Main objective, Whale Sharks...

[lsorenson]

Hey guys, I could use some help with firsthand knowledge if you don’t mind sharing your thoughts… Main objective, Whale Sharks...

We’re heading back to Cozumel this July or August for giggles and grins… We both want to see the Whale Sharks and Mantas over at Isla Mujeres but we also want to take advantage of the Cenote’s and hit Cozumel for some drifts…

Plan is for 9 days/8 nights… is doing all three reasonable? I can see landing at Cancun and heading over to Mujeres for the sharks first 2 days (Monday/Tuesday) head over to the Cenote’s for another 2 days (Wed/Thurs), Friday spent seeing Mexico (maybe) head over to Coz for Sat/Sun/Mon drifting, Tuesday focused on good Mexican food and prep to return Wednesday… Friday may get pulled into diving but we are just in the planning and research stages… Maybe we should push the Whale Sharks for last but then bad weather strikes or for whatever reason the splash gets canceled were out of luck… If bad luck strikes on the front end, we can at least reschedule for later in the week…

Sound reasonable? Since its summer, blow off Coz till Fall or Winter? Thought’s on this?

Thanks for taking the time... lee

 

[Christi]

Hey guys, I could use some help with firsthand knowledge if you don’t mind sharing your thoughts… Main objective, Whale Sharks...

We’re heading back to Cozumel this July or August for giggles and grins… We both want to see the Whale Sharks and Mantas over at Isla Mujeres but we also want to take advantage of the Cenote’s and hit Cozumel for some drifts…

Plan is for 9 days/8 nights… is doing all three reasonable? I can see landing at Cancun and heading over to Mujeres for the sharks first 2 days (Monday/Tuesday) head over to the Cenote’s for another 2 days (Wed/Thurs), Friday spent seeing Mexico (maybe) head over to Coz for Sat/Sun/Mon drifting, Tuesday focused on good Mexican food and prep to return Wednesday… Friday may get pulled into diving but we are just in the planning and research stages… Maybe we should push the Whale Sharks for last but then bad weather strikes or for whatever reason the splash gets canceled were out of luck… If bad luck strikes on the front end, we can at least reschedule for later in the week…

Sound reasonable? Since its summer, blow off Coz till Fall or Winter? Thought’s on this?

Thanks for taking the time... lee

Sounds like a great plan actually - and I would say mid to late July is your best time frame for this. I would not blow off Coz because it's summer however - summer diving is excellent here!

Weather issues are not likely In July/August unless there is a tropical disturbance of some kind - which of course cannot be predicted or planned around.

Have a great time!

 

[Prop Joe]

You already saw my post... Here it is again for those who have not:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/295925-whale-shark-trip-july-18th.html

Lee, How was your January trip?

 

[lsorenson]

You already saw my post... Here it is again for those who have not:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/295925-whale-shark-trip-july-18th.html

Lee, How was your January trip?

Had a great time Joe... Aldora Diver was the "Cats Meow!" They had the 120's for me and 100's for the Miss. Could not say enough good things about this outfit and is the main reason for the quick turnaround!!! Its always good to get suggestions from those that have been before and I hope to help others just as you have helped me...

Christi, thanks for chiming in... We will look into July (happy birthday to ME!!!)

lee

 

[firstdive2005]

Lee, that's a fun run for sure. Youll get a work out. I did the same trip. I did the cenote last though. Cleaned my gear, and I caught the flight at Cancun too so it just made sense. If you havnt done the whale shark dive, I would advise not to wear wet suit. Cant swim fast enough. Wear skins if you can or tshirt-shorts. If your shooting and it's your first dive put it on video and not on sea mode if your camera has that setting, it will be red. And watch out for the tail. lol. have a blast. thats when I am going, my birthday present.

 

[DandyDon]

Sounds good. You can Open-Jaw your plane ticket, except they call it multi-city on booking sites. Should be half of a round-trip to each.

I use Easyway car rental on the peninsula. Not great, but a good package on insurance and no drop charges - pretty cheap really. Need maps? Can-do maps are great.

 

[lsorenson]

Lee, that's a fun run for sure. Youll get a work out. I did the same trip. I did the cenote last though. Cleaned my gear, and I caught the flight at Cancun too so it just made sense. If you havnt done the whale shark dive, I would advise not to wear wet suit. Cant swim fast enough. Wear skins if you can or tshirt-shorts. If your shooting and it's your first dive put it on video and not on sea mode if your camera has that setting, it will be red. And watch out for the tail. lol. have a blast. thats when I am going, my birthday present.

Thanks for the heads up firstdive... Work on cardio, check... Skin only, check... Watch out for the BFT... (Big Fricken Tail) check check...

We are still trying to figure out if were going Coz first or Mujeres... Coz makes the most sense even if the whale sharks get blown out cause we know were going back... Disappointment more than anything else, that and wasting the cardio workout...!

 

[lsorenson]

Sounds good. You can Open-Jaw your plane ticket, except they call it multi-city on booking sites. Should be half of a round-trip to each.

I use Easyway car rental on the peninsula. Not great, but a good package on insurance and no drop charges - pretty cheap really. Need maps? Can-do maps are great.

Dandy... Thanks and thats a good thought about splitting the trip... Looking into prices to see our options...!

Question for you... Judging by your "location" you must be out in East Texas... Fair statement? Reason for asking is, I was raised in Dallas (family is still there) and the only hills I know of are in E Texas... Some down south and heading west to El Paso you have the Franklin/Guadalupe Mountains... San Marcos maybe? I made many of trips between Dallas and Corpus...! No matter, just wondering! Myself, I always liked the area around San Marcos and New Braunfeld (sp, but use to have good German food!)

lee

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks for the heads up firstdive... Work on cardio, check... Skin only, check... Watch out for the BFT... (Big Fricken Tail) check check...

I got fluked on my first whale shark snorkel, or would it be caudaled since they are fish - and the tail goes sideways rather than vertically? Barely felt it. Felt bad for breaking the distance & no-touch rules, but kept shooting. Still shots seemed unlikely and flashes are not allowed, but I just shot vid. Marginal quality but fun.

See if your operator will allow wet suits instead of life vests as the latter can slow you in the water, and it's always a race to keep up, but flotation is required for safety I think. We used inflatable snorkel vests, and my Op didn't make us inflate but we could in a time of need. I'm odd about always wearing one on any small, moving boat, so laugh - and try to get my family to do the same, or when we play in area lakes, so I own a few. It amazes me that most will buckle up in taxis these days but ride a small, open boat as if they never turn over violently. :shocked2:

Dandy... Thanks and thats a good thought about splitting the trip... Looking into prices to see our options...!

I like Kayak.com/Sidestep.com for travel shopping, checking multiple sites at once. Learning all the features takes some time, but lots of options. After every flight search, I have to uncheck Overnight to avoid ungawdly layovers tho. Multi-city can be tricky to shop, but here is an idea...

Open a window to the site only, run a search for possible dates of travel to Cancun, checking dates flexible to see +3 days. Right click Flight tab to open a new window tab and Modify last search for new dates, then again, then again - and you end up with many tabs open to compare dates & prices.

Open a new window and repeat the process for round-trip Cozumel, tabs lined up across the screen.

Open a new window and repeat for multi-city based on what you learned from above.

If you try this on an airline site, tho - your fares go up. They have devious programs to track your shopping and jerk you around as you look.​

I see lots of choices from RDU, but I'm not even sure that's your airport of what dates might work so I won't go on, but $409 RDU-CUN and CZM-RDU is available for Aug 6-14.

Question for you... Judging by your "location" you must be out in East Texas... Fair statement? Reason for asking is, I was raised in Dallas (family is still there) and the only hills I know of are in E Texas... Some down south and heading west to El Paso you have the Franklin/Guadalupe Mountains... San Marcos maybe? I made many of trips between Dallas and Corpus...! No matter, just wondering! Myself, I always liked the area around San Marcos and New Braunfeld (sp, but use to have good German food!)

lee

How do you read hills from Texas High Plains? I know the Hill Country around San Marcos; I did not know that East Texas had any hills? Really? I've not traveled that side much, so I went to East Texas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and it mentions rolling hills in the north. We drove thru Paris TX last summer on the way to a lake in OK and I missed the hills.

Anyway, I am between Lubbock and Amarillo near I-27, a half mile higher than San Marcos - and most Texans have never been to this part I know. The plains look quite flat altho there is a very slight slope leading to the escarpment that separates the High Plains from the Rolling Plains below. The abrupt change is noticeable tho when one drives from Dallas to here thru the Rolling Plains, then up the escarpment to the plains that Coronado named Llano Estado,* then - suddenly just flat!

* Popular myth says that he named it the Llano Estado or Staked Plains because he drove buffalo bones in the ground to mark his way back, but I think that is hogwash. Coronado was greedy and evil but he was a navigator who sailed from Spain with a compass and sextant, so I doubt he needed to mark a retreat with bones - that might have been difficult to see in tall grasses anyway. There were buffalo bones all over then. Llano Estado in 1500s could also have been translated as Stockaded Plains, referencing the cliffs appearance from below and the difficulty making the ascent. Besides, he wintered in a valley near Ralls TX one year, but on a creek bed near Santa Rosa NM another year. I doubt he ever had any intention of returning by the same route.

Or he may have named it Staked Plains for all the yucca cactus he had to navigate around at times.

 

[ggunn]

Or he may have named it Staked Plains for all the yucca cactus he had to navigate around at times.

Maybe he named it Steaked Plains for all the buffalo meat he ate while he was there...