I've been diving off of Playa del Carmen and Cancun before, but those dives paled in comparison to the OW diving Zinc and I did in the marine sanctuary off of Cozumel on the last day of our trip.
Yes, we spent the vast majority of our time diving the caves with our instructor. However, once the course was over we decided to treat ourselves to some far less intense diving in the marine sanctuary. Man am I glad we did!
We went out with and outfit called Deep Exposure Dive Center. Click here for more information about their operation: Cozumel Diving with Deep Exposure Dive Center Cozumel They pick you up at the pier nearest your hotel and then you're off to your destination.
While Zinc and I were there we only had gear for doubles and the folks at Deep Exposure were able to accommodate us with a set of Faber LP 85s. A very nice surprise as it can be hard to rent doubles from a dive operation. The owners, Lupita and Don Labbruzzo, were very helpful and worked hard to make sure Zinc and I had the gear we needed. Don, in fact, is an avid tech diver, so he knows what he's talking about and was able to help us with all our questions.
The boat picked us up at the pier. There were several crew members including the boat captain, & two fun and friendly dive masters. The guy Zinc and I dove with was really funny and super experienced with over 17,000 dives. Even Lupita was able to join us for the day.
We told our DM, Ramone, the type of diving we wanted to do. He worked with the other divers on the boat to put something interesting together for all of us. Our first dive was off the Palancar Reef. The bottom drops off quickly into God only knows how many feet of water. We dropped down to 150' for a bit and then worked our way back up to he reef staying within the NDL.
The marine life was simply spectacular. There were many fish I had not seen before and they were extremely abundant. One of the highlights of this dive was the reef itself. Rather than one large coral reef, it was comprised of many different tall, jutting mounds of coral. We dove around them, over them, through short tunnels, etc observing the huge variety of fish there. Other highlights on this dive was a very large green moray that had to be at least 7' long, the biggest parrotfish I have ever seen, and a turtle sleeping just inside a small cavern.
Our dive lasted just over an hour then we headed over to a nearby beach for lunch. Food was provided by the dive operator as was bottled water. The lunch consisted of fresh fruit (mango, cantaloupe, bananas), turkey sandwiches with your choice of cheese, fresh tomatoes, fresh avocado, etc potato chips, corn chips, and freshly made pico de gallo.
During our lunch/surface interval we swam and snorkeled in some of the clearest water (outside of a cave) that I've seen. I found several sand dollars and tons of conch shells. Of course, since it's a marine sanctuary we left them all there.
The second dive took us to the Santa Maria Wall. This part of the reef was very different in regard to the bottom. It was much more like the "typical" reef system I've dove. It more closely resembled "rolling hills" than the previous dive spot. We didn't dive deep this time, but remained above 80' for the entire dive. The marine life was just as varied and beautiful here as it was on the first dive. The wall was incredible. It dropped off fast and even in this extremely clear water you couldn't see anywhere near the bottom. I was in awe of the depth and wrote on my dive slate, "WOW! Deep!!" and showed it to the DM who nodded back with a smile behind his reg.
This was another hour long dive, not because Zinc and I got to refill our double LP 85s on the boat or grew gills in the cave, but because we were drift diving in a strong current on both dives. Anytime we we wanted to slow down and look at something we just dropped to the bottom and used the reef for cover. Above the reef the current swept us along with very little effort.
We saw a few more large animals on this particular dive...3 turtles, an 8' nurse shark, another huge parrot fish, a massive grouper under a ledge, and a lobster plenty big enough to feed Zinc and me for dinner. Darn marine sanctuary!!!!!!! No lobster for us! I did pet the shark a little, but I even had one of the DMs wag their finger at me for that.
Once we were back on the boat we took off our gear and rinsed it in the fresh water they had available to us. There was a camera rinse tank and a fresh water hose we could use as well. Our gear was hung to dry on the trip back. As Zinc and I stood on the bow of the boat looking out over the ocean, flying fish jumped out of the water in front of the boat and glided away to safety.
This was the best dive outfit I have ever been out with, hands down. They were helpful, friendly, accommodating and knew their stuff. Lunch was great. A two tank dive, which lasted from 9:00 until 3:30 was only $87 US. That included lunch and being picked up. Heck, Lupita even gave me a ride back to the hotel with our gear while Zinc checked up on getting himself a new tattoo. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. If you're going to Cozumel be sure and look up Deep Exposure Dive Center. You'll be glad you did.
K-Valve
Yes, we spent the vast majority of our time diving the caves with our instructor. However, once the course was over we decided to treat ourselves to some far less intense diving in the marine sanctuary. Man am I glad we did!
We went out with and outfit called Deep Exposure Dive Center. Click here for more information about their operation: Cozumel Diving with Deep Exposure Dive Center Cozumel They pick you up at the pier nearest your hotel and then you're off to your destination.
While Zinc and I were there we only had gear for doubles and the folks at Deep Exposure were able to accommodate us with a set of Faber LP 85s. A very nice surprise as it can be hard to rent doubles from a dive operation. The owners, Lupita and Don Labbruzzo, were very helpful and worked hard to make sure Zinc and I had the gear we needed. Don, in fact, is an avid tech diver, so he knows what he's talking about and was able to help us with all our questions.
The boat picked us up at the pier. There were several crew members including the boat captain, & two fun and friendly dive masters. The guy Zinc and I dove with was really funny and super experienced with over 17,000 dives. Even Lupita was able to join us for the day.
We told our DM, Ramone, the type of diving we wanted to do. He worked with the other divers on the boat to put something interesting together for all of us. Our first dive was off the Palancar Reef. The bottom drops off quickly into God only knows how many feet of water. We dropped down to 150' for a bit and then worked our way back up to he reef staying within the NDL.
The marine life was simply spectacular. There were many fish I had not seen before and they were extremely abundant. One of the highlights of this dive was the reef itself. Rather than one large coral reef, it was comprised of many different tall, jutting mounds of coral. We dove around them, over them, through short tunnels, etc observing the huge variety of fish there. Other highlights on this dive was a very large green moray that had to be at least 7' long, the biggest parrotfish I have ever seen, and a turtle sleeping just inside a small cavern.
Our dive lasted just over an hour then we headed over to a nearby beach for lunch. Food was provided by the dive operator as was bottled water. The lunch consisted of fresh fruit (mango, cantaloupe, bananas), turkey sandwiches with your choice of cheese, fresh tomatoes, fresh avocado, etc potato chips, corn chips, and freshly made pico de gallo.
During our lunch/surface interval we swam and snorkeled in some of the clearest water (outside of a cave) that I've seen. I found several sand dollars and tons of conch shells. Of course, since it's a marine sanctuary we left them all there.
The second dive took us to the Santa Maria Wall. This part of the reef was very different in regard to the bottom. It was much more like the "typical" reef system I've dove. It more closely resembled "rolling hills" than the previous dive spot. We didn't dive deep this time, but remained above 80' for the entire dive. The marine life was just as varied and beautiful here as it was on the first dive. The wall was incredible. It dropped off fast and even in this extremely clear water you couldn't see anywhere near the bottom. I was in awe of the depth and wrote on my dive slate, "WOW! Deep!!" and showed it to the DM who nodded back with a smile behind his reg.
This was another hour long dive, not because Zinc and I got to refill our double LP 85s on the boat or grew gills in the cave, but because we were drift diving in a strong current on both dives. Anytime we we wanted to slow down and look at something we just dropped to the bottom and used the reef for cover. Above the reef the current swept us along with very little effort.
We saw a few more large animals on this particular dive...3 turtles, an 8' nurse shark, another huge parrot fish, a massive grouper under a ledge, and a lobster plenty big enough to feed Zinc and me for dinner. Darn marine sanctuary!!!!!!! No lobster for us! I did pet the shark a little, but I even had one of the DMs wag their finger at me for that.
Once we were back on the boat we took off our gear and rinsed it in the fresh water they had available to us. There was a camera rinse tank and a fresh water hose we could use as well. Our gear was hung to dry on the trip back. As Zinc and I stood on the bow of the boat looking out over the ocean, flying fish jumped out of the water in front of the boat and glided away to safety.
This was the best dive outfit I have ever been out with, hands down. They were helpful, friendly, accommodating and knew their stuff. Lunch was great. A two tank dive, which lasted from 9:00 until 3:30 was only $87 US. That included lunch and being picked up. Heck, Lupita even gave me a ride back to the hotel with our gear while Zinc checked up on getting himself a new tattoo. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. If you're going to Cozumel be sure and look up Deep Exposure Dive Center. You'll be glad you did.
K-Valve
This has the potential to be a very serious case. I think we need to get you back to the bottom of Lake Travis and quickly.:11: I think a 150' dive at Mansfield is in order. 
