This was our 6th annual trip to Cozumel. My wife and I flew into Cozumel Feb 16, flew out Feb 23 on US Air. Stayed at Hotel Flamingo Experience a Cozumel vacation at Hotel Flamingo, one of Cozumel boutique hotels. for the 6th year, located 6th Street North, a short walk from town center. Very nice rooms and continental breakfast included. Bar and dining area on first floor. The owner, Tom Fryer, upgraded us to a superior room at no additional charge. Guess it pays to be a loyal customer.
The first day we planned to dive, the 17th, was blown out due to north winds. We didn't have enough time to schedule an afternoon trip. Dove 4 of our 5 days with Sergio Sandoval Vizcaino of Aquatic Sports / Aquarama Scuba Cozumel. This was our 6th year diving with him as well. He and his son, Sergio Jr, run a great operation. The surface interval lunch is always something we look forward to because they actually feed you a real meal. Sergio Sr uses a smaller boat "Aquarama" while Jr uses the "Swordfish", a much larger vessel. No 6-packs here. A slower ride but it gives you time to get to know your fellow divers. They are very safety oriented and have been diving for 30 years with no accidents. Sergio Sr dove the Cozumel reefs with Cousteau many years ago before it became the dive mecca it is today. Dive dates with Sergio Sr and Jr were Feb 18, 19, 20 and 22. On Feb 21 we dove with a different dive op. Wasn't much impressed with the way they handled the dives so I'm not going to mention the name or go into any detail about them. Sorry to say we won't be diving with them again. We're sticking with Sergio from now on.
Dives
18 Palancar Caves, Cedral Pass
19 Santa Rosa Wall, Cedral Pass
20 Punta Sur Devil's Throat, Tormentos
21 Palancar Gardens, Cedral Shallows
22 Punta Tunich, Tormentos
We made only morning dives. All good dives without heavy currents. Visibility and water temps can't be beat. Average water temp for all dives and depths was 79-80 F. Visibility was never less than 60 feet. Coral life is making a strong comeback after Wilma made a real mess a few years ago. Critters of all sorts can be found all over the reef. Real happy to see so much life returning. Cedral Pass along the wall had so much life on it we decided to dive it twice. Got some super photos of a Spotted Eagle Ray on Cedral Pass. Also saw some before and after Devil's Throat. To get a better idea of what we saw, visit my photos of this trip in the gallery. Wish we could have stayed longer. Next year we're going to plan for at least 10 days on the island.
I took about 200 dive photos during this trip and have uploaded a sampling. See some of this trip's photos at ScubaBoard Gallery - Cozumel 2010
The first day we planned to dive, the 17th, was blown out due to north winds. We didn't have enough time to schedule an afternoon trip. Dove 4 of our 5 days with Sergio Sandoval Vizcaino of Aquatic Sports / Aquarama Scuba Cozumel. This was our 6th year diving with him as well. He and his son, Sergio Jr, run a great operation. The surface interval lunch is always something we look forward to because they actually feed you a real meal. Sergio Sr uses a smaller boat "Aquarama" while Jr uses the "Swordfish", a much larger vessel. No 6-packs here. A slower ride but it gives you time to get to know your fellow divers. They are very safety oriented and have been diving for 30 years with no accidents. Sergio Sr dove the Cozumel reefs with Cousteau many years ago before it became the dive mecca it is today. Dive dates with Sergio Sr and Jr were Feb 18, 19, 20 and 22. On Feb 21 we dove with a different dive op. Wasn't much impressed with the way they handled the dives so I'm not going to mention the name or go into any detail about them. Sorry to say we won't be diving with them again. We're sticking with Sergio from now on.
Dives
18 Palancar Caves, Cedral Pass
19 Santa Rosa Wall, Cedral Pass
20 Punta Sur Devil's Throat, Tormentos
21 Palancar Gardens, Cedral Shallows
22 Punta Tunich, Tormentos
We made only morning dives. All good dives without heavy currents. Visibility and water temps can't be beat. Average water temp for all dives and depths was 79-80 F. Visibility was never less than 60 feet. Coral life is making a strong comeback after Wilma made a real mess a few years ago. Critters of all sorts can be found all over the reef. Real happy to see so much life returning. Cedral Pass along the wall had so much life on it we decided to dive it twice. Got some super photos of a Spotted Eagle Ray on Cedral Pass. Also saw some before and after Devil's Throat. To get a better idea of what we saw, visit my photos of this trip in the gallery. Wish we could have stayed longer. Next year we're going to plan for at least 10 days on the island.
I took about 200 dive photos during this trip and have uploaded a sampling. See some of this trip's photos at ScubaBoard Gallery - Cozumel 2010
