My daughter and I spent 5 nights at the Blue Angel from March 25th to 30th. This is our third trip to the BA, and once again it was the perfect blend of simplicity, service, and great diving that we know and love.
We flew out of LAX at 1am and by way of Houston arrived 1/2 hour early in Coz. Quick trip through immigration and two green lights and we were on our way to the BA. The weather was cloudy, windy and super humid so we quickly put on the swim trunks, t shirts, and flip flops and checked in with the dive shop.
Martin was there as well as a couple of new faces who welcomed us with open arms. We were scheduled to do a twilight/night combo, but conditions seemed to be getting worse so we opted to go out on the 1pm boat. We grabbed a quick bite of lunch upstairs, threw our gear together and did a 15 minute shore dive just to make sure all was in order.
We jumped on the Chiqimax with Jose and headed off to Santa Rosa. Up top it was sketchy, but as soon as I saw the viz I had to yell "I LOVE COZUMEL!!" We had a nice 60 minute dive max depth 80fsw. We were headed to Villa Blanca for our 2nd dive when the sky opened up and we were hammered with the most intense rain I have ever experienced. We decided to dive Paradise as we knew we'd need to get off the boat at the Caletta - the ocean was ROCKING!! Sitting at our surface interval over Paradise we literally could not see the giant cruise ship that was docked at the pier because the rain was coming down so hard. I've heard of it raining sideways, and that's just what it was doing! We decided to go for it and enjoyed a 70 minute dive that was like a night dive at 3:00 in the afternoon! However, Jose as usual was the sea horse and toadfish master and we really enjoyed the dive!! We got back safely and headed to town for dinner then crashed from our red eye all niter!!
The weather never improved and as a result the port was closed the next morning. We considered going to Playa but watching the ferries rock and bang there way across the channel, we decided to stay off the water. I had been wanting to see the rest of the the island so we hired a cab and did a tour. We climbed El Faro at Punta Sur, saw some crocs, stuck our toes in the wild side water, had a deadly margarita and great lunch at Coconuts, then spent an hour at the ruins. It was an awesome day and I feel bad that I had waited so long to see how beautiful the rest of Cozumel is!!! Our cab driver was so sweet, and we really enjoyed our time with him. I was so glad to have someone driving, and it's really the way to go vs. renting a car, paying the insurance and worrying about staying sober after a visit to Coconuts!
Wednesday morning brought cloudy skies and more wind, and a closed port. Even though there was a chance the port would open as the ocean didn't look too bad, we decided to make the crossing and dive the cenotes. Martin called ahead to Mexico Blue Dream and arranged the trip for us. We had a nice crossing and arrived at the shop before heading out into the jungle. Our guide took us to Dream Gate which is a cenote that has only been open to the public for a few years. Is was a long way up a sketchy road to basically a giant hole in the ground. We set up the gear and did two awesome dives, one 60 minutes and one 70 minutes in an unbelievably beautiful cavern. It's very dark, and has a lot of black silt that could cause problems if your trim isn't good. We didn't embarras ourselves too bad and really enjoyed the experience! We packed up and drove back to playa for lunch then made our way back to Coz for sunset and dinner. When we got back we heard that the port had opened shortly after we left, but my daughter and I agreed we had made a great choice!!
I'm not a video guy so forgive the clunky edit and camera work, but I think it communicates the point!!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4997006836933&set=vb.1052604958&type=2&theater
Next morning dawned flat and clear with blue skies and almost no wind!! We did 8am, 1pm, and a night dive for a total of 5 tanks that day. Our DM Jorge was with us for the whole thing, and I was so grateful for him and the boat captain who made sure we were making up for lost time!! Punta Sur Cathedral, Columbia Shallow, Columbia Deep, Tunich, and Paradise with bottom times of 43, 63, 57, 62, and 71. We saw eagle rays, black tips, nurse sharks, barracuda and more. I felt like the fish were out to play, and we saw almost no lion fish at all.
After a quick trip to town for dinner, we crashed hard for the night.
The next morning was even nicer, but alas it was our last diving day. We had a boat full of experienced divers and headed off to a site I'd never done before, Chun Cha Caab. As has been said before, the structure here is so different from the rest of Coz, and it's just awesome to see all the 'fuzzy' stuff (the reef is covered in fans of all shapes and sizes) waving in the current. Our lion fish hunters on the boat were busy, and I had a perfect shot of them feeding a big fat lion fish to a huge nurse shark. It was only after the last of the spines had disappeared down the shark's throat that I realized I had the lens cap on the damn Go Pro. Oh well.....second dive was a leisurely 70 minute stroll down Yucab with great viz and tons of fish. It was going to be my daughter's 100th dive so we jumped in at the BA and did another 70 minute dive that took us most of the way to Villa Blanca pier and back. We got out of the water with exactly 24 hours (within 20 minutes) left until our flight.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200093497194184&set=vb.1052604958&type=2&theater
We hooked up with our friends Carl and Mary who had flown in that morning and went out to our annual last night meal at Rolani's. We invited our new friends George and Anne along, and had some great food and even better conversation which was the perfect way to end the trip.
The morning of our departure Alyssa slept in and I hung out on the dock listening to music and watching the dive boats leave. I rotated the wetsuits in the sun to get everything as dry as possible, then went up to the BA restaurant for our last chile relleno and to say goodbye to Sergio and EZ.
We left on time, and arrived home in CA 1/2 hour early.
We had an amazing time again - met more lovely people that we hope to share more diving adventures in the future!
I'd like to extend an extra big thank you to Andrea, Huitt, Sergio, EZ, Matthew, Kari, Martin, Jose, Jorge and everyone else that makes the Blue Angel our home away from home in Cozumel. Can't wait to go back!!
We flew out of LAX at 1am and by way of Houston arrived 1/2 hour early in Coz. Quick trip through immigration and two green lights and we were on our way to the BA. The weather was cloudy, windy and super humid so we quickly put on the swim trunks, t shirts, and flip flops and checked in with the dive shop.
Martin was there as well as a couple of new faces who welcomed us with open arms. We were scheduled to do a twilight/night combo, but conditions seemed to be getting worse so we opted to go out on the 1pm boat. We grabbed a quick bite of lunch upstairs, threw our gear together and did a 15 minute shore dive just to make sure all was in order.
We jumped on the Chiqimax with Jose and headed off to Santa Rosa. Up top it was sketchy, but as soon as I saw the viz I had to yell "I LOVE COZUMEL!!" We had a nice 60 minute dive max depth 80fsw. We were headed to Villa Blanca for our 2nd dive when the sky opened up and we were hammered with the most intense rain I have ever experienced. We decided to dive Paradise as we knew we'd need to get off the boat at the Caletta - the ocean was ROCKING!! Sitting at our surface interval over Paradise we literally could not see the giant cruise ship that was docked at the pier because the rain was coming down so hard. I've heard of it raining sideways, and that's just what it was doing! We decided to go for it and enjoyed a 70 minute dive that was like a night dive at 3:00 in the afternoon! However, Jose as usual was the sea horse and toadfish master and we really enjoyed the dive!! We got back safely and headed to town for dinner then crashed from our red eye all niter!!
The weather never improved and as a result the port was closed the next morning. We considered going to Playa but watching the ferries rock and bang there way across the channel, we decided to stay off the water. I had been wanting to see the rest of the the island so we hired a cab and did a tour. We climbed El Faro at Punta Sur, saw some crocs, stuck our toes in the wild side water, had a deadly margarita and great lunch at Coconuts, then spent an hour at the ruins. It was an awesome day and I feel bad that I had waited so long to see how beautiful the rest of Cozumel is!!! Our cab driver was so sweet, and we really enjoyed our time with him. I was so glad to have someone driving, and it's really the way to go vs. renting a car, paying the insurance and worrying about staying sober after a visit to Coconuts!
Wednesday morning brought cloudy skies and more wind, and a closed port. Even though there was a chance the port would open as the ocean didn't look too bad, we decided to make the crossing and dive the cenotes. Martin called ahead to Mexico Blue Dream and arranged the trip for us. We had a nice crossing and arrived at the shop before heading out into the jungle. Our guide took us to Dream Gate which is a cenote that has only been open to the public for a few years. Is was a long way up a sketchy road to basically a giant hole in the ground. We set up the gear and did two awesome dives, one 60 minutes and one 70 minutes in an unbelievably beautiful cavern. It's very dark, and has a lot of black silt that could cause problems if your trim isn't good. We didn't embarras ourselves too bad and really enjoyed the experience! We packed up and drove back to playa for lunch then made our way back to Coz for sunset and dinner. When we got back we heard that the port had opened shortly after we left, but my daughter and I agreed we had made a great choice!!
I'm not a video guy so forgive the clunky edit and camera work, but I think it communicates the point!!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4997006836933&set=vb.1052604958&type=2&theater
Next morning dawned flat and clear with blue skies and almost no wind!! We did 8am, 1pm, and a night dive for a total of 5 tanks that day. Our DM Jorge was with us for the whole thing, and I was so grateful for him and the boat captain who made sure we were making up for lost time!! Punta Sur Cathedral, Columbia Shallow, Columbia Deep, Tunich, and Paradise with bottom times of 43, 63, 57, 62, and 71. We saw eagle rays, black tips, nurse sharks, barracuda and more. I felt like the fish were out to play, and we saw almost no lion fish at all.
After a quick trip to town for dinner, we crashed hard for the night.
The next morning was even nicer, but alas it was our last diving day. We had a boat full of experienced divers and headed off to a site I'd never done before, Chun Cha Caab. As has been said before, the structure here is so different from the rest of Coz, and it's just awesome to see all the 'fuzzy' stuff (the reef is covered in fans of all shapes and sizes) waving in the current. Our lion fish hunters on the boat were busy, and I had a perfect shot of them feeding a big fat lion fish to a huge nurse shark. It was only after the last of the spines had disappeared down the shark's throat that I realized I had the lens cap on the damn Go Pro. Oh well.....second dive was a leisurely 70 minute stroll down Yucab with great viz and tons of fish. It was going to be my daughter's 100th dive so we jumped in at the BA and did another 70 minute dive that took us most of the way to Villa Blanca pier and back. We got out of the water with exactly 24 hours (within 20 minutes) left until our flight.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200093497194184&set=vb.1052604958&type=2&theater
We hooked up with our friends Carl and Mary who had flown in that morning and went out to our annual last night meal at Rolani's. We invited our new friends George and Anne along, and had some great food and even better conversation which was the perfect way to end the trip.
The morning of our departure Alyssa slept in and I hung out on the dock listening to music and watching the dive boats leave. I rotated the wetsuits in the sun to get everything as dry as possible, then went up to the BA restaurant for our last chile relleno and to say goodbye to Sergio and EZ.
We left on time, and arrived home in CA 1/2 hour early.
We had an amazing time again - met more lovely people that we hope to share more diving adventures in the future!
I'd like to extend an extra big thank you to Andrea, Huitt, Sergio, EZ, Matthew, Kari, Martin, Jose, Jorge and everyone else that makes the Blue Angel our home away from home in Cozumel. Can't wait to go back!!
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