guggie
Contributor
I'm now back from 5 days of fantastic diving in PDC with Jason of Fantaseadive and, as promised, am following through with my review.
I've dove and snorkeled on and off over the past 40 years in various areas of the Virgin Islands, Grenadines, Curacao and St. Martin. My parents owned a house on St. Thomas and I used to dive there at least once per year through my high school and early college years. After a 20+ year hiatus, I finally got certified for OW with my kids this past March and planned this trip to PDC with my son, Greg, for his 21st birthday. We chose to stay in Hotel La Tortuga because of its value and recommendations on tripadvisor, and then we picked Jason because of his personal approach and enthusiasm with the area. We dove multiple times this past summer in lakes (cold), quarry (colder), and ocean (low viz) to brush up on our skills and get ready for this Mexico week.
Jason was quick to respond via email and suggested we fill our schedule first with two days of diving off PDC, one day in Cozumel, and one day at a cenote (my wishes taken into account). We arrived in PDC 11/6, got situated at the hotel, had some brews, did some exploration, and then got up the next morning to meet Jason at the dive meeting spot near the beach. He was there before us, knew who we were immediately, and had remembered what we needed and preferred as requested dive gear. We used 3mm shorties for all dives except the cenotes. Two other divers came with us as well as one of his instructor buddies with an additional video cam. Jason had requested another instructor/guide so that he could pay more attention to us. The small dive boat is kept moored off the beach and you wade out to it. At times you needed to watch the waves to keep your footing, but it was not tough by any means.
We did the first 2 dives south of PDC on Tortuga and Barracuda reefs. Jason's pre-dive briefing was excellent accompanied by color diagrams and a flip chart of the area we'd be in. He'd be doing videography on all our dives. The first dive was begun by Jason's comment "let's get this party rolling...3...2...1" and then we rolled in. The first reaction my son and I had was one of emotional overload rendering us almost teary eyed and laughing as well. The visibility was in excess of 80 feet and the current was swift, like a steady walking pace. Water temp was 81 degrees. Everything came by so fast that I felt I wanted a Tivo to stop it all and take it all in. Turtles here, giant angelfish there, rainbow parrot fish, a school of tarpon, trunk fish of various types, large morays of different colors. It all just moved on by. We remained at 60-75 feet for a 37 minute dive including the safety stop. The second dive was shallower, generally 35-45 feet for 53 minutes.
Day 2 was on Moc-Che deep and shallow to the north of PDC. My son and I were the only divers with Jason. Dive briefing and plan were excellent again. Average depth was 85-90 feet on the first dive for 33 minutes where we got to within 1 minute of our Suunto Vyper calculated NDL. That dive's highlights were very large turtles and a large 10-12' bull shark on the bottom at 100 feet that my son and Jason saw. I missed it since I was photographing a turtle. :11: Dive 2 was shallower at 35-40' and lasted 52 minutes. Visibility was not as good as the day before, but still phenomenal compared to the ocean off Connecticut and inland lakes.
Day 3 was the trip to Coz. As usual, Jason was right on time and met us at the ferry pier. It cost us 110 pesos ($10) each way. The ride over was 45 minutes and featured a local band that was pretty good playing some Santana selections and other tunes. The dive op that Jason uses, Blue Angel, met us at the pier and took us to its boat nearby. Normally the boat meets people at the pier but due to surf conditions in the port, it was felt safer to have us board elsewhere. The dive boat was spacious, equipped with a head, water, and platform off the back. We assembled our gear on the way, suited up, and after another thorough briefing, took the giant step into the clearest ocean water I've ever seen. We dove the Santa Rosa wall first, max depth of 104 feet and drifted along comfortably to shallower depths, in and out of tremendously tall coral heads, through swim throughs, and finally ending the dive at 36 minutes. At one point I looked down and saw my son in a head down vertical position watching the world go by and then doing somersaults at 100 feet. The image against the deep blue "bottomless" background is etched in my mind forever. Dive 2 was at Paradise reef, 30-40' average depth for 61 minutes. Highlights included a seahorse and my first shark sighting, although it was only a nurse shark about 4' long. It didn't impress Jason or Greg after the previous day's bull shark sighting.
The ferry trip back to PDC marked the end of our ocean diving for our vacation and that weighed on my mind for a bit. But, I knew the next day would be an adventure in the cenotes.
On the morning of our last dive day, Luis, a cave guide hand picked by Jason, met us at our hotel in his small pickup truck along with his friend Memo in a car to help transport us to Dos Ojos, a cenote featured in an Imax movie years ago. It was about an hour ride south of PDC, and then several km into the jungle on a rough limestone dusty road. At the entrance to the area, there was a 6 month old ocelot being kept as a house pet chained to a wall. It resembled a small jaguar and lead to the mystique and excitement of what was to come. After we arrived at the cenote, Luis gave us a tour of the area and explained the geography and cultural significance of the cenotes. We learned about the sacrificial virgins, but none of us had anything to fear. Dive briefing included the rule of thirds, and how to conduct ourselves during the dive, i.e., modified frog kicking, hand signals using lights, etc. We then geared up, donned full 3mm suits and our own hoods and took the giant step into perhaps the most unique diving area in the world. The stalactites and stalagmites, columns, flows and other limestone features were surrealistic when seen against the background of blue shafts of penetrating sunlight in the distance. We saw paintings on the wall of fish that were done before the caves filled with water and old charcoal fire remnants That would be before the last ice age ended 18000 years ago! The first dive lasted 46 minutes and was averaging 16-25'. The second dive was 45 minutes long and had one penetration to 46' into a halocline which Luis described as "trippy". I'd agree. The rippling visual effect was interesting to say the least. Our dive ended with some hand feeding of small fish at the cave entrance. Water temp was 75. I knew our diving vacation as over, but tried to block that thought from my mind. The ride home was filled with conversation and we then went out with the dive guides for some alambres de arrachera at a local eatery.
Jason of Fantaseadives was just what we were looking for in a dive op. His personal attention, enthusiasm, humor, honesty, and demeanor contributed to an unforgettable experience. We purchased a DVD he put together for us using his own footage. I've been watching it in my office, re-living the best dives of my life. My son has been talking about the trip everyday since our return home. He has returned to his job as a Subaru auto tech, but I know in the back of his mind he wishes he was living in PDC. I'm now in the planning phase of a possible repeat trip next year, this time with my wife and daughter. My daughter dives as well and she has to experience the emotions, laughter, and sensory loads that Greg and I did. My wife doesn't dive though. I'll send her to the beach or a spa.
Here are some links to pics and video clips.
Scuba Diving Cenotes "Dos Ojos" - a photoset on Flickr
Scuba Diving Cozumel Santa Rosa Wall - a photoset on Flickr
Playa del Carmen Scuba diving Day 2 - a photoset on Flickr
Playa del Carmen Scuba diving Day 1 - a photoset on Flickr
YouTube - Doug, Greg, and Chi explore Santa Rosa Wall, Cozumel!
YouTube - Doug and Greg run into a Bull shark in Moc-Che Deep!
I've dove and snorkeled on and off over the past 40 years in various areas of the Virgin Islands, Grenadines, Curacao and St. Martin. My parents owned a house on St. Thomas and I used to dive there at least once per year through my high school and early college years. After a 20+ year hiatus, I finally got certified for OW with my kids this past March and planned this trip to PDC with my son, Greg, for his 21st birthday. We chose to stay in Hotel La Tortuga because of its value and recommendations on tripadvisor, and then we picked Jason because of his personal approach and enthusiasm with the area. We dove multiple times this past summer in lakes (cold), quarry (colder), and ocean (low viz) to brush up on our skills and get ready for this Mexico week.
Jason was quick to respond via email and suggested we fill our schedule first with two days of diving off PDC, one day in Cozumel, and one day at a cenote (my wishes taken into account). We arrived in PDC 11/6, got situated at the hotel, had some brews, did some exploration, and then got up the next morning to meet Jason at the dive meeting spot near the beach. He was there before us, knew who we were immediately, and had remembered what we needed and preferred as requested dive gear. We used 3mm shorties for all dives except the cenotes. Two other divers came with us as well as one of his instructor buddies with an additional video cam. Jason had requested another instructor/guide so that he could pay more attention to us. The small dive boat is kept moored off the beach and you wade out to it. At times you needed to watch the waves to keep your footing, but it was not tough by any means.
We did the first 2 dives south of PDC on Tortuga and Barracuda reefs. Jason's pre-dive briefing was excellent accompanied by color diagrams and a flip chart of the area we'd be in. He'd be doing videography on all our dives. The first dive was begun by Jason's comment "let's get this party rolling...3...2...1" and then we rolled in. The first reaction my son and I had was one of emotional overload rendering us almost teary eyed and laughing as well. The visibility was in excess of 80 feet and the current was swift, like a steady walking pace. Water temp was 81 degrees. Everything came by so fast that I felt I wanted a Tivo to stop it all and take it all in. Turtles here, giant angelfish there, rainbow parrot fish, a school of tarpon, trunk fish of various types, large morays of different colors. It all just moved on by. We remained at 60-75 feet for a 37 minute dive including the safety stop. The second dive was shallower, generally 35-45 feet for 53 minutes.
Day 2 was on Moc-Che deep and shallow to the north of PDC. My son and I were the only divers with Jason. Dive briefing and plan were excellent again. Average depth was 85-90 feet on the first dive for 33 minutes where we got to within 1 minute of our Suunto Vyper calculated NDL. That dive's highlights were very large turtles and a large 10-12' bull shark on the bottom at 100 feet that my son and Jason saw. I missed it since I was photographing a turtle. :11: Dive 2 was shallower at 35-40' and lasted 52 minutes. Visibility was not as good as the day before, but still phenomenal compared to the ocean off Connecticut and inland lakes.
Day 3 was the trip to Coz. As usual, Jason was right on time and met us at the ferry pier. It cost us 110 pesos ($10) each way. The ride over was 45 minutes and featured a local band that was pretty good playing some Santana selections and other tunes. The dive op that Jason uses, Blue Angel, met us at the pier and took us to its boat nearby. Normally the boat meets people at the pier but due to surf conditions in the port, it was felt safer to have us board elsewhere. The dive boat was spacious, equipped with a head, water, and platform off the back. We assembled our gear on the way, suited up, and after another thorough briefing, took the giant step into the clearest ocean water I've ever seen. We dove the Santa Rosa wall first, max depth of 104 feet and drifted along comfortably to shallower depths, in and out of tremendously tall coral heads, through swim throughs, and finally ending the dive at 36 minutes. At one point I looked down and saw my son in a head down vertical position watching the world go by and then doing somersaults at 100 feet. The image against the deep blue "bottomless" background is etched in my mind forever. Dive 2 was at Paradise reef, 30-40' average depth for 61 minutes. Highlights included a seahorse and my first shark sighting, although it was only a nurse shark about 4' long. It didn't impress Jason or Greg after the previous day's bull shark sighting.
The ferry trip back to PDC marked the end of our ocean diving for our vacation and that weighed on my mind for a bit. But, I knew the next day would be an adventure in the cenotes.On the morning of our last dive day, Luis, a cave guide hand picked by Jason, met us at our hotel in his small pickup truck along with his friend Memo in a car to help transport us to Dos Ojos, a cenote featured in an Imax movie years ago. It was about an hour ride south of PDC, and then several km into the jungle on a rough limestone dusty road. At the entrance to the area, there was a 6 month old ocelot being kept as a house pet chained to a wall. It resembled a small jaguar and lead to the mystique and excitement of what was to come. After we arrived at the cenote, Luis gave us a tour of the area and explained the geography and cultural significance of the cenotes. We learned about the sacrificial virgins, but none of us had anything to fear. Dive briefing included the rule of thirds, and how to conduct ourselves during the dive, i.e., modified frog kicking, hand signals using lights, etc. We then geared up, donned full 3mm suits and our own hoods and took the giant step into perhaps the most unique diving area in the world. The stalactites and stalagmites, columns, flows and other limestone features were surrealistic when seen against the background of blue shafts of penetrating sunlight in the distance. We saw paintings on the wall of fish that were done before the caves filled with water and old charcoal fire remnants That would be before the last ice age ended 18000 years ago! The first dive lasted 46 minutes and was averaging 16-25'. The second dive was 45 minutes long and had one penetration to 46' into a halocline which Luis described as "trippy". I'd agree. The rippling visual effect was interesting to say the least. Our dive ended with some hand feeding of small fish at the cave entrance. Water temp was 75. I knew our diving vacation as over, but tried to block that thought from my mind. The ride home was filled with conversation and we then went out with the dive guides for some alambres de arrachera at a local eatery.
Jason of Fantaseadives was just what we were looking for in a dive op. His personal attention, enthusiasm, humor, honesty, and demeanor contributed to an unforgettable experience. We purchased a DVD he put together for us using his own footage. I've been watching it in my office, re-living the best dives of my life. My son has been talking about the trip everyday since our return home. He has returned to his job as a Subaru auto tech, but I know in the back of his mind he wishes he was living in PDC. I'm now in the planning phase of a possible repeat trip next year, this time with my wife and daughter. My daughter dives as well and she has to experience the emotions, laughter, and sensory loads that Greg and I did. My wife doesn't dive though. I'll send her to the beach or a spa.
Here are some links to pics and video clips.
Scuba Diving Cenotes "Dos Ojos" - a photoset on Flickr
Scuba Diving Cozumel Santa Rosa Wall - a photoset on Flickr
Playa del Carmen Scuba diving Day 2 - a photoset on Flickr
Playa del Carmen Scuba diving Day 1 - a photoset on Flickr
YouTube - Doug, Greg, and Chi explore Santa Rosa Wall, Cozumel!
YouTube - Doug and Greg run into a Bull shark in Moc-Che Deep!
And thanks for the good words...very nice to hear.
