seaangel
Guest
Playa del Carmen is now a wonderful memory for me. I am still daydreaming of the blue water and warmer days. It is still winter here at home. We got home late Monday night, and I still have to finish unpacking. Our trip was really great.
We got to Cancun Monday, Feb. 18th at noon, our hotel transfer was right on time and drove us to the Allegro in Playacar. We checked straight in and made a beeline for the beach. It was very
windy and the surf was pounding the beach, that is what had not
eroded away. Being hungry we went on up to have our first meal.
This was an all inclusive resort and believe me it was worth it.
After lunch we decided to explore the area and plan our next few days. We set up our schedule and began our adventures.
Tues. we rented a car and drove to Coba to visit the ruins, this was really great as a land excursion. There we rented bicycles and rode the grounds taking our own time and tour of the ruins. From Coba we drove back down to Xel-Ha and went in the park to snorkel the lagoon. Well, the weather was still ripping and the
water was churned up pretty good. Visibilty not good.
On Wednesday I was confirming my dive trip with a friend for Cozumel, he was sceptical of the weather and preferred we cancel or schedule for Friday. Since my husband and I already had booked a tour of Sian' Kan for Friday that never panned out.
I decided to check the hotel dive shop, Barracuda to see what they had to offer. When I got to the marina they told me they were going to the cenotes right then and I could come. So, I grabbed my gear and off I went to two cenotes. Takmaha and Karakmul ( I think that is how it is spelled.) I am so glad I did these dives. Takmaha was awesome, there were a couple of
cavern areas with air pockets and in the larger one there were bats on the ceiling, with one really large one in the center. they weren't flying just hanging around. We had lunch during our surface interval then drove to the next cenote. This one definitely was the most awesome of them. Both had layering of water fresh and salt water that causes a wavy or shimmering effect but here it was like looking through crystal. I felt like a bird soaring through the air. Also, the light shining in from openings created a stained glass like appearance.
The next day I scheduled a one tank reef dive with them if the weather was permitting. Thankfully it was a good day to dive. We
went to the Tortuga reef for a drift dive. This reef was only about 10-15 minutes from the hotel and was just beautiful. There were turtles everywhere and the seafans and sponges were totally grand. I saw three stingrays, a large school of tarpon and multitudes of angelfish, parrot fish, wrasses, grouper and even a very large crab.
Friday was our tour of Sian' Kan, this is south of Tulum and is a pennisula off the mainland that is 1.3million acres of wild life preserve. To see it you have to drive in then take a boat out in the lagoon and around the mangrove islands. We toured through the islands did some bird watching, looked for a crocodile, then went out into the open water looking for starfish and turtles. Once at the reef we snorkeled for a bit, but a storm rolled in so we headed in to the fishing village for a lunch. This was really a treat from an exclusive flyfishing resort. Not a real looker, but very exclusive place. The weather got worse and our boat guide needed to return us so he could make it back before dark. Water was very choppy, rain pelted us and there was thunder and lightning, but we really had a good time.
Saturday went as follows; first bus to Xcaret at 8:20 spent all morning there exploring all areas. 1:00pm back to hotel for lunch and rest for my husband, me I was off to dive with the hotel dive shop again. We went to two reefs , Tortuga and another one near it. Again this was a very good dive. We saw alot more turtles this time. The current was much stronger but was not impossible.
I was very pleased with the Barracuda Dive shop from the Allegro. They were very friendly, and definetly safety oriented. All the trips were small, 4 divers and one DM. I felt that we all great friends by the end of my week there.
On Sunday I did no diving since I was flying on Monday. We took the ferry to Coz and went on a Catamaran snorkel trip with the Fury. This was a lot of fun. Water there was very clear, but almost looked barren compared to where I had been at Playa.
I am now really ready for my next dives which will be in the Bahamas the end of March. I also, will have some pictures developed soon.
We got to Cancun Monday, Feb. 18th at noon, our hotel transfer was right on time and drove us to the Allegro in Playacar. We checked straight in and made a beeline for the beach. It was very
windy and the surf was pounding the beach, that is what had not
eroded away. Being hungry we went on up to have our first meal.
This was an all inclusive resort and believe me it was worth it.
After lunch we decided to explore the area and plan our next few days. We set up our schedule and began our adventures.
Tues. we rented a car and drove to Coba to visit the ruins, this was really great as a land excursion. There we rented bicycles and rode the grounds taking our own time and tour of the ruins. From Coba we drove back down to Xel-Ha and went in the park to snorkel the lagoon. Well, the weather was still ripping and the
water was churned up pretty good. Visibilty not good.
On Wednesday I was confirming my dive trip with a friend for Cozumel, he was sceptical of the weather and preferred we cancel or schedule for Friday. Since my husband and I already had booked a tour of Sian' Kan for Friday that never panned out.
I decided to check the hotel dive shop, Barracuda to see what they had to offer. When I got to the marina they told me they were going to the cenotes right then and I could come. So, I grabbed my gear and off I went to two cenotes. Takmaha and Karakmul ( I think that is how it is spelled.) I am so glad I did these dives. Takmaha was awesome, there were a couple of
cavern areas with air pockets and in the larger one there were bats on the ceiling, with one really large one in the center. they weren't flying just hanging around. We had lunch during our surface interval then drove to the next cenote. This one definitely was the most awesome of them. Both had layering of water fresh and salt water that causes a wavy or shimmering effect but here it was like looking through crystal. I felt like a bird soaring through the air. Also, the light shining in from openings created a stained glass like appearance.
The next day I scheduled a one tank reef dive with them if the weather was permitting. Thankfully it was a good day to dive. We
went to the Tortuga reef for a drift dive. This reef was only about 10-15 minutes from the hotel and was just beautiful. There were turtles everywhere and the seafans and sponges were totally grand. I saw three stingrays, a large school of tarpon and multitudes of angelfish, parrot fish, wrasses, grouper and even a very large crab.
Friday was our tour of Sian' Kan, this is south of Tulum and is a pennisula off the mainland that is 1.3million acres of wild life preserve. To see it you have to drive in then take a boat out in the lagoon and around the mangrove islands. We toured through the islands did some bird watching, looked for a crocodile, then went out into the open water looking for starfish and turtles. Once at the reef we snorkeled for a bit, but a storm rolled in so we headed in to the fishing village for a lunch. This was really a treat from an exclusive flyfishing resort. Not a real looker, but very exclusive place. The weather got worse and our boat guide needed to return us so he could make it back before dark. Water was very choppy, rain pelted us and there was thunder and lightning, but we really had a good time.
Saturday went as follows; first bus to Xcaret at 8:20 spent all morning there exploring all areas. 1:00pm back to hotel for lunch and rest for my husband, me I was off to dive with the hotel dive shop again. We went to two reefs , Tortuga and another one near it. Again this was a very good dive. We saw alot more turtles this time. The current was much stronger but was not impossible.
I was very pleased with the Barracuda Dive shop from the Allegro. They were very friendly, and definetly safety oriented. All the trips were small, 4 divers and one DM. I felt that we all great friends by the end of my week there.
On Sunday I did no diving since I was flying on Monday. We took the ferry to Coz and went on a Catamaran snorkel trip with the Fury. This was a lot of fun. Water there was very clear, but almost looked barren compared to where I had been at Playa.
I am now really ready for my next dives which will be in the Bahamas the end of March. I also, will have some pictures developed soon.
