Trip Report Fiesta Americana and Tres Pelicanos

[AdivingBel]

Thanks for the report. Glad you guys had a nice trip and enjoyed your AI. Did you get to break out the fashionable pool wear? I’ve thought about giving an AI another try, but I’m so locked in to my spot in the pool at the Villa that it probably won’t happen.
Always fun to bump into folks you know on the boat…IMHO one of the best things about returning to Coz. Laurie & Jeff are “usual suspects,” and are great to dive with (as are FishWatcher & Trailboss).

 

[Trailboss123]

Excellent trip report Lisa! You just saved me the effort of writing one myself, as you nailed all the salient points I would also say regarding the Tres Pelicanos dive operation and the health and quality of the reefs. Speaking of the reefs and fish life, it was a stark contrast to Bonaire where I had just been diving for 2 weeks just 3 days prior to my first dive day in Cozumel. That first dive as we backrolled onto the Santa Rosa Wall, my jaw just dropped and my eyes bugged out and the first words to myself through my regulator were, "LOOK AT ALL THIS COLOR AND STRUCTURE". It dawned on me that in all the years I have been going to both Bonaire and Cozumel, I have never dived them so close in time to one another and as such, the memory fades a bit. It was such a huge contrast and especially at the moment, as the Bonaire reefs are under so much stress and Cozumel is clearly the healthiest reef system we have in the Caribbean.

Anyway, it was so serendipitous to run into you and Eric again and dive together after so many years. Also great to dive with @FishWatcher747 and get to know him and dive with such competent and independent/self-sufficient divers as you all. I will be back for another 12 days with Tres Pelicanos in mid-April. Looking forward to it already.

 

[gopbroek]

With suits like those you should be contributing to the lionfish cerviche. Although when Steve and Gary @gopbroek are around there is no shortage of lionfish.

Currently diving in the Philippines, I am having issues with watching lion fish swim around unmolested.

 

[AdivingBel]

Currently diving in the Philippines

This should make for some good happy hour tidbits...

 

[uncfnp]

I’ve thought about giving an AI another try, but I’m so locked in to my spot in the pool at the Villa that it probably won’t happen.

I can see how the experience at an AI can vary even at the same resort. Fiesta Americana was not fully booked while we were there although it did get busier during our stay. I heard about 80% capacity. We were also lucky that the room beside us stayed empty.

But a group arrived our last full day that almost made me glad my stay was over. Very loud, foul language, and behavior highly inappropriate for public areas. I felt sorry for the staff and wondered how they would address this. Or if they would.

 

[Soloist]

Excellent trip report Lisa! You just saved me the effort of writing one myself, as you nailed all the salient points I would also say regarding the Tres Pelicanos dive operation and the health and quality of the reefs. Speaking of the reefs and fish life, it was a stark contrast to Bonaire where I had just been diving for 2 weeks just 3 days prior to my first dive day in Cozumel. That first dive as we backrolled onto the Santa Rosa Wall, my jaw just dropped and my eyes bugged out and the first words to myself through my regulator were, "LOOK AT ALL THIS COLOR AND STRUCTURE". It dawned on me that in all the years I have been going to both Bonaire and Cozumel, I have never dived them so close in time to one another and as such, the memory fades a bit. It was such a huge contrast and especially at the moment, as the Bonaire reefs are under so much stress and Cozumel is clearly the healthiest reef system we have in the Caribbean.

Anyway, it was so serendipitous to run into you and Eric again and dive together after so many years. Also great to dive with @FishWatcher747 and get to know him and dive with such competent and independent/self-sufficient divers as you all. I will be back for another 12 days with Tres Pelicanos in mid-April. Looking forward to it already.

Couldn't agree more. It was great being able to dive with all of you even though I allowed myself to be unnecessarily distracted on the surface a lot of the time.

We've always stayed downtown, so we're accustomed to having plenty of time to gear up, analyze tanks and socialize at the marina before getting underway. The first day was a bit stressful (for me) being last to board from the Fiesta Americana pier and prepping gear to splash with minimal time. We devised a more efficient process as the week progressed, but it was still a very quick turnaround with most of the second dives ending close to the resort. We found wearing our (Mako camouflage) wetsuits to and from the boat was a huge timesaver, however, this garnered a lot of curious attention from the non-diving guests at the AI. After being asked "have you been diving?" multiple times (daily), while trying to enjoy my large cappuccino on my way up to the room, my answers became more inane ("nope, costume party" or "shhh, you can't see me, I'm in full camo"). The best question was "how long can you dive with that tank?" referring to my 19 cuft pony. A young woman waiting at the pier for her dive boat said to us "the two of you look so cute in your camo wetsuits", but I couldn't tell if this was a genuine or backhanded compliment!

We saw most all the usual creatures including eagle rays, seahorse, turtles, nurse sharks, nice variety of fish, submarine, tons of splendid toadfish and stingrays, plus a very old loggerhead with a massive head. I didn't bother with the camera on this trip, however, I wished I had on one dive in particular. Lisa and I spent a good bit of time searching for small critters over the grassy sand flats where she found a pipefish and two tiny juvenile squid. They were very curious and we were able to watch them for a long time. Contrary to other Cozumel posts and threads, we were pleasantly surprised with the condition of the reef by comparison.

 

[USdiver1]

Currently diving in the Philippines, I am having issues with watching lion fish swim around unmolested.

Lionfish ceviche is just as tasty in the Philippines as it is in the Caribbean. Just Sayin'

 

[gopbroek]

Lionfish ceviche is just as tasty in the Philippines as it is in the Caribbean. Just Sayin'

It just doesn't taste the same if you didn't kill it

 

[AdivingBel]

Lisa and I spent a good bit of time searching for small critters over the grassy sand flats...

Any flying gurnards?

 

[Soloist]

Any flying gurnards?

Nope. Or batfish, even though Jeff suggested (often and unsuccessfully) going north to Villa Blanca to find them. I don't recall seeing a single lionfish either, but there were HUGE lobsters everywhere you looked.