Our week at Coco View

[Sorrows]

We just got back on Sunday night from a week at CocoView. I thought I would share some of our experiences in the hopes of helping any divers out there.

#1. Getting there and back: We flew Delta from DC to Atlanta, where we met our college-aged son (his Spring Break) coming from Florida. Everything went well. We were met at the airport and taken by bus to the resort. A repeat visitor asked the driver to stop at the liquor store and he did. (I thought it was a joke!)

Getting back was not so pleasant. The line to pay the departure tax ($37 each--actually slightly less, but she kept the change) was ENORMOUS. After you finally pay that, you have to go BACK in line to get through immigration. Hint: all us foreigners got in the line for "International" thinking it would include immigration; meanwhile, the line for "national" was quite short. It turns out we could have gone in the "National" line to pay the departure tax, and THEN got in the line for "International" for immigration. Well, now we know, don't we? Also, there is a security check before you get into the waiting room and ANOTHER before you get on the plane--so don't buy any water/drinks at the bar in the waiting room as you won't be able to take it on board with you!

JFk closed Saturday, due to high winds, and many of the flights were diverted to Atlanta. Result: madness. Frustrated, angry travelers and exhausted, fed-up employees. We couldn't get to the gate because another flight was there. We missed our connection, we had lost baggage, customs was a nightmare and Delta re-booking was ten times worse. They were handing out little care packages for those who would be spending the night in the airport. Too old for that crap. We all went to La Quinta and left the next day. If we had thought about it, would have tried to schedule a visit to the Atlanta acquarium, which I understand is quite spectacular.

 

[Sorrows]

And now to the good stuff...

#2. Lodging: We stayed in Beach House #8 (casa de cielo); as the name implies, it was a second-story house, complete with a full kitchen and open (screened) living room. They provide a line and hooks for hanging up wet towels and clothes, etc. There is a master bedroom with full bath (no hair dryer) and a room with two twin beds, also with full bath. Our shower floor was beginning to peel a bit, but the water was HOT and there was LOTS of it! The bedrooms have a/c, although we didn't use it much. Yes, we did have our own beach, and even went snorkeling there the last day. Saw 12 lobster--more than we did on all our dives combined! It's not a swimming beach, of course, though there are some nice chairs for guests and the view is quite lovely.

I cannot say enough good things about manager Yancy and his staff. Friendly AND efficient. If we made a request, it was met that very day. They stock the house with water, popcorn, oil, dishwashing liquid, etc, and you can order from a list if you need more or want to cook (I decidedly did NOT) The cleaning ladies were angels--every day they would leave a design made of towels and blankets on our bed--an elephant, a kitten, butterflies--we looked forward to coming back from a dive and seeing what they had created that day!

There are bikes provided to get back and forth to the resort--it really is a very short ride (3-5 minutes.) I was worried that this might separate us from the rest of the resort and leave us feeling like second-rate guests, but I was dead wrong. It was not a problem at all. The bikes are actually fun.

If I had to complain about something, it would be the construction going on next door; but since they didn't start until after we'd left for our morning dive, it really wasn't such a big deal. However, the construction workers had fires of debris burning every day. THAT was a problem--the smell was so bad once that we put on the AC and closed the bedroom doors. It is supposed to be composted (it was all vegetation) but I guess burning is easier. A real shame, although I don't know what CocoView can do about it.

Forgot to add: I'm sure you heard that you don't have to lock your doors at CCV and that it is all perfectly safe. I was a doubter, too, my friends, but it is ALL TRUE! Such a relief not to have to worry about the cash, the camera, the computer. I understand that their employees have been with them for years and are all seriously vetted--by family members and friends who work at CCV and vouch for them! Whatever their system...it works!

 

[Sorrows]

#3. Coco View Resort. CCV is #1 for repeat customers, and I can well understand it. It is a very well-run dive resort. And very comfy, too--just the level of dive resort I love--like a camp for adults! Speaking of which, the median age at the resort appears to be around fifty. Very few people younger than forty, I would say.

When we arrived from the airport, lunch was waiting for us. (much appreciated!) All the food is homestyle cooking, served buffet style. I would say it is adequate. Yes, it could be better (and I don't mean more elegant) but I think we ate pretty well. You can get an omelette or French toast for breakfast. Arroz con frijoles at every meal--yummy! Salad at dinner and some vegetables; fruit at lunch; perhaps a bit too much fried food, but then, this is vacation! Desserts were on the blah side, but, OTOH, lobster night was a treat. And they had unsweetened REAL iced tea for which I will be eternally grateful.

In the main room, there are books, games, a slow computer, a pool table and a ping-pong table. I think there is also a television upstairs. So they are prepared for bad weather--we were lucky enough to have very GOOD weather, so didn't use any of it very much.

The grounds, btw, are beautiful. Hummingbirds in the day, little bats at night; lovely flowers and a bunny that has his own pen. Caged birds (actually don't like to see that) that will sometimes eat proffered treats (watch your fingers!)

There is a general gift shop, a dive shop, and a place to buy snacks and ice cream. You can run a tab at each--they all seem to be separate entities. We opted to snorkel on our off-gas day and forego the trip into town. (I really don't like to shop) So we were able to get the few touristy items we needed at the gift shop.

CCV has a little cay of their own--you just take a short walk over the boardwalk to get there. They have a cook-out (Ribs and chicken!) with Honduran dancing from the local school. Adorable! They also have the fire dancers on the last night--impressive, if a bit scary! Rum punch and a limbo contest! I was hoping to see a Garifuna performance like we did at AKR five years ago, but that wasn't available, unfortunately.

We didn't have any problem with bugs--there was a breeze most of the time. We did bring the DEET, but used it only once as a precaution, and stopped after that.

There is no pool. Personally, I would like one, but obviously can do without.

I really can't imagine being here if you aren't a diver (or a snorkeler at the very least.) There just isn't a lot else to do. For divers, however, it has to be close to heaven!

 

[DeputyDan]

Was it your first trip there?

I am sure that it won't be your last.

It is one of my daughter's very favorite vacation destinations! And on my top five list!

 

[Sorrows]

I had read that there is a check-out dive every day at 2:30 p.m. I think they would have preferred us to do our check-out with everybody else on Sunday, but we were determined to be on the early boat, so we left our bags on the dock, scrambled to get our equipment on, and went for it. We had a check-out with Jesse, the manager.

No excuses, but...I was dead tired and stressed and rushed and, seriously, this was not my finest moment as a diver! Jesse could have failed me and I wouldn't have blamed him. I had trouble getting down, flubbed through both the reg recovery and the mask clearing. I actually have developed a little phobia about mask clearing since an incident in Cozumel several years ago. Glad to say I worked on it while in Roatan and I think I have it now--although I hate to do it and obviously need a lot more practice!

Anyway, I love the set-up at CCV. Cubbies, places to hang your stuff inside and outside, nice tanks which are emptied and SCRUBBED every day, etc. Really don't see how it could be improved. And SAFE. We left our regs with computers there every night; cameras and other expensive equipment was left during the day and there was no problem. That was nice.

The boats are big and open with NO HEAD. Very cool: you can re-enter from the middle of the boat on turbulent days. What an outstanding idea! I've never seen that before.

There was one large group of 14, but otherwise the boats were not that crowded. Nice to see that they sent them all out and kept their people working. We were only 7, a very nice group of people, so that was good. There was another college-aged boy there that week, so I was a bit surprised that they didn't put my son and him together. Do they try to match up people by certain criteria or is it just the luck of the draw? I have no idea.

Captain Dave and Divemaster Mel were just wonderful. Both are natives of Roatan (Mel is a Garifuna) and went above and beyond to ensure our comfort, safety, and enjoyment. I don't understand how Mel dives without so much as a t-shirt, but he does. As for me, either my hyper-stretchy 3 mil has become a 1.5 mil or I'm just feeling the cold more with age--I had to add a vest and hood and am now seriously thinking of switching to a 5 mil.

The boats leave at 8:30 a.m. Briefing is given at the dock. The first dive is led by the divemaster. There is then a short break (fruit provided) and then they drop you off at either Coco View Wall or Newman's Wall (on the other side). The routine is the same in the afternoon, so you can easily fit in 4 dives a day, 5 if you include a night dive or early-morning dive. There is someone at the dock until 11 p.m. for those on a night dive; after that they lock up, go home and you are on your own.

BTW, CCV offers valet service. They set up your BC and tanks every morning/afternoon and between dives.

 

[Sorrows]

I saved the best for last!

I did a total of 23 dives the week I was at CCV--respectable, I would say. Most were on either CCV wall or Newman's. I'm not a big fan of the wrecks in general, but I was really not impressed with the Prince Albert or the nearby airplane--vis is poor and there's a lot of sand and silt. The Prince Albert is open, however, so anyone can take a look inside. More importantly, it's a great tool for navigation--CCV has taken considerable pains to ensure that their divers don't get lost! It's quite a distance back from the wreck or the wall to the resort, through gravel, sand, and turtle grass; the vis is dicey, but everything is clearly marked and there is a lot to see on the way home! Not much under the docks nor on the pilings, however, which surprised me a bit.

Generally speaking, I think the reefs are in pretty decent shape. Yes, I know they aren't what they were 20 years ago, but what is? There is a lot of brown in the seascape, lots of algae and coral that is obviously struggling. But there is also some beautiful coral and lots of gorgeous sponges, etc. Yes, the reefs at Bonaire are prettier, but Roatan has a lot to offer, too.

Fish life could be more abundant, but it is certainly better than Utila. Here, at least, there are schools of fish, and some of a very good size. We were not lucky enough to see the turtle, nurse shark or eagle ray, but that's okay. Saw TONS of seahorses--more than in Bonaire--AND an awesome toadfish! The tiniest drum juveniles I've ever seen--living near a bottle on the "path" back to CCV. We also saw the lionfish, which was interesting but chilling, too. I worry about the damage these deadly beauties are inflicting on our Caribbean reefs. Great to see so many indigo hamlets and nassau grouper. People in Roatan are so blase about the nassau grouper, but for a native Floridian, they were great to see! Also lots of squid--some just hanging out, with tentacles drooping. Tiny sponge decorator crab, neck crab, but we did not see a single nudibranch the entire time and yes, we were looking! We love the macro stuff.

As you acumulate more and more dives (I'm at 187 now--woohoo!) and learn more about fish and reef cretures, you stop just ticking off the fish and focusing on behavior. If anybody out there still has not purchased Humann and DeLoach's Fish Behavior, well, what the heck are you waiting for? On the path back to CCV, I saw a tiny jawfish building his home and it was exactly as described in their book! This little guy would not be scared back into his home or deterred in any way--I watched him for 20 minutes and he did not let up once. It was amazing.

However, the most amazing thing I saw--still can't believe it--was during an afternoon dive. The creole wrasses were doing their mating dance--nothing new about that, of course--but then I saw the strangest thing! A terminal creole wrasse doing a mating dance with (I think) initial phase Bluehead or Clown. In any case, his partner was definitely NOT another creole wrasse! How is this possible? I wonder if anyone else has seen such unusual iner-species behavior?

 

[Sorrows]

#1 favorite dive: A night dive right off of Coco View! Absolutely the best! We saw four octopus--from teeny-tiny to medium-sized--all on the hunt, changing colors and just being their usual cool octopus self. My fave reef creature; as I've said, the Moray is cool, but a one-trick pony. And then there is the octopus! Ah, he has it all--and smart, too! Also saw squandron of squid, crab, lobster, shrimp, usual suspects, including a beaded sea cucumber out and about!

We also did the boat night dive and didn't enjoy it half as much. It was a bit shallow, there were a lot of people with their lights flashing, the jellyfish, floating plastic, and the rocking ladder were stressing me out...in contrast, the night dive at CCV is so much more relaxing. You attach a strobe light to the buoy (provided by dive op), so you'd have to really work at it to get lost. And there was a lot going on out there--I really wasn't ready to come in, even after an hour. Wish we had done a night dive every night.

#2. Calvin's Crack. I know Mary's Place gets all the attention, but, personally, I think it is somewhat undeserved. There are equally beuatiful coral formations, sponges, etc at the Crack, although Mary's tunnel is deeper and bigger, I guess. It was also a choppy day when we went to Mary's AND we saw the toadfish at the Crack. So that my have influenced my opinion a tiny bit.

#3. Coco-View/Newman's Wall. One is to your right, the other your left, and both, IMHO, have a lot to offer. You get to know these walls fairly well, and I like that--gives you a chance to focus on what's around you. Like the mini-peacock flounders having a pissing match. That was cool. And the pelagic tunicates formed into a perfect square. Also, as mentioned above, I like the "path" back to CCV--vis and scenery isn't great, but there is a lot going on.

Some other sites:

Inside-Outside was a decent dive; come to the turn-around and you reach a "corner." Saw several schools there and lots of other fish; grouper, snapper, etc; obviously this is a happening place.

Valley of the Kings: aptly named; the coral formations were impressive.

Menagerie: Lots of schools here--tangs, margates, etc. Also Black Durgon!

Gold Chain: Also aptly named, due to staghorn coral. Saw a solitary Atlantic Spadefish here.

Mr. Bud: Why bother? You definitely don't go to this one for the wreck; otherwise, it was an okay dive, I guess.

John's Spot: This was a heartbreaker for us. Our camera had flooded (last day) and THIS was the dive where we saw the PERFECT red seahorse! Also a lime-green anemone with pink tips. Pretty!

 

[Sorrows]

Wow, this is long! And I haven't gotten to the most important part yet!

Would like to thank everybody here and at the CCV board who gave me such helpful adivce--particularly Doc Roatan!

Doc, I also got to meet the other Doc at CCV; we had a long, interesting, and somewhat depressing conversation about the future of the Roatan reefs and the sad story of lobster-hunting in Honduras. Boycotting Red Lobster seems so insignificant as does using my fish guide from the Monterey Bay Aquarium when I purchase seafood! We have to find more and better ways to help preserve the reefs we love so much.

 

[Sorrows]

Deputy Dan, we were at AKR five years ago; we've also been to Utila. But this was our first trip to Coco View!

I don't think we'll become "CocoNuts" but I do think we'll make it back!

 

[lmorin]

Nice report! As to the cross-species reproductive antics, it certainly occurs (e.g., dogs/human legs-same sort of thing), but evolution rather works against it.