Chavodel8en
Contributor
So cheap airfare + free hotel stay in Cancun = my first warm water diving in several years (in early Dec). If we didn't have the free Cancun hotel, I would have likely stayed the whole time in PdC (Wife is a non-diver, so staying in Coz is a no-go), as its a much better vacation destination, IMO. However, I'm glad we stayed in Cancun, as from my small sample, Cancun diving is unexpectedly pretty damn good, while PdC kinda sucked.
Went for a morning's dive with Cancun Scuba Diving (Km 3.5) - mainly bc it was walking distance from hotel. Very good operator, if a little bit pricier. Smaller boat (backroll off the side, removable ladder on the side type deal). And there were only 2 of us divers - score!
The DM - Alberto - was excellent. I've got alot of dives under my belt, but this was my first drift diving - so I was a little bit nervous. He explained the procedures very well and I felt very confident once its was splash time. He even swapped fins with me on the boat as I forgot my booties and my own fins wouldn't fit over my Tevas.
We had requested the C-58 wreck but the buoy seemed to be missing, so we did the C-55 wreck (a more decomposed wreck - depth about 80'), instead. The current was medium, so rather than drift diving, we went down the line. Several groups of spotted eagle rays drifting by throughout the dive, a large 4' tuna looking fish (permit?), Alberto saved me from a lionfish, tons of grunts and various other reef fish. Swam through a roofless hold. Waved like flags in the current during safety stop. Very nice dive.
Second Cancun dive was even better IMO. The nearby reef - San Toribio I believe (55' depth). I had planned to bring my camera on this as I felt comfortable with the current, but it snagged onto the boat during my backroll - luckily it stayed on the boat w/ only lanyard damage. Alberto drifted us down perfectly to what looked like a very healthy reef. Tons of fish, a baby bull shark, the biggest (2') puffer type fish ive ever seen, a 3'+ Nassau Grouper, swam next to a green turtle for a bit, saw an eel, and countless reef fish. I know Coz divers may be unimpressed, but I was very pleased with it. Alberto also let me launch my SMB, which I had not done successfully before, and the boat picked us up - good captain, forgot his name.
The morning of PdC diving was "uneven." I wont mention the operator, but it was a small operator, even smaller boat. I was planning a regular wreck or reef dive. There were originally only 2 divers (great again!), but the other guy specifically came on the ferry from Coz to do a Bull Shark dive -- so I also did the Bull Shark dive. I generally try to do dives with as little ecological impact as possible, so I didn't plan a Bull Shark dive. I must admit though it was a lot of fun. Four big Bull Sharks circling us the whole time (Sand bottom at 60-70') - and I got some good pics & video. At the end of the dive, the DM gave them some fish heads. In retrospect, the Bulls acted a lot like my dog, Mafalda, who knows when its treat time and circles us until she gets it. I'll be more careful to avoid dives with chumming in the future.
Second dive, we returned to the shop (it was a short trip) and picked up two OW students. That was a bit strange for me, sharing a boat with OW students. We had to wait on board as we went to shallow water and they did check-out skills - a bit of a delay as one student was visibly nervous. Eventually, we headed to a shallow reef (max 30') for the dive # 2. We 2 experienced divers headed down the anchor line and waited about 8 min. for the OW students & the DM in a fairly strong current - had to cling to the anchor. One of the OW students bailed, but luckily when he showed up the other OW student handled himself well on the subsequent dive. But the reef pretty much sucked. Didn't look very abundant, and just a scattering of grunts and a few other reef fish.
So my impressions were that Cancun diving was pretty cool, while PdC was kinda sucky. Will be a dilemma if I return, as I much prefer PdC topside - although I guess I could take a "Coz express" dive from PdC.
Topside activities included the 28th St Market in Cancun (excellent for Artesenias), Isla Mujeres (snorkeling at Garrafon club - meh), Playa Norte (excellent), snorkeling w turtle (yes, singular) in Akumal (meh) & in several cenotes (pretty cool, although I have no desire to scuba them), the Tulum-Coba tour (nice). And the mariscos throughout were excellent (recommend Cocos & Sirenas in Cancun, Miramar in Isla Mujeres & la Mission (cheap) & Plank (fine dining) in PdC.
Went for a morning's dive with Cancun Scuba Diving (Km 3.5) - mainly bc it was walking distance from hotel. Very good operator, if a little bit pricier. Smaller boat (backroll off the side, removable ladder on the side type deal). And there were only 2 of us divers - score!
The DM - Alberto - was excellent. I've got alot of dives under my belt, but this was my first drift diving - so I was a little bit nervous. He explained the procedures very well and I felt very confident once its was splash time. He even swapped fins with me on the boat as I forgot my booties and my own fins wouldn't fit over my Tevas.
We had requested the C-58 wreck but the buoy seemed to be missing, so we did the C-55 wreck (a more decomposed wreck - depth about 80'), instead. The current was medium, so rather than drift diving, we went down the line. Several groups of spotted eagle rays drifting by throughout the dive, a large 4' tuna looking fish (permit?), Alberto saved me from a lionfish, tons of grunts and various other reef fish. Swam through a roofless hold. Waved like flags in the current during safety stop. Very nice dive.
Second Cancun dive was even better IMO. The nearby reef - San Toribio I believe (55' depth). I had planned to bring my camera on this as I felt comfortable with the current, but it snagged onto the boat during my backroll - luckily it stayed on the boat w/ only lanyard damage. Alberto drifted us down perfectly to what looked like a very healthy reef. Tons of fish, a baby bull shark, the biggest (2') puffer type fish ive ever seen, a 3'+ Nassau Grouper, swam next to a green turtle for a bit, saw an eel, and countless reef fish. I know Coz divers may be unimpressed, but I was very pleased with it. Alberto also let me launch my SMB, which I had not done successfully before, and the boat picked us up - good captain, forgot his name.
The morning of PdC diving was "uneven." I wont mention the operator, but it was a small operator, even smaller boat. I was planning a regular wreck or reef dive. There were originally only 2 divers (great again!), but the other guy specifically came on the ferry from Coz to do a Bull Shark dive -- so I also did the Bull Shark dive. I generally try to do dives with as little ecological impact as possible, so I didn't plan a Bull Shark dive. I must admit though it was a lot of fun. Four big Bull Sharks circling us the whole time (Sand bottom at 60-70') - and I got some good pics & video. At the end of the dive, the DM gave them some fish heads. In retrospect, the Bulls acted a lot like my dog, Mafalda, who knows when its treat time and circles us until she gets it. I'll be more careful to avoid dives with chumming in the future.
Second dive, we returned to the shop (it was a short trip) and picked up two OW students. That was a bit strange for me, sharing a boat with OW students. We had to wait on board as we went to shallow water and they did check-out skills - a bit of a delay as one student was visibly nervous. Eventually, we headed to a shallow reef (max 30') for the dive # 2. We 2 experienced divers headed down the anchor line and waited about 8 min. for the OW students & the DM in a fairly strong current - had to cling to the anchor. One of the OW students bailed, but luckily when he showed up the other OW student handled himself well on the subsequent dive. But the reef pretty much sucked. Didn't look very abundant, and just a scattering of grunts and a few other reef fish.
So my impressions were that Cancun diving was pretty cool, while PdC was kinda sucky. Will be a dilemma if I return, as I much prefer PdC topside - although I guess I could take a "Coz express" dive from PdC.
Topside activities included the 28th St Market in Cancun (excellent for Artesenias), Isla Mujeres (snorkeling at Garrafon club - meh), Playa Norte (excellent), snorkeling w turtle (yes, singular) in Akumal (meh) & in several cenotes (pretty cool, although I have no desire to scuba them), the Tulum-Coba tour (nice). And the mariscos throughout were excellent (recommend Cocos & Sirenas in Cancun, Miramar in Isla Mujeres & la Mission (cheap) & Plank (fine dining) in PdC.
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