What to bring to Coz???

[H2ODoc]

I did a quick search for "what to bring" and not much came up.

We are relative newbies to diving (one trip so far), so how about giving me some ideas on what to bring for my wife and me?

So far, I have this:
- rechargeable batteries for the u/w camera
- dive gear (duh) - we're renting BCDs/Regs/'puters here before we leave
- safety sausage thing (what brand is good?)
- storm whistle
- casual clothes - nothing fancy required in Coz, right?
- traveller's checks to pay for diving / hotel (per Caribe Blu's recommendation to avoid tax)
- ear drops
- dontation of clothes shoes for Blue Angel (their confirmation e-mail mentioned that this is appreciated!)
- camera owner's manual so I can attempt decent pics
- dive computer manual so we can learn to use the rental 'puters
- other obvious stuff (tooth brush, passport, teddy bear, my binky, etc. ;-) )

What I'm not sure of:

- dive knife or scissors (neither of us have one)
- dive light for possible night dive (do they rent these?)
- dive gloves - we've never used - should we have them?
- jacket for the boat ride? We never needed one in Belize, what about Coz?
- shorty wetsuits OK? That's all we have (leftover from when we lived in CA and attempted surfing!)

 

[Christi]

What I'm not sure of:

- dive knife or scissors (neither of us have one) no need and knives are prohiited in the park
- dive light for possible night dive (do they rent these?) Your dive op will have lights for rent
- dive gloves - we've never used - should we have them? Prohibited in the marine park (all dives you will do are in the marine park)
- jacket for the boat ride? We never needed one in Belize, what about Coz? Good idea to have one if your op doesn't provide them
- shorty wetsuits OK? That's all we have (leftover from when we lived in CA and attempted surfing!) Most people are ok this time of year in a 3mm shorty...but everyones tolerance is different. Water temp is in the 80 to 82 range Only you know your tolerance to chill and how many days and how many dives per day you'll be doing. A beanie or hood is always a good idea as well as most heat is lost through your head.

Here's my basic packing list:

Dive Gear
Certification Card
Log Book
Flip Flops/comfortable shoes
Sunglasses
Bathing Suit(s)
Bio-Degradable Sunscreen
Insect repellant (VERY IMPORTANT)
Passport
Drivers License
ATM Card
Credit Card
Cash/Travelers Checks
Camera(s)
Light jacket or sweater for the evenings
Shorts
T-shirts
Hat
Casual summer dress for the women
A casual collared shirt for the men

Cozumel is a very casual island so shorts are acceptable almost anywhere. I do recommend one nice casual outfit for a more upscale night out.

 

[ggunn]

Dive lights are easily rented, but it's a good idea to have your own. I take a light on every dive; more than for night diving, I like having one to light up swimthroughs and for looking into cracks and crevices for citters.

 

[DandyDon]

Not much to add after those two post.

Lots of small bills, handy to have correct change for cabbies, close to correct for everything else. Caribe Blu has a safe in each bathroom.

The $15 safety sausage is adequate, I think - it's more than most have, but essential to me.

Maybe long dive skins for extra protection even under your shorties. I don't dive shorties.

I carry a thermos type beverage container and a plastic one. I wrap my dive camera in a wet cloth before diving to keep it cool - learned that the hard way. Some ops have camera buckets, but I don't like them - too many abuses.

I like the $4 a pair beach shoes from Walmart for deck & boat shoes.

One quart ziplock type bags for a variety of reasons. Carry a few extra thru airport screening, nice to share with passengers not prepared.

Remove the batteries from the lights if you travel with any.

 

[micknewton]

I did a quick search for "what to bring" and not much came up.

1. Imodium A-D for dysentery (very easy to get in Mexico).
2. Bonine for motion sickness.

 

[Namchief]

I did a quick search for "what to bring" and not much came up.

We are relative newbies to diving (one trip so far), so how about giving me some ideas on what to bring for my wife and me?

So far, I have this:
- rechargeable batteries for the u/w camera
- dive gear (duh) - we're renting BCDs/Regs/'puters here before we leave
- safety sausage thing (what brand is good?)
- storm whistle
- casual clothes - nothing fancy required in Coz, right?
- traveller's checks to pay for diving / hotel (per Caribe Blu's recommendation to avoid tax)
- ear drops
- dontation of clothes shoes for Blue Angel (their confirmation e-mail mentioned that this is appreciated!)
- camera owner's manual so I can attempt decent pics
- dive computer manual so we can learn to use the rental 'puters
- other obvious stuff (tooth brush, passport, teddy bear, my binky, etc. ;-) )

What I'm not sure of:

- dive knife or scissors (neither of us have one)
- dive light for possible night dive (do they rent these?)
- dive gloves - we've never used - should we have them?
- jacket for the boat ride? We never needed one in Belize, what about Coz?
- shorty wetsuits OK? That's all we have (leftover from when we lived in CA and attempted surfing!)

You forgot the most important thing to bring to Cozumel... ME!!! I just got back from Cozumel on Thursday and counting the days till I get back 189 days by the way.... Remember to use black or blue ink on travelers check there was a post about green ink. Christi has covered everything else.
Eric

 

[ggunn]

1. Imodium A-D for dysentery (very easy to get in Mexico).

If you get true amoebic dysentery, Immodium won't help. In fact, it may make it worse.

 

[DandyDon]

Imodium A-D for dysentery (very easy to get in Mexico).

For Coz?! Well, it'd blow you away to see what all I pack - no way I could make the 2 - 50# limits.

 

[Christi]

If you get true amoebic dysentery, Immodium won't help. In fact, it may make it worse.

Completely true. Dysentary is actually an advanced stage of an intestinal bacterial infection. Dysentary actually occurs when the initial infection is not treated in a timely manner with antibiotics. Immodium will only treat the symptoms, but won't kill the bacteria...which is what amoebas are. True dysentary would require hospitalization in most cases. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about here.

Amoebas come from contaminated water, raw fruit and veggies that are not properly sanitized.

However, if you eat in the recommended restaurants (vs. street vendors), wash your hands, don't drink the tap water, only eat cooked veggies and peeled fruit you should be fine.

 

[micknewton]

Completely true. Dysentary is actually an advanced stage of an intestinal bacterial infection. Dysentary actually occurs when the initial infection is not treated in a timely manner with antibiotics. Immodium will only treat the symptoms, but won't kill the bacteria...which is what amoebas are. True dysentary would require hospitalization in most cases. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about here.

You're wrong on several points.

1. Dysentery is the term for severe diarrhea that is associated with blood in the feces, not necessarily an advanced bacterial infection.

2. Amoeba are a genus of protozoa, not a bacterium. Amoeba actually eat bacteria.

3. Amoebic Dysentery is caused by a parasitic amoeba, not a bacterium. Bacillary Dysentery (Shigellosis) is a foodborne illness caused by infection by bacteria of the genus Shigella.

Amoebas come from contaminated water, raw fruit and veggies that are not properly sanitized.

However, if you eat in the recommended restaurants (vs. street vendors), wash your hands, don't drink the tap water, only eat cooked veggies and peeled fruit you should be fine.

You can take all the precautions imaginable and still get dysentery. If you do, then you'll very likely want something like Immodium to help with the cramps, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting and to keep you from ****ting your brains out before you can get to a doctor for treatment. Having diarrhea on the flight home is no picnic. I've seen it happen and it's no fun at all. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about here.