Mawg
Contributor
The first 2 nights of our trip we spent on Isla Mujeres. We had never been and were wanting to check it out for some time now. I.M. is so laid back that it barely exists. And it seems significantly hotter than Cozumel but then so does Cancun. I guess that is what happens when you build on top of a sandbar surrounded by a very salty sea. We rented a golf cart and in a relatively short amount of time we had seen all of the island. The golf carts dont go very fast so you will constantly have cabs,trucks,Mopeds carrying a family of 4 and bicycles on your butt trying to pass. It gets annoying.
I.M. has beautiful beaches and beautiful water. I ate some VERY good fish tacos. We ate at Jax,Bally Hoo and Miramar restaurants. All were excellent restaurants BUT, one of them gave me something that wasn't on the menu. Good thing I carry imodium. First time I've gotten sick in 15 years down there. I got to it quick and it wasn't too bad. Only lasted a couple of days. I've NEVER gotten sick while in Cozumel.
In summary, I.M. was not for me. It was too small, under developed and hot. I know there are people who love it and that is great. I'm not one of them.
We left I.M. on wed. morn. and headed for Cozumel. Ferry to Cancun, car to Playa and ferry to Cozumel. It was one of the roughest ferry rides to Cozumel I have been on in 15 years. Never seen them pass out barf bags before. They are lavender colored by the way.Grabbed a cab and headed to the Presidente. We got there just as my brother, his wife, son and nephew were arriving. Son and nephew were recently certified and headed out with Elizabeth and I in the morning for their first ocean dives. Short trip, leaving on sun., so we only dove 2 days and my brother fished for 2 days.
FISHING: I set up the 2 days of fishing thru Ocean Tours. If you pay in cash, it was $400.00 for a 4 hour trip. Boat was a 37 foot cabin cruiser, 12 foot beam and according to my brother, very nice. Picked them up, I was diving, at 8:00 a.m. and came back at noon with nothing. My brother said that the crew was excellent and did their very best. Captain told my brother I'll pick you up tomorrow at 7:00 a.m., an hour earlier. Hang on Gordon, you're gonna like this one. The first fish they caught was a 4 foot Barracuda. They didn't keep it. The second fish, according to the Capt., was a 40 pound Blackfin Tuna. Nancy fought it but was unable to land it when after 35 minutes it made a run directly at the boat and she was unable to reel in the line fast enough before it turned and was able to get away. The next fish was a 37 inch Dorado that my brother landed and we ate that evening for dinner. It was now around 10:00 a.m. and the Capt. told my brother he could see a large billfish not too far away and did my brother want to try and catch him. He said yes and off they went. They were about 4 miles off Punta Sur southwest. In no time at all, my brother hooked the fish and fought him for the next 45 minutes. Long story short, they got him to the back of the boat and the Capt. said he was 11 feet , just shy of spanning the beam. He estimated his weight at 230 pounds. It was my brothers second fishing trip to Cozumel in as many years and his first Blue Marlin. DAMN! Wish I'd been there.
DIVING: On thurs, the 4 of us dove Palancar Bricks and Punta Tuniche. And on friday we dove Palancar Caves and Cedral. The vis on Caves was,thurs., just spectacular. I loved it. I first dove it in 1993 on my first ever OW dive and I thought it was even more spectactular now. The coral never looked more vibrant. It is one of my more favorite dives in Cozumel and I would say that it is in the top 5 of dives I've made in all of the Caribbean. Tuniche and Cedral had currents of 3 and 3.5 mph which was fine with me. Who wants to kick? We saw turtles in abundance both days,all Hawksbills. On the second day, on Cedral , when we were coming up, I saw a HUGE Barracuda in the distance, approximately 20 yards. The current was at least 3.5 knots then and he was just swishing his tail gently over the reef and maintaining his position. Over the years, I've seen lots of big Cudas. I estimate that his length was 7 feet, the biggest I've ever seen. The DM, Alberto agreed with me. He was simply huge. In all, the diving was as good as it gets. Vis was great, saw lots of turtles and we all had a great time.
DINNER: This is for you Gordon. We went to Chen Rio on Sat. to relax. What a great place to do just that. I loved jumping into the tidal pool with my nephews and cooling off. By the way, my nephews are aged 40 and 33 and they cracked everybody up on the dive boat and everywhere else we went. In honor of your recommendation Gordon, 3 of us ordered the Whole Fried Snapper. Let me say this; if you dont mind your supper giving you the hairy eyeball;then carry on. I did and it was EXCELLENT. Thanks Gordon for the recommendation. I have included a pic. of my dinner. Elizabeth and I would be pleased to answer any questions.
I.M. has beautiful beaches and beautiful water. I ate some VERY good fish tacos. We ate at Jax,Bally Hoo and Miramar restaurants. All were excellent restaurants BUT, one of them gave me something that wasn't on the menu. Good thing I carry imodium. First time I've gotten sick in 15 years down there. I got to it quick and it wasn't too bad. Only lasted a couple of days. I've NEVER gotten sick while in Cozumel.
In summary, I.M. was not for me. It was too small, under developed and hot. I know there are people who love it and that is great. I'm not one of them.
We left I.M. on wed. morn. and headed for Cozumel. Ferry to Cancun, car to Playa and ferry to Cozumel. It was one of the roughest ferry rides to Cozumel I have been on in 15 years. Never seen them pass out barf bags before. They are lavender colored by the way.Grabbed a cab and headed to the Presidente. We got there just as my brother, his wife, son and nephew were arriving. Son and nephew were recently certified and headed out with Elizabeth and I in the morning for their first ocean dives. Short trip, leaving on sun., so we only dove 2 days and my brother fished for 2 days.
FISHING: I set up the 2 days of fishing thru Ocean Tours. If you pay in cash, it was $400.00 for a 4 hour trip. Boat was a 37 foot cabin cruiser, 12 foot beam and according to my brother, very nice. Picked them up, I was diving, at 8:00 a.m. and came back at noon with nothing. My brother said that the crew was excellent and did their very best. Captain told my brother I'll pick you up tomorrow at 7:00 a.m., an hour earlier. Hang on Gordon, you're gonna like this one. The first fish they caught was a 4 foot Barracuda. They didn't keep it. The second fish, according to the Capt., was a 40 pound Blackfin Tuna. Nancy fought it but was unable to land it when after 35 minutes it made a run directly at the boat and she was unable to reel in the line fast enough before it turned and was able to get away. The next fish was a 37 inch Dorado that my brother landed and we ate that evening for dinner. It was now around 10:00 a.m. and the Capt. told my brother he could see a large billfish not too far away and did my brother want to try and catch him. He said yes and off they went. They were about 4 miles off Punta Sur southwest. In no time at all, my brother hooked the fish and fought him for the next 45 minutes. Long story short, they got him to the back of the boat and the Capt. said he was 11 feet , just shy of spanning the beam. He estimated his weight at 230 pounds. It was my brothers second fishing trip to Cozumel in as many years and his first Blue Marlin. DAMN! Wish I'd been there.
DIVING: On thurs, the 4 of us dove Palancar Bricks and Punta Tuniche. And on friday we dove Palancar Caves and Cedral. The vis on Caves was,thurs., just spectacular. I loved it. I first dove it in 1993 on my first ever OW dive and I thought it was even more spectactular now. The coral never looked more vibrant. It is one of my more favorite dives in Cozumel and I would say that it is in the top 5 of dives I've made in all of the Caribbean. Tuniche and Cedral had currents of 3 and 3.5 mph which was fine with me. Who wants to kick? We saw turtles in abundance both days,all Hawksbills. On the second day, on Cedral , when we were coming up, I saw a HUGE Barracuda in the distance, approximately 20 yards. The current was at least 3.5 knots then and he was just swishing his tail gently over the reef and maintaining his position. Over the years, I've seen lots of big Cudas. I estimate that his length was 7 feet, the biggest I've ever seen. The DM, Alberto agreed with me. He was simply huge. In all, the diving was as good as it gets. Vis was great, saw lots of turtles and we all had a great time.
DINNER: This is for you Gordon. We went to Chen Rio on Sat. to relax. What a great place to do just that. I loved jumping into the tidal pool with my nephews and cooling off. By the way, my nephews are aged 40 and 33 and they cracked everybody up on the dive boat and everywhere else we went. In honor of your recommendation Gordon, 3 of us ordered the Whole Fried Snapper. Let me say this; if you dont mind your supper giving you the hairy eyeball;then carry on. I did and it was EXCELLENT. Thanks Gordon for the recommendation. I have included a pic. of my dinner. Elizabeth and I would be pleased to answer any questions.