that was insurance. We talked about the price and she decided to cancel, so I'm searching again for a car.

3.) Should she pass on the diving? It's been nearly 2 months and she says that she still hears a light ringing in her ear. She went to get an MRI on the ear yesterday and the ear doctor said it was small hearing loss. Idk if this occurred due to failure to equalize her ears or when she cleared her mask and blew really hard. I remember seeing her with slight blood around her mask when she came up from the dive. (This might be a question for a dif. forum heading).


Any Info would help, thanks.

 

[diverokc]

i would definately be leary of your gf permanantly damaging her hearing. If she wanted to try it again you could get her a private DM to stay with her and take her down slowly. If she has any discomfort i would abort. I know what Dr. Piccolo would say- no diving LOL
AS far as renting a car- Do you need one the whole time? Are you going to be drinking? If your staying in town you really dont need one for the whole week. We walk alot of places. I rent from ISIS. She has vw bugs for $35 aday and a vw golf type car for around $55 aday. Very honest lady. I wouold love to see where you roommate rented for $75 a week. As you said in your post- places advertise $10 aday but after all the insuraance it goes up to $80 aday. You said you rented a jeep so make sure you dont leave anything in it when you go down to the beach. Jeeps are fun unless it rains, and i also dont like there is nowwhere to lock anything up so you end up having to lug everything with you.

 

[Skittl1321]

I'd recommend a private DM for your GF. Then you can stay at 50 ft.

Scuba with Alison and Tres Pelicanos were great for me as a neurotic beginner, but even with them it was expected I be at around 60-70 ft and follow along with the group who was at 80 or deeper. Neither took me to sites I was uncomfortable with. And both would literally hold a diver's hand if they needed it. I'm amazed at how well these two ops handle beginners and advanced divers side by side. (Though I have no doubt there are other amazing ops out there too.) I personally would go with Alison for a really raw beginner, but a more independent beginner would do great with either.


Ear problems- I wouldn't dive. But I'd get a dive physical and find out. IIRC, Alison made me fill out the PADI forms, and since I have a few check marks she wanted a doctor's physical. TP told me only student divers need that form (though I had it on me just in case).

If you do dive- let others on the boat know she is going to take awhile to equalize. It isn't that big of a deal, but it stinks to be sucking up air waiting at 60'-80' when someone takes 10 minutes to get down. If you tell the other people, they can hang out at 30' to wait... But it isn't at all uncommon to have someone in the group take a long time. If the DMs know they aren't going to go to the sites where "swept away" will be a problem.

 

[Ron Lee]

First and most important is to get a competent doctor's assessment that she is OK to dive. I would assume that this also verifies that she is capable of equalizing her ears.

Second. See if your local dive shop instructor can spend time with her .... one on one.... and learn various ways to equalize. I had issues as well and spent a pool session trying different techniques to equalize my ears. Now I am the great diver that I am today who can equalize going head down and avoid swim throughs that seldom have anything in them.

Third. Your first dive(s) can be shore dives with an instructor. Why add the stress of the current.....which is not that big of a deal.....when you can slowly add in new experiences (and associated stress) in a more controlled environment?

Once that process is easier for your sweetums, have that private divemaster for your first boat dive day. Learn the special things you need to know about diving in current in a one on one setting. This should also help lower stress levels.

All of this assumes that she WANTS to dive as opposed to doing it for pressure-related reasons.

Which hotel are you staying at? If she demands a car then it looks like you will get one...needed or not. Use Isis.

Cozumel - Isis Rentadora - Cozumel, Mexico

 

[Lateralus]

Which hotel are you staying at?

We found an Airbnb that made sense for the 2 couples that are going. It's by the dock.

 

[SandyRobinson]

DAN may also point you in the right direction.

FWIW, in the early 80s and after diving a few years, I suddenly had trouble clearing my ears so I saw an ENT doc. She said all was fine but suggested clearing my ears once a day for a short period and also clearing them once a day about a week before diving. I did that for several months and never had more issues. I am not suggesting it for your GF but just saying there was a a simple solution for me.

Good luck, and I hope all works out for you.

 

[Ron Lee]

We found an Airbnb that made sense for the 2 couples that are going. It's by the dock.

"by the dock" is ambiguous. Do you mean by the ferry pier downtown?

By a specific dive shop dock?

By a cruise ship pier?

Knowing where you are staying may impact your dive shop choice.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

i like Blue Magic and Dive With Martin for dive ops. blue XTSea and Aldora are regular contributors here and from all accounts run a top notch operation. Aldora uses steel 120s for extra long dives. They deserve at least an email for their support on this board.

Depending on which dock your at, a car may not be necessary for the week. The ferry pier is in the heart of downtown and you can walk everywhere. blue Magics shop is about three blocks from there and they provide transportation to the Caletta Marina South of town where lots of ops leave from. The international Pier and Puerta Maya are further south from town and Would be a longer walk than I care to make.

I would not consider renting without the best insurance possible, don't rely on your American Policy. There are numerous horror stories of just what can go wrong.... And you don't leave until the issue is settled. Even a minor accident can become a nightmare. Cabs are cheap and ever present and once your downtown, everything is walkable. An after dive tour of the entire island might be fun by rental car though.

as far as the equalization issue, is there an opportunity for a quick dive before you leave to see if there will be issues? If not, I'd go with the private dM for the first dive.

Good luck and have a Bohemia Obscura (or 15) for me. Guidos is a great date restaurant and the scallops are amazing.

safe travels,
jay

 

[Ron Lee]

As for the Aldora 120 cu ft tanks, I doubt that a woman would initially get that size. Perhaps a 100 cu ft tank.

 

[PARADISE HUNTER]

Lots of good advice already on a thorough medical check out of the ear and addressing the equalizing issue before the trip. I also recommend a private dm for at least the first day of diving.

Blue Angel seems like a good fit for the two of you. They are neither a cattle boat operation nor a one or two boat boutique op. They have a number of boats going out each day at different times with different skill levels and dive plans. They have multiple dms that could take a on site shore dive with you, run a one day refresher course or go out on the boat as a private dm. They use al80s which might be preferred by your girlfriend.

I would wait and check out the scene before I rented a car. You can always get one once you are there. Personally, unless I was staying at the southern end of the island, I would not rent one for an entire week.

PH