catfish:
The dive op was not the problem. As a matter of fact, this was one of the real positives of the trip. We dove with Living Underwater. Jeremy runs a very good operation. We liked him far better than Aldora, who we used on our previous trip and didn't care for. As for the dive sites we visited, I don't have a list of the names in front of me, but we primarily went to the far southern sites. Punta Sur and Columbia are two of the Southern sites I can remember the names of off the top of my head.
I was completely expecting you to name one of the large, multi-boat operators who runs their dives based on a time schedule and takes divers where it is convenient. To hear you were diving places like Punta Sur and Columbia AND diving them with Jeremy is a surprise.
I got back on Saturday from 8 days in Cozumel. I'd been before Wilma and this was my 3rd trip post-Wilma. I usually dive with Jeremy but this trip I had half the days with him and half with Liquid Blue, which is another great dive op. Jeremy is one most relaxed, slow paced and critter finding DM's I've dived with anywhere. Between the two shops I did dives at Columbia Pinnacles, Columbia Deep, Columbia Shallows, Punta Sur (just the wall this time as not everyone was comfortable with the throat and cathedral), Palancar Caves, Horeshoe and Gardens, Santa Rosa, San Francsico, Tunich and a handful of others. I noticed much improvement since February - more sponge and fan buds, lots of juvinille fish and critters, good variety of marine life, etc. And I think the night dives have actually gotten better. To me at least there seemed to be much more going on then in the past.
Pre-hurricane we'd already had a trip planned for Dec, which we do every year, and decided to still go. We had no expectations and went with an open mind. Many dives we were saddened by what we saw, but on these dives there was still something great to see. Other sites were we amazed at how good things still looked. In February we noticed some improvement. Fans and sponges don't grow overnight but there was change happening. From Feb to May I noticed a bigger change for the better.
Everyone looks at things differently and has a different idea of what makes a good dive and a good dive destination. Even post-Wilma I find that Cozumel still has better diving and is a better dive vacation destination then about 95% of the Caribbean. Cozumel reefs are never going to be what they were before this hurricane. As they continue to rejuvinate over time they will come back differently.
It's fine for to say that Cozumel no longer meets your expectations. And if it just didn't do it for you anymore then there's no point going back. But I do feel it's better to be specific about what you saw, and the basis for your impressions rather then just a blanket statement about damage.
