Dapher
Guest
Just got back from a week stay at Scuba Club Cozumel. We arrived early on Saturday 9/18 and were greeted by a very nice security Guard Guadalupe and the infamous Sofia, what a wonderfully nice lady she is. Our rooms were not yet ready since it was only noon and Sofia assured us they would be ready after we had a wonderful lunch in the dining room. After lunch we were taken up to our rooms at the very top of the club, beautiful view and the beds were not nearly as hard as I had heard (Actually they were quite comfortable) which was a welcome relief after the hard beds we found in Playa Del Carmen.
After checking in we headed straight for the dive shop, filled out the required paper work, showed our C-cards and were given info from William about the currents, dive conditions, and how to sign up for dives and check out tanks. Then we hit the shore for our first dive. WOW... such beauty and warm water and right in front of SCC. Only problem, my kids gave me a cold right before I left and my ears would not let me descend past 15 feet. ;( But there was still plenty to look at and see. Blue Tangs, Damselfish, Sargent Majors (love those fish and they loved my yellow camera), parrot fish, trunk fish, and more and just in 15 feet of water. I also really liked how SCC utilized there old tanks and created an artificial reef about 50 feet off shore. It was amazing to see how much life was on this reef.
Had to decline the boat trip on the next day as I was worried about my ears but caught the next two days on the boat Reef Diver with divemaster Martin. A really wonderful crew and DM. He was very attentive and if there was something we wanted to see he did his best to show it to us.
Columbia Reef - 95 feet, Beautiful tall coral formations with many pass throughs and much colorful life. Saw 2 sea turtles, lots of angel fish, tangs, etc. It was amazing drifting around the formations and seeing all the sights. Magical first boat dive.
Plancar Reef - 52 feet for 56 minutes, Flat sandy area with many small corals and sponges. LOTS of life and saw more sea turtles, rays, and a very large grouper. Even saw a nudibranch which was very tiny and almost microscopic compared to the ones we have here in alaska. I was surprised that Martin would find something so small. While we were drifting along and a descent speed. It was almost like flying.
Night Dive off SCC - Current was going the wrong way but saw 4 octopus, and 4 spotted eels, a very large grouper just under the pier, and many other fish. There is a little coral formation about 25 feet off the shore by the fresh water entry were we spotted two octopus and a large spotted eel. Each time we came back to that formation over the next few days there was always some interesting life there.
Next day:
Plancar Caves - 90 feet max 29 minutes dive. Again very beautiful with some nice short caves to swim through. Saw another turtle on the bottom and some lobster along with the colorful corals and sponges. This dive we swam more against the current than with it.
Tormentos - 60 feet for 50 minutes - Martin had told us that he had a surprise for us. He would first show us some toadfish and then after the toad fish there would be a surprise, and boy were we surprised when we say not one but 2 sea horses about 4-5 inches tall wondering about the bottom. There were also some octopus, and lobster, big angel fish, and many ,many others. When Tom (my husband and buddy for life) and I went up for our 3 minute safety stop at 15 feet we had the pleasure of the company of a beautiful sea turtle swimming with us for most of our stop.
Unfortunately after this Tom had the mis-fortune of getting that cold that I had and so we were not able to do any more boat dives. (Just leaves more for our next trip) Did some more dives off the shore during the day and at night which were still very wonderful. We started picking an area and watching the wonderful life interact. I got a big kick out of the seargent major fish that would hover around me when I went near the pier and spent quite a bit of time playing with them and the damsel fish that had claim to one of the ladders. No matter who you were, diver or fish, it was HIS ladder and you were not to come near it.
The staff at SCC are really very nice and accomodating, they have a great sense of humor, and by the end of the week you feel like family as they all know your name. Wow this is getting long so I will close by saying the staff was great, the food was very good, and the rooms were comfortable. Only thing I would change is the darned mosquitoes that plagued me at night even when I had on layer upon layer of deet.
After checking in we headed straight for the dive shop, filled out the required paper work, showed our C-cards and were given info from William about the currents, dive conditions, and how to sign up for dives and check out tanks. Then we hit the shore for our first dive. WOW... such beauty and warm water and right in front of SCC. Only problem, my kids gave me a cold right before I left and my ears would not let me descend past 15 feet. ;( But there was still plenty to look at and see. Blue Tangs, Damselfish, Sargent Majors (love those fish and they loved my yellow camera), parrot fish, trunk fish, and more and just in 15 feet of water. I also really liked how SCC utilized there old tanks and created an artificial reef about 50 feet off shore. It was amazing to see how much life was on this reef.
Had to decline the boat trip on the next day as I was worried about my ears but caught the next two days on the boat Reef Diver with divemaster Martin. A really wonderful crew and DM. He was very attentive and if there was something we wanted to see he did his best to show it to us.
Columbia Reef - 95 feet, Beautiful tall coral formations with many pass throughs and much colorful life. Saw 2 sea turtles, lots of angel fish, tangs, etc. It was amazing drifting around the formations and seeing all the sights. Magical first boat dive.
Plancar Reef - 52 feet for 56 minutes, Flat sandy area with many small corals and sponges. LOTS of life and saw more sea turtles, rays, and a very large grouper. Even saw a nudibranch which was very tiny and almost microscopic compared to the ones we have here in alaska. I was surprised that Martin would find something so small. While we were drifting along and a descent speed. It was almost like flying.
Night Dive off SCC - Current was going the wrong way but saw 4 octopus, and 4 spotted eels, a very large grouper just under the pier, and many other fish. There is a little coral formation about 25 feet off the shore by the fresh water entry were we spotted two octopus and a large spotted eel. Each time we came back to that formation over the next few days there was always some interesting life there.
Next day:
Plancar Caves - 90 feet max 29 minutes dive. Again very beautiful with some nice short caves to swim through. Saw another turtle on the bottom and some lobster along with the colorful corals and sponges. This dive we swam more against the current than with it.
Tormentos - 60 feet for 50 minutes - Martin had told us that he had a surprise for us. He would first show us some toadfish and then after the toad fish there would be a surprise, and boy were we surprised when we say not one but 2 sea horses about 4-5 inches tall wondering about the bottom. There were also some octopus, and lobster, big angel fish, and many ,many others. When Tom (my husband and buddy for life) and I went up for our 3 minute safety stop at 15 feet we had the pleasure of the company of a beautiful sea turtle swimming with us for most of our stop.
Unfortunately after this Tom had the mis-fortune of getting that cold that I had and so we were not able to do any more boat dives. (Just leaves more for our next trip) Did some more dives off the shore during the day and at night which were still very wonderful. We started picking an area and watching the wonderful life interact. I got a big kick out of the seargent major fish that would hover around me when I went near the pier and spent quite a bit of time playing with them and the damsel fish that had claim to one of the ladders. No matter who you were, diver or fish, it was HIS ladder and you were not to come near it.
The staff at SCC are really very nice and accomodating, they have a great sense of humor, and by the end of the week you feel like family as they all know your name. Wow this is getting long so I will close by saying the staff was great, the food was very good, and the rooms were comfortable. Only thing I would change is the darned mosquitoes that plagued me at night even when I had on layer upon layer of deet.
