Playa del Carmen Dive Report

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

January 23, 2009: Shark Gardens

Today was another beautiful day for diving. The temperature was 77F/23C with the wind blowing at 11.5MPH/10knots from the NE.

Shark Gardens: Today the visibility was average at about 50-55ft/15-16.6met with a bit of surge at the bottom. We reached the bottom and there was only one shark, a good size one probably a male who was about 6ft/1.8met. We swam North for about 6 minutes and found 8 Bull Sharks all ranging in size. No Stingrays, no Snapper, nothing but these beautiful sharks and the Geofish Dive. We stayed there for about 15minutes and started our ascent. The sharks paid no attention to us while we were ascending and it was one of the most relaxing Shark dives I have ever been on.

By the way, here at Geofish we don't touch or lure the sharks in at all. We are against chumming for them and wish other shops would stop doing it, for the customers safety.

Diving Playa del Carmen 1 - Academy of Scuba: Phoenix AZ

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

January 24, 2009: Tortugas and Sabalos

Today the weather was prime! With the temperature at 77F/23C and the wind blowing from the ENE at 1.15MPH/1knot. The water was the great turquoise that this part of the world in known for.

Tortugas: Today the visibility was about 60-70ft/18-21met. Tortugas has been lacking in turtles lately, but today we saw about 6 Hawsbill's. Great dive and super cool to see the turtles out and about. Water temp was at 77F/23C.

Sabalos: Sabalos was great today. We saw a few huge Cubera Snapper and the typical large schools of Grunts and Mutton Snapper. The Coral seemed very vibrant today and it was a very refreshing dive.

Tomorrow January 25, 2009 we are doing Angelita and Dos Ojos Cenotes

Monday January 26, 2009: Either Moche Deep and Moche Shallow or Shark Gardens.

For those who haven't looked at this article, it is an article explaining the diving aspects of Playa del Carmen. Myself and John Flanders (scubajcf) put it together and we are trying to get it published in a Diving Magazine or two. So those who would like to take the time to read it we would love to hear some feedback on what you think. Thank you!!
Diving Playa del Carmen 1 - Academy of Scuba: Phoenix AZ

 

[divebrasil]

I would like to give a shout out to Max, his brother, Tony, Ohad, Irene, Geraldo and all the Geofish staff.

I took part on the above mentioned dives, mama vina, sabalos, chikin ha cenotes, tortugas and sabalos again.

We had a great time diving with you in Playa. Geraldo, specially is a great dive guide.

I highly recommend Geofish to anybody looking for good fun dives in the Playa area.

Thanks guys.

Until next time!

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

Thanks Yan. Glad you had a good time and come back soon we can go to some other cenotes and maybe the "Cantil". Take care man!

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

January 26, 2009: Shark Gardens and Sabalos

Today was a particularly hot morning.....how refreshing. The temp at the time of the dive was 81F/25C. The wind was blowing from the ENE at 11.5MPH/10knots. There was zero cloud cover and everyone was ready to go see some sharks.

Shark Gardens: There was a little bit of surge at our max depth which was 80ft/24met so the visibility was not very good at about 45ft/13.6met. There were two highlights to this dive, the first, of course the sharks and the amount that we saw. There were around 8 different sharks that we saw and all were very fat and varied in size. The biggest being probably around 11ft/3.3met. The second highlight of the dive was the amount of Remoras (sucker fish) and Cobia, which are long torpedo-shaped fish that resemble a smaller shark. They vary in size from 2-6ft/.6-1.8met. Both the Remoras and the Cobia are very curious fish and in our case as well as many other, they followed us for our whole dive. Very cool dive.

Sabalos: Visibility was around 50ft/15met. Sabalos is obviously a very popular dive of Playa seeing how many times I write about Sabalos. It is always a spectacular dive with tons to see especially the colorful coral that divers think they only see in Cozumel. The swim through and caves are always full of fish and sometimes the occasional Eel, or Turtle.

So all in all great day of diving and on deck for tomorrow January 27, 2009: Dos Ojos @8am and Taj-Maja and Cristalino @1:30pm.


Diving Playa del Carmen 1 - Academy of Scuba: Phoenix AZ

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

January 27, 2009: Dos Ojos @8am and Taj-Mahal & Cristalino @2pm

Today was a very cloudy, windy, and closed port kind of day. So what better way to have fun on a crappy day than to go Cenote diving......four times!?

Dos Ojos is.....well Dos Ojos. It is always beautiful, spectacular and all the above adjectives you can think of. Whether rain or shine Dos Ojos is a great dive and it didn't disappoint this trip. The Sun was still shining a bit in the morning so there was a nice light penetrating the sink hole. After about 2 hours of diving we were off, back up North to the shop.

Taj-Mahal is one of the Cenotes like Dos Ojos where it is truly a phenomenon if you are disappointed after a dive there, whether rain or shine. At the time of this dive which was about 3pm, it was pretty cloudy. But there was still a little light penetrating the cenote and it looked like some sort of a laser show. The way the roots hang though the ceiling makes for a really out of this world visual spectacle. Great dive, but the highlight of the dives was the massive Halocline cloud that is in Cristalino. It makes for a really uneasy feeling while you are trying to find your bearings and figure out where you are at. In this Cenote you need to stay together and know where everyone is because the second someone takes it for granted they can get lost. It is a beautiful Cenote and it will really test your skills as well as your focus.


Diving Playa del Carmen 1 - Academy of Scuba: Phoenix AZ

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

January 29, 2009: Sabalos and Barracuda

Today the temperature at the time of our morning dives 83F/26C with the wind blowing at 7MPH/6knots from the SE. Great day for diving, the light was great and the temp was perfect for surface intervals.

Sabablos: Wonderful day to dive Sabalos, the visibility was great at around 70ft/21m. We saw 2 turtles, both pretty small in size, but they are so cool! Saw a few big Cubera Snapper that were about 3.5ft/1.1m. One of the customers said that they saw a shark, we didn't see it so who knows, but he might have been mistaken. But great dive, always a pleasure to dive Sabalos.

Barracuda: Barracuda has been great lately. So much sealife and the visibility has been great. Today it was at about 65ft/19.6m. I love the end of this dive because the wall that is in the kind of horse-shoe part of the reef is always stalked full of crabs, spotted morays, cleaner shrimp, and other cool critters. Saw two small turtles that were feeding on top of the reef with several yellow-tail snapper. Great dive and I always love diving Sabalos and Barracuda together, it shows the many differences in two dives that are close to each other, around the same depth, but completely unique in their own ways.


Diving Playa del Carmen 1 - Academy of Scuba: Phoenix AZ

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

January 30, 2009: Shark Gardens

This morning at the our dive the weather was amazing. The temp was 83F/26C and almost no wind. The water was like glass and the sharks were begging for us to come join them.

The visibility at 85ft/25.7m was about 70ft/21m. We hit the bottom and there weren't any sharks, so we swam North with the current for about 2-3 minutes and ran into 3 very nice, fat and curious Bull Sharks. They got very close today, about 5-10ft/1.5-3m from us. It is so amazing to see these powerful animals get so close to you and it seems like they are paying no attention to you at all. Don't take them for granted though! We ended up seeing another shark towards the end of our dive that was around 10ft/3m. Another great shark dive. I dread the day that we go for a shark dive and they are gone.

About mid February, if your lucky the end of Feb, the Bull Sharks leave the Playa area and they aren't seen until the following November. So let's enjoy them while they are still here huh!


Diving Playa del Carmen 1 - Academy of Scuba: Phoenix AZ

 

[scubajcf]

See you guys soon.

Thanks for the great updates!


jcf

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

February 3, 2009: Moche Shallow and Jardines

Can't believe it is already February! Well the weather today was like night and day compared to yesterday! The temperature was 78F/26C, the wind was blowing from the NNE at 11.5mph.10knots.

Moche Shallow: Haven't dove it in a while and it was great today. Lots and lots of life out. We saw 4 Moray's and 2 turtles towards the end of the dive. Visibility was at its greatest since it was very windy and rainy yesterday, but it was at about 50-55ft/15-16.6m. I love diving Moche, the coral formations are so much different than the other reefs and it really gives you a diverse scenery.

Jardines: I am going to be honest, the visibility at Jardines was no more than 30ft/9m. But as always it was full of life. Several Dogface Puffers, and as always the many Moray eels that inhabit Jardines.

The way I look at it is this, no matter the visibility, the weather, or the reef, at least I get to dive everyday and I could always be doing something worse right? I feel very fortunate to be able to be doing this and please people.......come enjoy it with us!!!


Diving Playa del Carmen 1 - Academy of Scuba: Phoenix AZ