The week started VERY early Saturday morning, with us (along with 19 other travelers in our group) catching a bus to Midway airport at 3:30 a.m. The flight was uneventful and most of us slept either on the bus or on the plane. The party started the minute we stepped off the plane and onto the bus to Playa del Carmen. We talked the bus driver into stopping so we could buy beer and we were on our way.
We arrived at the Casa Mexicana late afternoon and checked in painlessly and quickly. The desk staff and concierge were always professional, but hubby and I were not too fond of Jaime, the evening bartender and morning maitre'd in the breakfast buffet. He had some kind of attitude - but not enough to spoil our trip. One thing that impressed us about the hotel is that the staff there were constantly cleaning, and every day we had a new little towel animal on our bed.
So, on to the report: Day one: (oops, neither of us can remember the name of the restaurant, but it's the one on the north end of the main plaza, on the right hand side...I think it was Casa Lesa). Hubby had tacos and I had the Lesa chicken, which was wonderful.
Sunday: Day two:
Diving: Our first dive was Colombia Shallows and it wasn't a very good dive mainly because we were trying to get our buoyancy under control since we hadn't been OW diving in about a year. I didn't see much and had crappy bottom time. Second dive was Tormentos, which was much better for me in dealing with buoyancy control. Still didn't get in much sightseeing, however, because of just trying to be self aware and getting back into the dive groove.
Dinner: El Moro. This was my second visit and hubby's first visit to El Moro. I had the Yucatan style chicken and hubby had the Yucatan style pork, both excellent choices. We were too stuffed for dessert, but we did have a shot of some kind of Mayan liqueur that was absolutely delicious. The service was EXCELLENT! (No hassle about separating checks and they even called a cab for us because it was raining pretty hard when we left.)
Monday: Day three: Diving was called off for us for the day because it was raining and pretty choppy.
Most of our group went to the "wild side" but hubby and I stayed back and walked all over town, window shopping, people watching, and just enjoying the weather, vacation, and each other.
Dinner: Prima Trattoria. I had the chicken parmesan, which was absolutely divine. Hubby had some kind of steak dish that was also delicious.
Then we went back to the hotel and watched the parade going up and down the street, then back up and down, then back up and down. We walked downtown for a bit and watched the parade from that perspective, then back to the hotel. Fortunately, we were on the back side of the hotel so it wasn't so loud.
Tuesday: Day four:
Diving: Our first dive was Palancar Bricks. I was doing much better with buoyancy so I brought my camera on this dive. I don't usually have problems with my ears and wasn't having any problems with equalizing, but at about 60' I got a sudden sharp pain in my right ear. I figured it may have been an equalization thing, so I turned around to alert my dive buddy, but just as I turned it felt like it cleared and I got extremely dizzy. The DM saw me at that point and gave me the ok sign, but I pointed to my ear and shook my head no. He came over and helped me equalize, and I continued on the dive, descending to about 90' and getting a picture of a jelly near the bottom. I got caught in an upcurrent and just decided to ascend at this point because my ear didn't feel right. When I surfaced, my ear was starting to feel uncomfortably full. It started raining like crazy and I decided not to dive the rest of the day so the captain dropped a few of us off at the Fiesta Americana and we caught a cab back to the hotel.
I ended up going to the clinic for my ear and was told to stay on the surface for two days due to an ear inflammation. bummer
Dinner: It was Carnaval night and we went to Casa Denis for dinner. Baltazar was our waiter and he is an absolute hoot! I had the chile relleno with chorizo, which was excellent, and too many margaritas (since I wasn't going to be diving Weds anyway). We walked back and forth from the plaza to our hotel, just people watching, watching the parade, and having a great time!
Wednesday: Day five: No diving for me and my ear was bothering me, so I ended up spending the day people watching and hanging out with a friend. According to hubby's dive reports, the diving was still excellent with them spotting a nurse shark, and eagle ray, and a splendid toadfish.
Because they were going on a night dive, hubby and I slipped out a little earlier than normal and had a late lunch/early dinner at El Foco. We had the El Foco Special which was scrumptious.
After their night dive, most of the group went back to Casa Denis for dinner again, so we decided to join them for another delicious meal. Unfortunately, Baltazar was not our waiter, but he still checked in with us periodically. You could tell that Tuesday was a huge celebration because the town had that New Year's Day feel to it, where everyone is hung over, but still in good moods from all the partying the night before.
Thursday: Day six: Diving: I sat out day six as well, however I did go along on the boat to do some photography. I got quite a few good pictures from the coastline while we travelled to the dive sites (which I will post once I figure out how to post them). Our group first dove Delila, then the C53 (which we later learned from Christi is still closed). I snorkeled at the surface while they dove the wreck. According to the more seasoned divers in the group, the only difference in the C53 post Wilma is the fact that there is a huge rip up the side of the hull that wasn't there before. From the surface, I saw lots of big starfish and a huge grouper. Again, it rained on the way back to the hotel.
After hubby got done diving, we made our way over to meet Christi and chatted for a while. Ever since I've been reading Christi stories here, I have wanted to give her a big hug and let her know she has fans in Illinois, so this was my chance. I'm glad we finally got to meet her. She's awesome!
After meeting Christi and heading back to the hotel Thursday night, we went to Albino's with about 10 of our group. They stayed open for us and we had an excellent dinner with excellent service. I had the chicken fajitas and hubby had the beef fajitas.
Friday: Day seven: Diving: BACK IN THE WATER!!!! Our first dive was to Tormentos. The sea life there was abundant. The current was swift, but it was still a great dive. My ear didn't bother me a bit, though my weighting and buoyancy were still a bit off. Dive two was Las Palmas, which was really neat. Since my husband's dive skills far surpassed mine by this dive, I switched and buddied up with a 14 year old who was on the trip, and whose air consumption more matches mine. I helped him out with his buoyancy control a bit, and together, we dropped down to the bottom, stuck a finger in the sand, and hung out looking for little critters.
We saw a lobster, an eel, lots of angelfish, and watched a honeycomb cowfish for a while. I was going to take him through a pretty large opening (very short swim through), but when I descended a bit, I happened to notice a HUGE fish with even bigger teeth (still didn't see the whole thing, but have no idea what it was) waiting to jump out and eat us at the opening, so we decided to swim over it instead.
On the way back to the Aqua Safari dock (where our boat picked us up and dropped us off throughout the week), one of the ferries that was taking the cruisers to the Punta Langosta pier almost hit us. He wasn't watching where he was going, didn't sound his horn or anything, and because our captain was thinking on his feet, he swerved our boat and the ferry missed us by inches.
Friday night dinner: We went to Guidos. Hubby and I had the filet mignon in a red wine sauce. The food there is pricey, but excellent. We had a white chocolate parfait for dessert that was to die for. Also, if you're a fan of sangria, try the house sangria here. It's delicious!
Yesterday morning, the sun was shining and I had to wipe away a tear as the ferry pulled away from Cozumel. We built another week of wonderful memories, made new friends, and got to visit with old friends (including a couple of locals).
I love that place, and even though we've only been there twice, it always feels like home.
We arrived at the Casa Mexicana late afternoon and checked in painlessly and quickly. The desk staff and concierge were always professional, but hubby and I were not too fond of Jaime, the evening bartender and morning maitre'd in the breakfast buffet. He had some kind of attitude - but not enough to spoil our trip. One thing that impressed us about the hotel is that the staff there were constantly cleaning, and every day we had a new little towel animal on our bed.
So, on to the report: Day one: (oops, neither of us can remember the name of the restaurant, but it's the one on the north end of the main plaza, on the right hand side...I think it was Casa Lesa). Hubby had tacos and I had the Lesa chicken, which was wonderful.
Sunday: Day two:
Diving: Our first dive was Colombia Shallows and it wasn't a very good dive mainly because we were trying to get our buoyancy under control since we hadn't been OW diving in about a year. I didn't see much and had crappy bottom time. Second dive was Tormentos, which was much better for me in dealing with buoyancy control. Still didn't get in much sightseeing, however, because of just trying to be self aware and getting back into the dive groove.
Dinner: El Moro. This was my second visit and hubby's first visit to El Moro. I had the Yucatan style chicken and hubby had the Yucatan style pork, both excellent choices. We were too stuffed for dessert, but we did have a shot of some kind of Mayan liqueur that was absolutely delicious. The service was EXCELLENT! (No hassle about separating checks and they even called a cab for us because it was raining pretty hard when we left.)
Monday: Day three: Diving was called off for us for the day because it was raining and pretty choppy.
Most of our group went to the "wild side" but hubby and I stayed back and walked all over town, window shopping, people watching, and just enjoying the weather, vacation, and each other.
Dinner: Prima Trattoria. I had the chicken parmesan, which was absolutely divine. Hubby had some kind of steak dish that was also delicious.
Then we went back to the hotel and watched the parade going up and down the street, then back up and down, then back up and down. We walked downtown for a bit and watched the parade from that perspective, then back to the hotel. Fortunately, we were on the back side of the hotel so it wasn't so loud.
Tuesday: Day four:
Diving: Our first dive was Palancar Bricks. I was doing much better with buoyancy so I brought my camera on this dive. I don't usually have problems with my ears and wasn't having any problems with equalizing, but at about 60' I got a sudden sharp pain in my right ear. I figured it may have been an equalization thing, so I turned around to alert my dive buddy, but just as I turned it felt like it cleared and I got extremely dizzy. The DM saw me at that point and gave me the ok sign, but I pointed to my ear and shook my head no. He came over and helped me equalize, and I continued on the dive, descending to about 90' and getting a picture of a jelly near the bottom. I got caught in an upcurrent and just decided to ascend at this point because my ear didn't feel right. When I surfaced, my ear was starting to feel uncomfortably full. It started raining like crazy and I decided not to dive the rest of the day so the captain dropped a few of us off at the Fiesta Americana and we caught a cab back to the hotel.
I ended up going to the clinic for my ear and was told to stay on the surface for two days due to an ear inflammation. bummer
Dinner: It was Carnaval night and we went to Casa Denis for dinner. Baltazar was our waiter and he is an absolute hoot! I had the chile relleno with chorizo, which was excellent, and too many margaritas (since I wasn't going to be diving Weds anyway). We walked back and forth from the plaza to our hotel, just people watching, watching the parade, and having a great time!
Wednesday: Day five: No diving for me and my ear was bothering me, so I ended up spending the day people watching and hanging out with a friend. According to hubby's dive reports, the diving was still excellent with them spotting a nurse shark, and eagle ray, and a splendid toadfish.
Because they were going on a night dive, hubby and I slipped out a little earlier than normal and had a late lunch/early dinner at El Foco. We had the El Foco Special which was scrumptious.
After their night dive, most of the group went back to Casa Denis for dinner again, so we decided to join them for another delicious meal. Unfortunately, Baltazar was not our waiter, but he still checked in with us periodically. You could tell that Tuesday was a huge celebration because the town had that New Year's Day feel to it, where everyone is hung over, but still in good moods from all the partying the night before.
Thursday: Day six: Diving: I sat out day six as well, however I did go along on the boat to do some photography. I got quite a few good pictures from the coastline while we travelled to the dive sites (which I will post once I figure out how to post them). Our group first dove Delila, then the C53 (which we later learned from Christi is still closed). I snorkeled at the surface while they dove the wreck. According to the more seasoned divers in the group, the only difference in the C53 post Wilma is the fact that there is a huge rip up the side of the hull that wasn't there before. From the surface, I saw lots of big starfish and a huge grouper. Again, it rained on the way back to the hotel.
After hubby got done diving, we made our way over to meet Christi and chatted for a while. Ever since I've been reading Christi stories here, I have wanted to give her a big hug and let her know she has fans in Illinois, so this was my chance. I'm glad we finally got to meet her. She's awesome!
After meeting Christi and heading back to the hotel Thursday night, we went to Albino's with about 10 of our group. They stayed open for us and we had an excellent dinner with excellent service. I had the chicken fajitas and hubby had the beef fajitas.
Friday: Day seven: Diving: BACK IN THE WATER!!!! Our first dive was to Tormentos. The sea life there was abundant. The current was swift, but it was still a great dive. My ear didn't bother me a bit, though my weighting and buoyancy were still a bit off. Dive two was Las Palmas, which was really neat. Since my husband's dive skills far surpassed mine by this dive, I switched and buddied up with a 14 year old who was on the trip, and whose air consumption more matches mine. I helped him out with his buoyancy control a bit, and together, we dropped down to the bottom, stuck a finger in the sand, and hung out looking for little critters.
We saw a lobster, an eel, lots of angelfish, and watched a honeycomb cowfish for a while. I was going to take him through a pretty large opening (very short swim through), but when I descended a bit, I happened to notice a HUGE fish with even bigger teeth (still didn't see the whole thing, but have no idea what it was) waiting to jump out and eat us at the opening, so we decided to swim over it instead.
On the way back to the Aqua Safari dock (where our boat picked us up and dropped us off throughout the week), one of the ferries that was taking the cruisers to the Punta Langosta pier almost hit us. He wasn't watching where he was going, didn't sound his horn or anything, and because our captain was thinking on his feet, he swerved our boat and the ferry missed us by inches.
Friday night dinner: We went to Guidos. Hubby and I had the filet mignon in a red wine sauce. The food there is pricey, but excellent. We had a white chocolate parfait for dessert that was to die for. Also, if you're a fan of sangria, try the house sangria here. It's delicious!
Yesterday morning, the sun was shining and I had to wipe away a tear as the ferry pulled away from Cozumel. We built another week of wonderful memories, made new friends, and got to visit with old friends (including a couple of locals).
I love that place, and even though we've only been there twice, it always feels like home.
