Worst of Cozumel.

[EL Pistoffo]

Having taken direct hits from both Katrina, Wilma, as well as Andrew (strongest Hurricane to hit the US in my lifetime)and many other Tropical Storms, some areas are better equipped or prepared to handle such situations. In South Florida, we are able to bounce back relatively quick from these storms. Our construction is geared towards these possibilities. Our infrastructure crews have done the repairs enough times to have become pretty good at restoration. I worked on the telecom infrastructure restoration after Wilma. Andrew was a different story. It was too damn strong. Not much of any of the structures could withstand it. Additionally, it had been many years since the area had a direct hit from any hurricane. The saving factor was that Andrew was very small.

Mexico, I imagine is like Cuba and other areas which are prone to hurricanes. They bounce back from these things pretty quick. New Orleans is a special situation. It's a city built in a bath tub. It fills up with water quickly and flooding is the biggest issue in any storm so that puts New Orleans at a major disadvantage. If that is never adequately addressed, every storm will be like a major catastrophe.

 

[AggieDiver]

You can easily say that these people did this and those people did that, but it's different people and different circumstances.

Yes, the people are different, and reacted differently to their circumstances...that was the whole point of what I have said.

I have very close family ties in Lake Charles and Slidell.

The way the people in Slidell and Lake Charles reacted was very different than the way the people in New Orleans reacted. Apples to corduroy as you put it... They were prepared for the hazards they faced and reacted accordingly.

 

[ggunn]

Yes, the people are different, and reacted differently to their circumstances...that was the whole point of what I have said.

That's not what I said. The people were different AND the circumstances were different. It is not fair to say that the people living in New Orleans should have just sucked it up and fixed everything themselves they way the folks on Cozumel did. The horrors Katrina and Wilma wrought upon the city and people of New Orleans and Cozumel were very different. THAT is what is apples and corduroy, New Orleans was a LOT worse off in a multitude of ways, and I don't just mean the ineffectiveness of FEMA, et al. To be fair, the standard response to hurricane hits in the the US was a bad fit for Katrina and New Orleans. You can't roll the semis full of supplies in when the roads are under water. But still.

I am not taking away anything from the Cozumelenos; the speed with which they brought the island back after Wilma was indeed remarkable and commendable. To expect the people of New Orleans to have done the same thing is not even remotely realistic. The Lower Ninth Ward is not Cozumel. The media had a field day with New Orleans after Katrina, sensationalizing and focusing on the worst of the worst. That's to be expected; that's what media does. However, to generalize that sort of thing as typical of the people who live in the City is, put in the most charitable terms I can manage, grossly inaccurate.

 

[mathauck0814]

I'm in the minority, I know, but I think that Cozumel is a barely average dive destination. The pros are that it's close and it's inexpensive. That's really where it ends. On the whole, you can have much better diving in a whole lot of places. Quantity over Quality should be emboldened on the welcome sign at the airport.

 

[cvchief]

I think that Cozumel is a barely average dive destination.

Wow. Really?

 

[Gdog]

Off topic

 

[mathauck0814]

Wow. Really?

I'm happy to be shown the error of my thinking, but can you tell me how Cozumel is better in your mind than Galapagos, Indonesia, Fiji, Coral Sea, PNG or any other of the popular warm water reef dive destinations without citing how inexpensive it is to get to (or conversely how expensive it is to do the others) or how easy it is to get there (or conversely how hard and time consuming it is to get to the others)?

Coz is a good dive trip, don't get me wrong (I've done it myself because it was cheap and easy). I just think it's a compromise and that it's disingenuous how folks have it up on a pedestal.

 

[tridacna]

I'm happy to be shown the error of my thinking, but can you tell me how Cozumel is better in your mind than Galapagos, Indonesia, Fiji, Coral Sea, PNG or any other of the popular warm water reef dive destinations without citing how inexpensive it is to get to (or conversely how expensive it is to do the others) or how easy it is to get there (or conversely how hard and time consuming it is to get to the others)?

Coz is a good dive trip, don't get me wrong (I've done it myself because it was cheap and easy). I just think it's a compromise and that it's disingenuous how folks have it up on a pedestal.

I totally agree. Straits of Lembeh, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, Sardine Run, Fiji, Truk are GREAT diving destinations. Coz is a convenient "get away" but nothing as awesome as the cheerleaders make it out to be. I enjoy it but it's not nearly my first pick were it not for the travel convenience factor. On a 1-10, it gets a solid 5. (Together with Belize and a few other mediocre Caribbean spots).

 

[cvchief]

I'm happy to be shown the error of my thinking, but can you tell me how Cozumel is better in your mind than Galapagos, Indonesia, Fiji, Coral Sea, PNG or any other of the popular warm water reef dive destinations without citing how inexpensive it is to get to (or conversely how expensive it is to do the others) or how easy it is to get there (or conversely how hard and time consuming it is to get to the others)?

Coz is a good dive trip, don't get me wrong (I've done it myself because it was cheap and easy). I just think it's a compromise and that it's disingenuous how folks have it up on a pedestal.

If those were the list of all dive destinations in the world, well then maybe. Since we are going to be loose with the term disingenuous, I think it is disingenuous to call Cozumel average by saying it isn't on par with the best the world has to offer.

I think Cozumel is certainly on the list of the top dive destinations of the Americas. Just because you want to trot out the big guns doesn't make Cozumel average any more that you pulling up in a Lamborghini makes my Porsche average. Yes, you have a lovely car and it is better and more expensive than ours.... (And no I don't really have a Porsche.)

Perhaps the error in your thinking is that you seem to think the only choices are 'best' or 'average.' Let me help with an example. I am not the best, but I am really pretty terrific and not just average. (Ok, I may be the best, but I had to be humble to make the rhetorical point.)

Now that I have worked within your artificial parameter I shall abandon it. I would further suggest that price and things above the water for many divers are also part of the equation for deciding what is a great dive destination. I would propose great though not the 'Best in the World' dive sites and the lovely island and its people that is less expensive than far flung destinations make Cozumel a top dive destination as evidenced by the amount of people who come.

Hey but thanks for stopping by and telling us our revered "La Isla" is cheap and easy.....

 

[mathauck0814]

Hey but thanks for stopping by and telling us our revered "La Isla" is cheap and easy.....

The OP asked the question of what people don't like about Coz, I simply answered the question. There are better and more interesting dive sites to be had in Americas (Soccoros, God's Pocket, San Clemente Island, Malpelo, Cocos, Cayman Brac & the Grenadines - off the top of my head). They cost more and take more time and planning to get to (and some are not warm water).