SeaFlea
Contributor
Greetings all. I wanted to report on our recent trip to one of my favorite island destinations.
Went with Papa Hogs this trip, second time. Stayed at VillaBlanca, in their Std. rooms. Flew direct via Houston with Continental. All in all it was a really good week of diving. We got wet six days and I got in thirteen dives. I asked for some dive sites I haven't done in the past and was glad I did. Some of the new sites for me: Columbia Deep, Columbia Pinacles, and Dalia. Tried to get Punta Sur or Maricaibo but never could get the enough people interested on the days the UW conditions were favorable. Oh well, something to shoot for next trip.
The weather was incredible and not a drop of rain all week. Temp Hi's were 79 or 80 and evening Lo's around 68. I was in awe every morning I emerged from my room.
The VillaBlanca staff were very nice and the convienence of Papa Hogs being right there was a real pleasure. Please know that the Std. rooms are spartan at best. Not a room that would suit my wife. We were guys only so I saved a few $$. I think the Superior rooms are up to speed as there were quite a few families and couples staying in them and the few I spoke to said the rooms were OK.
We were there during Carnivale (planned of course) and it was the biggest one I've seen yet. I've never seen so many folks clog the main street as I did this time. Papa Hogs had rented about 50 seats in the old Carlos & Charlies place, now called Mis Charos, for their customers to watch the parade. It was a excellent place to see the event and I got some good pictures during the evening. A very nice evening.
As for Papa Hogs, I do enjoy their style of diving. No frills, Lets Go, fast boats, good dive masters and a super staff. Margaret was, as always, super nice and tries her best to dive where the divers want to go. She is a pleasure to speak to and seems to really try hard to accomodate her customers. Mike was...... well, true to his reputation. I personally got highly "Pissed Off" at him during our week and was convinced PH would not receive any more of my $$$ in the future. I'm trying to overlook his rudeness and justify another trip with PH's but not yet sure. In short, he oversees the morning dispatch of boats/divers and this guy has a short fuse. When the boats aren't ready or the divers are slow to collect with gear-a-ready Mike runs his mouth ALOT. He can BARK at his employees all he wants too, and does, but be careful the way you speak to your customers. Some might not appreciate your abusive tone and verbage. While I won't go into the details of my experience, I will say to all be prepared for Mike when you book with PH. If you yourself have a short fuse I recommend another dive operator. Otherwise we had a good experience with PH's.
This was my first trip with my new Canon S1 IS and Inon d2000 camera setup. I got some decent shots but have alot to learn concerning UW digital. Getting use to the camera and controlling the stobe power will take several more trips. I have picked out some of the better ones to show but they are very rough compared to some of the excellent pics I've seen on this board. I did take some UW video with it and enjoyed the result. Its a nice compliment to the still images. I'll take more video next time. I don't have the pics uploaded yet but will do so very soon and will post a link then, sorry for the delay.
All in all, a great trip. This was Coz trip #6 for me and I always enjoy my time there. Will try to get there in Sept, if my wife will go for it. Good diving everybody. I look forward to reading your trip reports.
Went with Papa Hogs this trip, second time. Stayed at VillaBlanca, in their Std. rooms. Flew direct via Houston with Continental. All in all it was a really good week of diving. We got wet six days and I got in thirteen dives. I asked for some dive sites I haven't done in the past and was glad I did. Some of the new sites for me: Columbia Deep, Columbia Pinacles, and Dalia. Tried to get Punta Sur or Maricaibo but never could get the enough people interested on the days the UW conditions were favorable. Oh well, something to shoot for next trip.
The weather was incredible and not a drop of rain all week. Temp Hi's were 79 or 80 and evening Lo's around 68. I was in awe every morning I emerged from my room.
The VillaBlanca staff were very nice and the convienence of Papa Hogs being right there was a real pleasure. Please know that the Std. rooms are spartan at best. Not a room that would suit my wife. We were guys only so I saved a few $$. I think the Superior rooms are up to speed as there were quite a few families and couples staying in them and the few I spoke to said the rooms were OK.
We were there during Carnivale (planned of course) and it was the biggest one I've seen yet. I've never seen so many folks clog the main street as I did this time. Papa Hogs had rented about 50 seats in the old Carlos & Charlies place, now called Mis Charos, for their customers to watch the parade. It was a excellent place to see the event and I got some good pictures during the evening. A very nice evening.
As for Papa Hogs, I do enjoy their style of diving. No frills, Lets Go, fast boats, good dive masters and a super staff. Margaret was, as always, super nice and tries her best to dive where the divers want to go. She is a pleasure to speak to and seems to really try hard to accomodate her customers. Mike was...... well, true to his reputation. I personally got highly "Pissed Off" at him during our week and was convinced PH would not receive any more of my $$$ in the future. I'm trying to overlook his rudeness and justify another trip with PH's but not yet sure. In short, he oversees the morning dispatch of boats/divers and this guy has a short fuse. When the boats aren't ready or the divers are slow to collect with gear-a-ready Mike runs his mouth ALOT. He can BARK at his employees all he wants too, and does, but be careful the way you speak to your customers. Some might not appreciate your abusive tone and verbage. While I won't go into the details of my experience, I will say to all be prepared for Mike when you book with PH. If you yourself have a short fuse I recommend another dive operator. Otherwise we had a good experience with PH's.
This was my first trip with my new Canon S1 IS and Inon d2000 camera setup. I got some decent shots but have alot to learn concerning UW digital. Getting use to the camera and controlling the stobe power will take several more trips. I have picked out some of the better ones to show but they are very rough compared to some of the excellent pics I've seen on this board. I did take some UW video with it and enjoyed the result. Its a nice compliment to the still images. I'll take more video next time. I don't have the pics uploaded yet but will do so very soon and will post a link then, sorry for the delay.
All in all, a great trip. This was Coz trip #6 for me and I always enjoy my time there. Will try to get there in Sept, if my wife will go for it. Good diving everybody. I look forward to reading your trip reports.
