Trip Report Make Cozumel Great Again: Trip Report, June – July 2020

[Ironborn]

You can also find tanks, easy in/out, nearby refreshments, and similar diving at Hotel Barracuda and Villa Blanca. Barracuda has by far the most rubble just to the south in the form of a collapsed pier. All have the same 20-25' depths with Tikila reaching 30'.

Does the rubble of the collapsed pier at Barracuda provide shelter for a lot of macro critters? Does it have a lot of growth on it?

 

[Ironborn]

Paul, anemone crab is Mithrax cinctimanus, banded clinging crab.

Thank you for the ID. I looked up that species and it says that these crabs are all over the Caribbean, but I have never seen them anywhere else before.

 

[BrewingDiver]

Hi Paul,

We dove with you back in 2017. It looks like you've added a lot more to your log than we have since then.

It's been a few years, but we've stayed and dove with both SCC and BA, multiple times. Regarding the shore diving at both, I'd say they are pretty comparable. We prefer to do most of those at night because of the different animals vs. day diving. You will see more or less the same stuff from one to the other. If I remember correctly, SCC has a slightly easier entry and you are submerged right away. BA you have to wade in then swim out just a little in very shallow water (unless jumping off the pier) but both are fine. The night diving at both is well worth it.

Both Sea of Cortez and Socorro are awesome! If you go to the SoC in the late summer and into fall, you will want to dive with sea lions. The juveniles are born around April, and the mothers will allow them to interact with divers. I even had one rest it's chin on the top of my head while it was lying on my tank/BC. Too bad I couldn't see that and had to rely on my wife's and others' description! These are some of the most memorable dives we've done. We also did Socorro on a liveaboard over Thanksgiving a few years back. Great trip, lots of sharks and mantas.

Glad to hear you got back to Coz and had a better experience this time.

 

[ReefHound]

Does the rubble of the collapsed pier at Barracuda provide shelter for a lot of macro critters? Does it have a lot of growth on it?

Yes, it's massive. The field is probably 30 feet wide extending from shore out 50 yards then ells south another 20-30 yards. Tons of concrete and rebar and fencing. There's also a small airplane halfway from the dock to the rubble. Found a few older clips pre-Gopro.

The small airplane.

The rubble overview.

 

[drrich2]

I like that splendid toadfish shot!

Shore diving on the house reef is self-service, and they allow solo diving there, as it is only 20 feet deep and extremely easy to navigate.

Thanks for that detail, the solo option is good to know! When I was on a live-aboard trip elsewhere, 3 different fellow divers talked up the Blue Angel shore dive to me, a good place to see 'critters.'

The food and the service were good at the restaurant, which has a nice ocean view.

Over the years I've seen their restaurant praised a number of times. While Blue Angel isn't an A.I. operation, I would imagine one could just eat on-site all week if so inclined (I've done that on a prior Bonaire trip at Buddy Dive Resort years ago). Did they have a varied enough menu to make the practical? IIRC, Blue Angel is a ways south, so are there good local places to eat one can walk to without needing a cab? My Cozumel trip I stayed at Casa Mexica, and walking to places was easy. Just wondering the logistics if one doesn't rent a car.

Nice report! Glad to hear people are getting dive trips in again. Maybe even...making them great again!

 

[ReefHound]

Over the years I've seen their restaurant praised a number of times. While Blue Angel isn't an A.I. operation, I would imagine one could just eat on-site all week if so inclined (I've done that on a prior Bonaire trip at Buddy Dive Resort years ago). Did they have a varied enough menu to make the practical? IIRC, Blue Angel is a ways south, so are there good local places to eat one can walk to without needing a cab? My Cozumel trip I stayed at Casa Mexica, and walking to places was easy. Just wondering the logistics if one doesn't rent a car.

I don't think it's varied enough to eat there all week without repeats. There isn't much within walking distance either, by most people's standards of walking. The place is located in a fairly desolate stretch. A quarter mile south is Turquoise or whatever has replaced it. A quarter mile north are a couple small bar n grills though in 15 years of going to Coz I've never been to them and don't know anyone who has. Getting a cab is relatively cheap and easy though. I wouldn't let logistics deter me from staying there unless you want to hit up new restaurants and bars every day.

 

[Ironborn]

Hi Paul,

We dove with you back in 2017. It looks like you've added a lot more to your log than we have since then.

It's been a few years, but we've stayed and dove with both SCC and BA, multiple times. Regarding the shore diving at both, I'd say they are pretty comparable. We prefer to do most of those at night because of the different animals vs. day diving. You will see more or less the same stuff from one to the other. If I remember correctly, SCC has a slightly easier entry and you are submerged right away. BA you have to wade in then swim out just a little in very shallow water (unless jumping off the pier) but both are fine. The night diving at both is well worth it.

Both Sea of Cortez and Socorro are awesome! If you go to the SoC in the late summer and into fall, you will want to dive with sea lions. The juveniles are born around April, and the mothers will allow them to interact with divers. I even had one rest it's chin on the top of my head while it was lying on my tank/BC. Too bad I couldn't see that and had to rely on my wife's and others' description! These are some of the most memorable dives we've done. We also did Socorro on a liveaboard over Thanksgiving a few years back. Great trip, lots of sharks and mantas.

Glad to hear you got back to Coz and had a better experience this time.

Good to hear from you again. Where did I meet you, on the Tres Pelicanos boat in 2017? I remember someone on that boat recommending Blue Angel to me, specifically for the night shore dives.

For the Sea of Cortez, would you recommend a liveaboard or a terrestrial dive operation? I looked into it and it seems like the terrestrial dive operations out of La Paz involve long and expensive boat rides, and that a liveaboard might yield more diving time and better value for the money. There was a resort in Cabo Pulmo that sounded interesting, but I lost interest when I read about repeated thefts of cash from their rooms in their reviews.

 

[Ironborn]

Over the years I've seen their restaurant praised a number of times. While Blue Angel isn't an A.I. operation, I would imagine one could just eat on-site all week if so inclined (I've done that on a prior Bonaire trip at Buddy Dive Resort years ago). Did they have a varied enough menu to make the practical? IIRC, Blue Angel is a ways south, so are there good local places to eat one can walk to without needing a cab? My Cozumel trip I stayed at Casa Mexica, and walking to places was easy. Just wondering the logistics if one doesn't rent a car.

Nice report! Glad to hear people are getting dive trips in again. Maybe even...making them great again!

I was happy the range of the menu, which included lionfish, by the way. It did not have a ton of variety and might have gotten old after more than a week, but it was fine for the duration of my trip. I did not eat anywhere else. This opinion comes with the caveat that I probably crave less variety in food than many other travelers. Blue Angel is a bit out of the way, but it was still not inconvenient to get to and from town with a cab ride that took maybe 5-10 minutes each way and cost about $5 each way. I only went into town for the Cuban cigar lounge.

Until Cozumel's reopening is complete (whenever that happens) or at least further along, I think that staying at a dive resort is better than staying in town (if any of those hotels are open) and diving with a stand-alone dive shop. The town was still pretty shut down and did not have much to offer in terms of dining, adult beverages, or other things to see and do. One would probably be better off shore diving or relaxing at a resort until the town is more active again.

 

[ChrisM]

Been staying at BA for probably a decade now. For reference I've stayed at Casa Mex and Bahia Suites. While those were convenient, they never felt very relaxing to me. BA is more along the lines of a resort without being a resort. The grass area, the hammocks, jumping off the pier, the shore diving. The house cat. All we need is right there. We typically will do either lunch or dinner there, and the opposite in town. Easy mile walk or a 75 or so peso cab ride, depending on weather, fatigue and imbibement level.

We dive with another op so we get picked up.

And if you like to ocean swim, it's pretty much the prime spot on the east coast between Villa Blanca pier and Calletita

 

[ggunn]

The house cat.

I have video of grackles divebombing the cat and the cat jumping a couple of feet in the air trying to intercept them. It was pretty entertaining, although when I am on vacation I am easily amused.