Living Vicariously

[Tunaman68]

Hey all -

Since I spent many hours in the days/weeks before my trip, living through the words of those who had gone before me, I thought I'd share a few words while here on the island. I'll go blog style so if it's long and boring I apologize in advance!

Day 1

Left Ontario California at 1 am with no problems. We arrived in Houston and hooked up with my brother who was coming in from Seattle. After a quad shot Starbucks and a three hour chat, we were on our way to Coz!

We landed and waited about 30 minutes at immigration. Got our bags, two green lights and went on through. I can't thank this board enough for the tips on ignoring the official looking people in the white shirts inside that want to know 'how many in your party'. The communo van window is not very conspicuous so unless you knew what you were doing, you'd be screwed!

8$ and about 10 minutes later, we were dropped off in front of Blue Angel. They are paving the street out in front, so it's down to one lane. The asphalt was just poured so we couldn't drag our bags, but Tony came out and helped us inside.

We were much earlier than I thought we'd be, but our rooms were ready and we were in 101 and 102 about 10 minutes later!

Checked in at the dive shop, unpacked, grabbed a couple of tanks and SPLASH! The little shore dive in front of BA is really great - lots of critters and after 10 foot vis and 52 degrees of California, it's like a dream!! We swam south about half way to the Villiablanca and then drifted right on back.

Finished the dive, rinsed off and walked down to Ernesto's for a late lunch. Even after 20 years and a new location, the food kicked butt and the view can't be beat!

We grabbed a cab to town, got a few things and walked around a bit. My brother tried the ATM in the square, but no go. I told him to try at Mega and that one seemed to work out. Hopefully he won't get bad news from his bank from his card swipe at the square.

We came back, passed out, and got up about 6 to do a quick night dive. Really fun, several octos and rays, but coming back we missed the little channel and ended up right by the ray pen fence which is 6 inches of water and waves - oops! A couple of urchin spines and scrapes later, we were out safe.

Went upstair to the on site restaurant for some soup and nachos - YUM!!! Great food and wonderful service. Full belly and feeling the hurt from no sleep we crashed about 9:30.

See ya next time!

 

[annlaur]

Thank you. Keep'em coming as long as you like. Live reviews from Coz can never be boring as far as I'm concerned. Enjoy !

 

[blue steal]

Ask Serhiyo or Franciso for the seafood soup for dinner. Packed with goodies and great with a cold Victoria.
I miss COZ already.
Have fun

Next to the stingray pen, no wetsuit, no weightbelt, hood, gloves, shears, knife, temp 84..........ain't it great
Now back to CA waters..........

 

[Tunaman68]

A little windy today, but the boats were still going out just fine. The coffee at Blue Angel is hot and strong and ready in the morning, so I grabbed a cup and sat down in the lobby to write and take in the splendor.

After some serious prodding I finally managed to get the teenage daughter on her feet and functioning. She's blaming the new sea sick patch that she's using (and it's working BTW) for her slowness - I think it's called being 16. Went upstairs and had a bite of breakfast before the boats were ready to go. The food here is great, and the people who work here are even better!

For those of you who haven't been blessed with a trip to the caribbean, the color of the water is just something you have to see to believe. As my daughter put it - "Those are colors you see in a crayon box but think - that's not really a color, nothing in nature is that color!" To see her face as we sped down toward our first dive site taking in those colors and experiencing what made me fall in love with this place 20 years ago was just amazing.

Jose was our DM, and with his little beanie sat up on top of his head, he has been dubbed the scuba sherpa. He's a quiet sweet guy and was a great guide, and helped my brother out when he had a reg problem, and really kept everyone safe, but was not a mother hen in any way.

First dive was Palancar Gardens - a fav of mine. Vis was 100 water temp 80. The scenery at this place is like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Sponges, corals, algae, fish - you name it - all beautiful and healty. Saw a fairly large reef shark swimming off in the blue, several huge crabs, and tons of the usual suspects. Great swim throughs, and once again, even through a scuba mask, seeing my daughter's face as she took this in for the first time is a gift I will never forget. 59 minutes max bottom 77 fsw. Great way to start!!!

We had a short 40 minute SI on the boat with fruit and a muffin - then in at Cedar Shallows for the 2nd dive. Nice shallow reef structues spread over a wide area with a good little current to push you along. Jose found us a HUGE green moray, a spendid toadie, two tiny seahorses. Also present were a school of baracuda, three sea turtles, a big octo in a hole, and a pretty good size nurse shark napping under a ledge. Tuna brother uses his air pretty quick, so Jose let him sponge off his spare reg for a while - man that guy just doesn’t breathe!!! 58 minutes max bottom 57 fsw - ran out of reef before we ran out of air.....

Came back home, cleaned up, had some lunch, took a snooze, and went into town. We went to the guitar store owned by this amazing guy called Allejandro who is like an encyclopedia of ethinic and world music that has a music museum in his stuio. KILLER - Hung out with him and his wife for a while and bought a cool little charango guitar. Wandered for a bit and made our way to Wet Wendys. The margarita was amazing, and the bartenders Carla and Carlos were so sweet!! We made a stop at Rock n Java for a slice of some amazing chocolate cake and went back to BA for the day. We were planning on a nite dive, but the chairs were too comfy, and the bellies too full, so we sat and talked and relaxed and went to bed.

Can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring!

T

 

[cicopo]

Keep it coming. I'm there the end of Jan & my wife is quite interested in what to expect of the hotel & restaurant (first stay at BA).

Larry

 

[firstdive2005]

Thanks, I love reading daily blogs like yours. I can feel the joy as I read and sense the sights as your story leads. Just great you get to share this with your daughter. I hope she really digs it too. I look forward to the rest of your trip blog. be well. kev

 

[scubarick314]

Thanks for the report. I can't wait for the coming days report.

 

[Tunaman68]

Day Three - gonna be a long one - four tanks today!

Alarms got moved back to 6:45 to accommodate the slow risers, so we were actually able to enjoy breakfast instead of cramming it down. The weather is GLORIOUS today - flat ocean, blue sky with wispy white clouds and 80 degrees above and below!

Jose was once again our dive master and by 8:05 we were on our way. On board with us was a pair of young ladies, one of which used to be the in house videographer here at the BA. She was leaving the island to return to South Africa, and was going out on one last dive. We let her pick, and she chose Palancar Bricks. The BA boats are FAST and we were at the site before any other boat was around. This is important as after the dive there were no less than 2 dozen boats around!!

The dive itself was unreal. As I swim through this place, I just marvel at God’s creations. The shapes, the colors, the overwhelming beauty and I can’t help grin, laugh, and even tear up over the splendor of it all. The pinnacles that rise from the deep blue are covered in orange, green, purple and surrounded with fish - simply amazing. The water was so clear today we were at 90’ in a moment, and there were times it really felt like we were flying through the air! Encounters included turtles, huge crabs, a tiny pipe fish, and tons of every kind of fish you can imagine. I don't see any difference in the reefs from 20 years ago, and it's as fishy as ever! Tuna brother was hooked up with 100cf tanks today so his bottom time was better, but he still ran out first. Jose took him up to safety stop depth and then came back to us. We continued on through and around some huge formations, and then as I was nearing the end of my tank, the girls found this awesome series of tunnels that just kept going and going. You’d come around a corner and to the left would be an exit, but to the right, another swim through. We must have been in there like 10 minuets! We came out and Alyssa was grinning at least 2 inches off the sides of her regulator!! Can you say ‘hooked for life’? Duration 60 mins 91 fsw max.

We did a 40 minute surface interval, and moved on to Tormentos. The current was RIPPING and we started flying across the reef. Now, this may sound scary to some people, but I love fast drift diving. Being a less than graceful guy on land, when I’ve got my buoyancy dialed in, and am flying like superman across the most beautiful reefs in the world - there’s are few things in life to compare! You can always duck down between formations to get out of the current, but the rest of the time, all you have to do is steer! Downside is that almost immediately I found a HUGE potato grouper hiding under a ledge, but everyone was so far downstream that I couldn’t get them over to see it. Jose is the master of tiny critters, and found a seahorse, and another tiny pipe fish which was nearly eaten by a grunt causing Jose to punch at the fish, and allow the little guy to disappear back in the sand. The other life form highlight was an enormous green moray swimming out in the open. That is a rare sight, and those creatures are so amazing and so creepy at the same time. To see one out, and really get a sense of how big they are was really cool! Because the current was ripping and I was approaching NDL we came up to 40 feet and floated the rest, actually finishing the reef with 1400 psi left. We did some open water ballet and bubble ring blowing before heading on up. Funny story - as we’re hanging on safety stop, Alyssa and I were practicing our bubble ring, and Jose was kind of grinning. He then proceeded to blow the most perfect rolling bubble ring, and then blew another one that actually accelerated and went through the middle of the first one - OK this is how it’s done you amateurs!! Duration 59 mints 68 fsw max.

We went back to the BA for lunch. Amazing beef burrito and a diet coke. Alyssa had fish tacos with home made corn tortillas. Some observations about the hotel - IMHO it’s literally everything a diver could want. The rooms are simple yet large. No carpet (bring your flip flops) so you can walk in from the boats in your wet suit and straight into the shower. Everything tends to be damp, but you get used to it after a while. We’re on the first floor so the down side is some more noise, but the upside is no stairs! Showers are hot with good pressure, and you can spread your gear all over outside to dry. The beds are firm but comfy, and the AC works great. If the noise bothers you, turn on the air, and keep your bathroom door shut. For me however, after 4 tanks, a good meal and a beer, sleeping is not a problem! You can eat in the restaurant or take the food back to your room. Coffee is ready by 6 every morning - it’s strong and hot. It has the charming clunky mexico vibe in spades. If you’re looking for posh, this ain’t it, but I couldn’t imagine a more perfect place to come, relax, and Dive Dive Dive!! The food has been AMAZING - every plate that comes out of the kitchen has love on it. I mean that - the Chile relleno is the best I have ever had, and the chef prepares me roasted habenero with lime and salt every day to go with my meals. These people take pride in what they do and it shows. Be relaxed, take your time and savor this place, Eva has really got something going on here!!

Took a nap by the pool and then geared up for our twilight/night combo. Jorge was our DM on this trip. Funny guy with a great sense of humor and lion fish hunter especiale! First dive was Balones de Chakanab. Cool structures spread over an area of sand with overhangs, and holes hiding a multitude of critters. The viz wasn’t what it’s been out on the reefs, but still not bad. Lobsters, eels, and several lionfish that Jorge caught and dispatched. I’d like to do this dive again and spend the whole thing on one or two of these structures. It’s a critter hunter’s dream. So many little spaces hiding so many neat things! Tuna brother was back on 80’s so he ran low. Jorge had said that first guy low on air get a buddy and goes up, so that meant me - I showed him how much air I had left and asked if I could let Tuna brother breathe off the leash a little while - he said OK so we were able to squeak another 10 mins out of the dive. Went up, shot a bag, and hung out for our safety stop. Our partner in crime on the boat Rodger had dinner reservations with his non diving wife, so we came back to the BA for our interval. Duration 46 mins 72 fsw max.

Night dive was on Paradise reef. It’s a beautiful shallow reef that just keeps going and going. You’ll think you get to the end, then swim across a patch of sand to the next stretch of reef. Right at the start, there were two of the largest lobsters I’ve seen in Coz. The marine life was amazing - crabs, eels, and this was the most octopus I’ve ever seen on one dive. No less than five, and they were all out hunting. We just floated and watched one cruise around for at least 5 minutes. He’d dart across the reef, find a place to feel under, land on top, shove all his legs in and then move on to the next. All the while, he was shifting colors to match the coral he was exploring - it was the most remarkable feat of camouflage imaginable. I love night diving - my favorite thing is to hang in the back of the group, shut off my light, and just watch the others work the reef while their beams of light flash through the water. It’s so surreal!! I donated air to Tuna brother again at the end (this is not as easy in the dark BTW) and we were able to get an hour in the water! Amazing! Duration 61 mins 42 fsw max.

Back to the BA for another amazing meal - did I mention the food was AMAZING!! I don't want to build it up too much lest anyone be let down, but I'm enjoying the heck out of it!! Tuna brother had the steak, and it was great, Alyssa had a chimi which was also wonderful. It’s what good food should be - love on the plate!! Alyssa is really having a good time, and meeting other people from other places, and taking in this culture (even as tourist driven as it is) is really great for her. She’s quite a good diver with a natural calmness, and a great sense of buoyancy and grace. We’re having a great time. Got a PM from pjhansman who arrived safely and am looking forward to a cold Victoria with him soon!

We video chatted with the Tuna wife and Tuna son from our patio, and then hit the rack around 10. Another great day in paradise!

 

[firstdive2005]

I just had a dive experience in Edmonton on one my favorite sites of Coz. Darn near brought tears to my eyes, it's 22 below here now. Suddenly all is good.

 

[bcaderunr]

Tunaman! This is magazine quality stuff. I've been to Blue Angel at least 8 times in the past 5 years and it keeps getting better every visit. (Not that it was ever lacking to begin with). Reading your vividly written dispatches is the next best thing to being there -- which will happen at the end of February. Keep 'em coming!