Craig66
Contributor
Just returned from my annual Mancation and whilst I usually go by myself I had the pleasure of an old school buddy (RadHal)
Hotel
I arrived a day prior to RadHal and stayed a day after he left. We stayed at my second home: Casa Mexicana and as always did not disappoint and after 6 or so trips it is almost like coming home. Was in room 305 which faces the courtyard/breakfast area and did not notice any noise either from the street, Carlos and Charlies or even from the breakfast areas. The breakfast besides being included is always excellent and Jaime the Maitre D does a great job of keeping the service top class and taking care of any needs one has which included coaching me on how to ask for an egg white omelet not fried in oil with a little cheese LOL . The breakfast options are varied and the fresh fruit and food is excellent. Rooms are big and airy and the bed is super comfortable. Showers in most Mexican hotels can be hit or miss as far as water pressure goes but this room was hit and so all was good. Air conditioner worked well. Pools towels are great and I had one of the newer rooms with the electronic safe and so did not need to carry a key with me. I love the fact that it is so close to all restaurants and the night life.
Restaurants
On this trip did a lot of diving and not as much eating as when I am there with my family but ate at the following fine establishments
Camilos – Was excellent as usual and love the seafood tacos and specials
Especias – Excellent and very reasonably priced. The empanadas are great
Otates – Hell what can one say about fresh delicious tacos that just keep coming and cost close to nothing
El Foco – doesn’t get much mention on the boards but always filled with locals and the tacos especias are excellent as is the guacamole
Kinta – excellent
La Hach –Across the road from Scuba Mau and so was a convenient lunch place but the reality is that although everything is good there, the fish tacos are the best I have ever had and were a daily feature on my meni.
La Choza – had the fish stew and chicken Mole
Also got take out from the “New” old Argentenian Empanada restaurant which were superb.
Diving
Dove with Scuba Mau for the third time and once again this was a recipe for success. Opal and Mau run an incredible shop and Opals communication is excellent – something that one really appreciates and is unfortunately not always the case with all dive ops. There is no request that you can throw at Opal that cannot be met. My dives were booked with one email. The I am constantly amazed at the trust factor and the fact that you only pay for the dives at the end of the trip and you pay only for the dives you did. Their pricing is excellent and in effect you are getting a valet service for a cattle boat price – cant beat that but more importantly you get a great group of DM’s that are safe, responsible and a lot of fun. We were placed with like skilled divers although the reality is that I sometimes think too much focus is put on that fact by other posters as there is also a certain delight in diving with newer divers and seeing the excitement and amazement on their faces. This trip is essentially all of my diving for the year and so when I come to Coz I like to dive, dive and dive. My 11 year old is a new diver and will be in Cozumel with my family in August however when I am diving with her there is no relaxation involved and so I enjoy this week to dive to my hearts content. Opal promised me morning and afternoon dives every day and that was exactly what was delivered. Also had the chance to do two night dives. The dive masters are excellent and each one has their own niche and skill. They are all a really fun group of guys who take their job seriously. Dives are around 55-60 mins each with the only limit being your air although I will say that if you are looking for an hour and twenty minutes on every dive that is not going to happen although I did have two 80 min dives and in truth after 60 mins I start getting cold and am ready to come up. RadHal told me that he wanted to go to Punta Sur and I did warn him that most dive ops don’t love to go as far south but that we would ask. Well imagine my surprise when we arrived at the shop on Thursday to have Monkey tell us that he was taking us out and ASKING US IF WE WANTED TO GO TO PUNTA SUR – OMG we did not even have to ask it WAS OFFERED TO US. I had never dived devils throat as I had always read that it was not worth it as it was just a deep dark tunnel. This was my first time and it was spectacular. The multilevel aspect of the dive site and the topography is beautiful and totally amazing and the throat itself was so so much more impressive than I had been led to believe – totally awesome. Second dive was a long shallow dive. The icing on the cake to that morning was that we were OFFERED TO GO TO SAN JUAN AND BARRACUDA for the afternoon dive. We all agreed however that because of our deep morning dive that we would do 70-80 feet max on Barracuda and San Juan is pretty much a 65 foot dive. Did both and again absolutely spectacular. Did all the usual sites but also did another site that I had never done before which was an unnamed reef that is north but begins round about where the uptown Marina is and is known for its huge barrel sponges and also with a ripping current that had a lot of animals hiding out in the sponges – came across one with 3 huge crabs in it and another with two lion fish in it but alas DM was busy killing another one and so had to let those two live . Did 24 dives in 6 days and each one was awesome. Thanks guys. Whilst I know that everyone has their favorite dive ops and certainly accept that Cozumel is blessed with good dive ops when it comes to a well organized really fun, very safe, incredibly reliable and reasonably cheap valet style dive op it is hard to beat the family of scuba mau. Will be back in August diving eith them and my 11 year old. Thanks Opal, Mau and the guys for an incredible dive trip and incredible service and friendliness.
On Friday went out to the mainmland to dive the Cenotes and had an amazing time with Nicholas for Centoexperience. I had dived the cenotes once before with someone that apparently had a good SB reputation and was very disappointed as besides thefact that it was a miracle that no one was killed what I was offered was not delivered. I was a little worried about the upcoming dive but I had nothing to worry about as Nicholas was amazing and gave my dive buddy and I a great experience. He met us at the ferry as promised and took us in his car to Cenote Angelita. He had everything that he needed for the dives and did not need to stop anywhere to pick up supplies. First stop was Cenote Angelita which was amazing. For those that don’t know it, it is not really a cavern dive. It is really a pit dive but the amazing thing is that between the freshwater and salt water at about 100 feet is a layer of hydrogen sulphide. One decends through the freshwater and can see the “floor “ when you hit the floor you descend through the “floor “ which is the cloud and emerge underneath it in the pitch black of the salt water. You swim around for a couple of minutes but then ascend back through the coud and this is really where the fun begins as as you emerge through cloud it is as if you are coming through the floor and the other member of the group look like their bodies have been swallowed by the floor. It is the most surreal experience I have ever had. AS you emerge the water is so clear that you feel like you are above water and almost feel like taking off your mask. You swim around a little half in the cloud and half out and the experience is just magical. You then ascend back up to the surface by way of a slow spiral. Second and third dive were at Dos Ojos which was really amazing. Nicholas brought sandwiches and fruit and water and juice for lunch. His dive briefings were spot on and I felt very safe in his hands – Diving the cenotes is one of those times were even at 225 dives you have no choice but to be a “trust me diver” and I felt that my trust was not misplaced. After three incredible tanks Nico took us back to the ferry
Also got to meet and greet a couple of SB’s which was great and once again reminded me how of all the sports – divers are just a really nice down to earth bunch of people.
Coz in general was fairly quiet. Very few pod people in town although on two days there were 4 Carnival pods at once – makes for interesting sites LOL. Lion fish seen and killed on every dive but not as many as I was expecting on the main reefs – a good thing I guess although I understand that deeper down and on the not often dived reefs that they are plentiful. Saw about 3 big ones on Barracuda but at the speed of the current probably missed some.
Once again another amazing trip and only 60 days until I return, Thanks to Jaime, Opal, Mau and all the boys at Scuba Mau and to Nicholas for probably my best trip to Coz
Hotel
I arrived a day prior to RadHal and stayed a day after he left. We stayed at my second home: Casa Mexicana and as always did not disappoint and after 6 or so trips it is almost like coming home. Was in room 305 which faces the courtyard/breakfast area and did not notice any noise either from the street, Carlos and Charlies or even from the breakfast areas. The breakfast besides being included is always excellent and Jaime the Maitre D does a great job of keeping the service top class and taking care of any needs one has which included coaching me on how to ask for an egg white omelet not fried in oil with a little cheese LOL . The breakfast options are varied and the fresh fruit and food is excellent. Rooms are big and airy and the bed is super comfortable. Showers in most Mexican hotels can be hit or miss as far as water pressure goes but this room was hit and so all was good. Air conditioner worked well. Pools towels are great and I had one of the newer rooms with the electronic safe and so did not need to carry a key with me. I love the fact that it is so close to all restaurants and the night life.
Restaurants
On this trip did a lot of diving and not as much eating as when I am there with my family but ate at the following fine establishments
Camilos – Was excellent as usual and love the seafood tacos and specials
Especias – Excellent and very reasonably priced. The empanadas are great
Otates – Hell what can one say about fresh delicious tacos that just keep coming and cost close to nothing
El Foco – doesn’t get much mention on the boards but always filled with locals and the tacos especias are excellent as is the guacamole
Kinta – excellent
La Hach –Across the road from Scuba Mau and so was a convenient lunch place but the reality is that although everything is good there, the fish tacos are the best I have ever had and were a daily feature on my meni.
La Choza – had the fish stew and chicken Mole
Also got take out from the “New” old Argentenian Empanada restaurant which were superb.
Diving
Dove with Scuba Mau for the third time and once again this was a recipe for success. Opal and Mau run an incredible shop and Opals communication is excellent – something that one really appreciates and is unfortunately not always the case with all dive ops. There is no request that you can throw at Opal that cannot be met. My dives were booked with one email. The I am constantly amazed at the trust factor and the fact that you only pay for the dives at the end of the trip and you pay only for the dives you did. Their pricing is excellent and in effect you are getting a valet service for a cattle boat price – cant beat that but more importantly you get a great group of DM’s that are safe, responsible and a lot of fun. We were placed with like skilled divers although the reality is that I sometimes think too much focus is put on that fact by other posters as there is also a certain delight in diving with newer divers and seeing the excitement and amazement on their faces. This trip is essentially all of my diving for the year and so when I come to Coz I like to dive, dive and dive. My 11 year old is a new diver and will be in Cozumel with my family in August however when I am diving with her there is no relaxation involved and so I enjoy this week to dive to my hearts content. Opal promised me morning and afternoon dives every day and that was exactly what was delivered. Also had the chance to do two night dives. The dive masters are excellent and each one has their own niche and skill. They are all a really fun group of guys who take their job seriously. Dives are around 55-60 mins each with the only limit being your air although I will say that if you are looking for an hour and twenty minutes on every dive that is not going to happen although I did have two 80 min dives and in truth after 60 mins I start getting cold and am ready to come up. RadHal told me that he wanted to go to Punta Sur and I did warn him that most dive ops don’t love to go as far south but that we would ask. Well imagine my surprise when we arrived at the shop on Thursday to have Monkey tell us that he was taking us out and ASKING US IF WE WANTED TO GO TO PUNTA SUR – OMG we did not even have to ask it WAS OFFERED TO US. I had never dived devils throat as I had always read that it was not worth it as it was just a deep dark tunnel. This was my first time and it was spectacular. The multilevel aspect of the dive site and the topography is beautiful and totally amazing and the throat itself was so so much more impressive than I had been led to believe – totally awesome. Second dive was a long shallow dive. The icing on the cake to that morning was that we were OFFERED TO GO TO SAN JUAN AND BARRACUDA for the afternoon dive. We all agreed however that because of our deep morning dive that we would do 70-80 feet max on Barracuda and San Juan is pretty much a 65 foot dive. Did both and again absolutely spectacular. Did all the usual sites but also did another site that I had never done before which was an unnamed reef that is north but begins round about where the uptown Marina is and is known for its huge barrel sponges and also with a ripping current that had a lot of animals hiding out in the sponges – came across one with 3 huge crabs in it and another with two lion fish in it but alas DM was busy killing another one and so had to let those two live . Did 24 dives in 6 days and each one was awesome. Thanks guys. Whilst I know that everyone has their favorite dive ops and certainly accept that Cozumel is blessed with good dive ops when it comes to a well organized really fun, very safe, incredibly reliable and reasonably cheap valet style dive op it is hard to beat the family of scuba mau. Will be back in August diving eith them and my 11 year old. Thanks Opal, Mau and the guys for an incredible dive trip and incredible service and friendliness.
On Friday went out to the mainmland to dive the Cenotes and had an amazing time with Nicholas for Centoexperience. I had dived the cenotes once before with someone that apparently had a good SB reputation and was very disappointed as besides thefact that it was a miracle that no one was killed what I was offered was not delivered. I was a little worried about the upcoming dive but I had nothing to worry about as Nicholas was amazing and gave my dive buddy and I a great experience. He met us at the ferry as promised and took us in his car to Cenote Angelita. He had everything that he needed for the dives and did not need to stop anywhere to pick up supplies. First stop was Cenote Angelita which was amazing. For those that don’t know it, it is not really a cavern dive. It is really a pit dive but the amazing thing is that between the freshwater and salt water at about 100 feet is a layer of hydrogen sulphide. One decends through the freshwater and can see the “floor “ when you hit the floor you descend through the “floor “ which is the cloud and emerge underneath it in the pitch black of the salt water. You swim around for a couple of minutes but then ascend back through the coud and this is really where the fun begins as as you emerge through cloud it is as if you are coming through the floor and the other member of the group look like their bodies have been swallowed by the floor. It is the most surreal experience I have ever had. AS you emerge the water is so clear that you feel like you are above water and almost feel like taking off your mask. You swim around a little half in the cloud and half out and the experience is just magical. You then ascend back up to the surface by way of a slow spiral. Second and third dive were at Dos Ojos which was really amazing. Nicholas brought sandwiches and fruit and water and juice for lunch. His dive briefings were spot on and I felt very safe in his hands – Diving the cenotes is one of those times were even at 225 dives you have no choice but to be a “trust me diver” and I felt that my trust was not misplaced. After three incredible tanks Nico took us back to the ferry
Also got to meet and greet a couple of SB’s which was great and once again reminded me how of all the sports – divers are just a really nice down to earth bunch of people.
Coz in general was fairly quiet. Very few pod people in town although on two days there were 4 Carnival pods at once – makes for interesting sites LOL. Lion fish seen and killed on every dive but not as many as I was expecting on the main reefs – a good thing I guess although I understand that deeper down and on the not often dived reefs that they are plentiful. Saw about 3 big ones on Barracuda but at the speed of the current probably missed some.
Once again another amazing trip and only 60 days until I return, Thanks to Jaime, Opal, Mau and all the boys at Scuba Mau and to Nicholas for probably my best trip to Coz
