Cozumel Trip Report 5/12-24/04

Hi, y'all

I just returned from one of the most enjoyable trips I have
ever had to Cozumel. It's an annual gathering of family and
friends in Paradise every year since 1977.

The schedule:

Wed May 12 - Arrival, shore dive at the hotel

Thurs May 13 - Dives at Palancar Gardens and Paseo de Cedral

Fri May 14 - Dives at Colombia and Tormentos
Close encounter with a big eagle ray at Colombia!

Sat May 15 - Dives at Maracaibo and Punta Tuniche, and a night dive
from shore at the hotel

Sun May 16 - Excursion around the island. Boogieboarding at Chen
Rio and Playa Bonita

Mon May 17 - Deep sea fishing. I caught a 100 lb marlin blanco!

Tues May 18 - Dives at Colombia and Yucab

Wed May 19 - Deep sea fishing

Thurs May 20 - Dives at Punta Sur Cathedral (wow!) and Punta Tuniche,
and a night dive at Las Palmas

Fri May 21 - Deep sea fishing

Sat May 22 - Dives at Palancar Horseshoe and La Francesca

Sun May 23 - Dives at Palancar Horseshoe and San Francisco, fiesta on
Plaza at night

Mon May 24 - Last minute shopping, departure

Diving highlights:
Eagle ray at Colombia, swimthroughs at Punta Sur Cathedral, safety stop
at the end of Palancar Horseshoe, turtles asleep under the reef at Las
Palmas, many turtles everywhere, freeswimming nurse shark at Tormentos,
big scorpionfish at La Francesca, octopus and squid at night off the
hotel, BA divemaster Jorge. The only dive I was lukewarm towards was
the deep wall at Maracaibo (158'); it took a long time to get down and
a longer time to get up, with only about 10 minutes to look around once
we were at depth. Oh, and 2/3 through the night dive at Las Palmas,
another op dumped a big group right on top of us, who made no effort
whatsoever to keep themselves separate, and suddenly there were 15
divers piled atop each other trying to get a glimpse of the same
octopus. What are these people thinking???


The accomodations:
Caribe Blu, formerly Lorena, and before that La Perla. I can't really
speak comparatively about the place, since I have only twice stayed
anywhere else; it's a little rustic for some, but perfectly suited to
our needs. The new owners and management, Alejandra and Jeanie, are
very personable and went to great lengths to ensure our enjoyment of
our visit. High marks, though I thought that the room renovations (faux
seashore) were just a little cheesey. I miss the shower curtain rods
in the bathrooms. The drying racks outside the rooms and the new
hammocks are really nice; I can leave my hammock at home next time.

The dive company:
Blue Angel, my first experience with them. The DM's were professional,
knowledgeable, amiable, safety conscious, and attentive. Once we showed
our skills level, they left us alone to dive our computers. Destinations
were by consensus. BA was economical, plus gave us a discount on our
rooms. High marks.

The weather:
In a word, excellent. In spite of thunderstorms predicted throughout
our
stay, none developed. The humidity was low, the breeze was constant,
and
the rain we experienced was only a minor shower or two. The north to
northeast wind made it a tad rocky on our fishing trips, but it did not
quash our enthusiasm.

The fishing:
Over three days, we caught 12 dorado, 2 sailfish, 3 barracuda, and the
aforementioned big white marlin. 4 to 6 foot seas with the occasional
8.
The tournament the previous weekend was won by the Marlin Negro, which
brought in a 364 lb marlin azul. The crew on our boat wished I'd caught
that marlin a day earlier; it might have won 2nd place.

The food:
La Choza, Las Gavilanes (sp?), Casa Mission, La Perlita, La Moreno, Capi
Navigante, El Moro, Casablanca, Pancho's Backyard, Sonora, Guido's, Casa
Denis. Best new find for us - La Perlita. Taken off my short list -
Casa Mission (the food is OK but very much overpriced).

General news:
The exterior of the development next to Plaza las Glorias is complete,
and they have started another about the same size right next to it. The
Servi Playa has been moved a bit south, and the gap between it and
Acuario
is being filled by another development of some sort; Darwin's place on
the
water is gone. The new Pemex station near the southern cruise ship
docks
is open now. The main drag in town is all torn up for some sort of
drainage project; they are laying pipe down the middle of the northbound
side.

All in all, it was another wonderful trip to Cozumel. I met some folks
that I will try
to stay in touch with. The diving was great, the weather was great, the
food was great, the company was great, the hotel was great, the fishing
was
great... Right offhand, I can't think of a single thing that WASN'T
great.
Heavy sigh. We are already planning our next year's trip.

Cheers,
Gordon in Austin

Gordon,

Hello, you don't know me, but you _might_ remember having seen me post to
rec.scuba many years back...like 1996-1997-ish?

I've been reading your glowing reports about Cozumel diving, and it seems
that things have not gone quite so far in the dumpster there as they
appeared to be heading when I was last there 5 or more years ago...it was
when oodles of cruise ships started pulling in on a more or less daily
basis.

If the place is in your opinion still worth traveling to and diving at, can
you give me some tips on where to stay / eat / dive this time of year? I
know it'll be stupid hot, but this'll be my one and only opportunity to get
wet in many years [divus interupptus due to child] - mom and child are away
on holiday for a few weeks, and i'm planning on getting in some stealth
diving in their absence.

I will of course do a refresher course of some kind before I venture into
the depths, AND get my regs rebuilt. I'm sure the seals are all but shot.

Many thanks,

-drew-

PS - pls do 'reply-all' or whatever it takes to make this hit my email as
well, since I read email far more often than I scan this group!

TIA!
-dmm-
"rwjg40" <identity.available@upon.request> wrote in message
news:40B646F7.73BF093F@upon.request...
> Hi, y'all
>
> I just returned from one of the most enjoyable trips I have
> ever had to Cozumel. It's an annual gathering of family and
> friends in Paradise every year since 1977.
>
> The schedule:
>
> Wed May 12 - Arrival, shore dive at the hotel
>
> Thurs May 13 - Dives at Palancar Gardens and Paseo de Cedral
>
> Fri May 14 - Dives at Colombia and Tormentos
> Close encounter with a big eagle ray at Colombia!
>
> Sat May 15 - Dives at Maracaibo and Punta Tuniche, and a night dive
> from shore at the hotel
>
> Sun May 16 - Excursion around the island. Boogieboarding at Chen
> Rio and Playa Bonita
>
> Mon May 17 - Deep sea fishing. I caught a 100 lb marlin blanco!
>
> Tues May 18 - Dives at Colombia and Yucab
>
> Wed May 19 - Deep sea fishing
>
> Thurs May 20 - Dives at Punta Sur Cathedral (wow!) and Punta Tuniche,
> and a night dive at Las Palmas
>
> Fri May 21 - Deep sea fishing
>
> Sat May 22 - Dives at Palancar Horseshoe and La Francesca
>
> Sun May 23 - Dives at Palancar Horseshoe and San Francisco, fiesta on
> Plaza at night
>
> Mon May 24 - Last minute shopping, departure
>
> Diving highlights:
> Eagle ray at Colombia, swimthroughs at Punta Sur Cathedral, safety stop
> at the end of Palancar Horseshoe, turtles asleep under the reef at Las
> Palmas, many turtles everywhere, freeswimming nurse shark at Tormentos,
> big scorpionfish at La Francesca, octopus and squid at night off the
> hotel, BA divemaster Jorge. The only dive I was lukewarm towards was
> the deep wall at Maracaibo (158'); it took a long time to get down and
> a longer time to get up, with only about 10 minutes to look around once
> we were at depth. Oh, and 2/3 through the night dive at Las Palmas,
> another op dumped a big group right on top of us, who made no effort
> whatsoever to keep themselves separate, and suddenly there were 15
> divers piled atop each other trying to get a glimpse of the same
> octopus. What are these people thinking???
>
>
> The accomodations:
> Caribe Blu, formerly Lorena, and before that La Perla. I can't really
> speak comparatively about the place, since I have only twice stayed
> anywhere else; it's a little rustic for some, but perfectly suited to
> our needs. The new owners and management, Alejandra and Jeanie, are
> very personable and went to great lengths to ensure our enjoyment of
> our visit. High marks, though I thought that the room renovations (faux
> seashore) were just a little cheesey. I miss the shower curtain rods
> in the bathrooms. The drying racks outside the rooms and the new
> hammocks are really nice; I can leave my hammock at home next time.
>
> The dive company:
> Blue Angel, my first experience with them. The DM's were professional,
> knowledgeable, amiable, safety conscious, and attentive. Once we showed
> our skills level, they left us alone to dive our computers. Destinations
> were by consensus. BA was economical, plus gave us a discount on our
> rooms. High marks.
>
> The weather:
> In a word, excellent. In spite of thunderstorms predicted throughout
> our
> stay, none developed. The humidity was low, the breeze was constant,
> and
> the rain we experienced was only a minor shower or two. The north to
> northeast wind made it a tad rocky on our fishing trips, but it did not
> quash our enthusiasm.
>
> The fishing:
> Over three days, we caught 12 dorado, 2 sailfish, 3 barracuda, and the
> aforementioned big white marlin. 4 to 6 foot seas with the occasional
> 8.
> The tournament the previous weekend was won by the Marlin Negro, which
> brought in a 364 lb marlin azul. The crew on our boat wished I'd caught
> that marlin a day earlier; it might have won 2nd place.
>
> The food:
> La Choza, Las Gavilanes (sp?), Casa Mission, La Perlita, La Moreno, Capi
> Navigante, El Moro, Casablanca, Pancho's Backyard, Sonora, Guido's, Casa
> Denis. Best new find for us - La Perlita. Taken off my short list -
> Casa Mission (the food is OK but very much overpriced).
>
> General news:
> The exterior of the development next to Plaza las Glorias is complete,
> and they have started another about the same size right next to it. The
> Servi Playa has been moved a bit south, and the gap between it and
> Acuario
> is being filled by another development of some sort; Darwin's place on
> the
> water is gone. The new Pemex station near the southern cruise ship
> docks
> is open now. The main drag in town is all torn up for some sort of
> drainage project; they are laying pipe down the middle of the northbound
> side.
>
> All in all, it was another wonderful trip to Cozumel. I met some folks
> that I will try
> to stay in touch with. The diving was great, the weather was great, the
> food was great, the company was great, the hotel was great, the fishing
> was
> great... Right offhand, I can't think of a single thing that WASN'T
> great.
> Heavy sigh. We are already planning our next year's trip.
>
> Cheers,
> Gordon in Austin

"Drew M. Mooney" wrote:
>
> Gordon,
>
> Hello, you don't know me, but you _might_ remember having seen me post to
> rec.scuba many years back...like 1996-1997-ish?
>
> I've been reading your glowing reports about Cozumel diving, and it seems
> that things have not gone quite so far in the dumpster there as they
> appeared to be heading when I was last there 5 or more years ago...it was
> when oodles of cruise ships started pulling in on a more or less daily
> basis.
>
> If the place is in your opinion still worth traveling to and diving at, can
> you give me some tips on where to stay / eat / dive this time of year? I
> know it'll be stupid hot, but this'll be my one and only opportunity to get
> wet in many years [divus interupptus due to child] - mom and child are away
> on holiday for a few weeks, and i'm planning on getting in some stealth
> diving in their absence.

Well, of course everyone has his/her own opinion, but I am still in love
with Cozumel, and I don't find it that much of a prob to avoid the
cruseros. Downtown has definitely lost some of its charm to pandering
to the pod people, but as you get back from the water and the square,
the crowds of such folk thin rapidly, and the "wild side" is still
nearly as untouched as it was 20 years ago. The diving is still great,
as is the food, and the people are as friendly as ever, the ubiquitous
hucksters notwithstanding. The fishing is still great, too; this last
trip I boated a 100 lb white marlin.

And, yes, it will be hot, but there's plenty of ways to cool yourself
inside and out.

I have some info posted at
http://www.jumpstartmusic.com/cozumel/travelog that might be of some
help. As to accomodations, Check out Caribe Blu
http://www.cozumel-hotels.net/la-reina/ and tell Jeanie I sent ya'.

Enjoy your trip!

Gordon in Austin

Thank you kind sir.

This confirms numerous reports I've gotten in the past few days that Cozumel
has retained alot of its charm as a dive destination in spite of catering to
the cruseros...

I will check out the links you said.

Best Regards,

-drew-

"rwjg40" <identity.available@upon.request> wrote in message
news:40F3F534.80D0FBB2@upon.request...
> "Drew M. Mooney" wrote:
> >
> > Gordon,
> >
> > Hello, you don't know me, but you _might_ remember having seen me post
to
> > rec.scuba many years back...like 1996-1997-ish?
> >
> > I've been reading your glowing reports about Cozumel diving, and it
seems
> > that things have not gone quite so far in the dumpster there as they
> > appeared to be heading when I was last there 5 or more years ago...it
was
> > when oodles of cruise ships started pulling in on a more or less daily
> > basis.
> >
> > If the place is in your opinion still worth traveling to and diving at,
can
> > you give me some tips on where to stay / eat / dive this time of year? I
> > know it'll be stupid hot, but this'll be my one and only opportunity to
get
> > wet in many years [divus interupptus due to child] - mom and child are
away
> > on holiday for a few weeks, and i'm planning on getting in some stealth
> > diving in their absence.
>
> Well, of course everyone has his/her own opinion, but I am still in love
> with Cozumel, and I don't find it that much of a prob to avoid the
> cruseros. Downtown has definitely lost some of its charm to pandering
> to the pod people, but as you get back from the water and the square,
> the crowds of such folk thin rapidly, and the "wild side" is still
> nearly as untouched as it was 20 years ago. The diving is still great,
> as is the food, and the people are as friendly as ever, the ubiquitous
> hucksters notwithstanding. The fishing is still great, too; this last
> trip I boated a 100 lb white marlin.
>
> And, yes, it will be hot, but there's plenty of ways to cool yourself
> inside and out.
>
> I have some info posted at
> http://www.jumpstartmusic.com/cozumel/travelog that might be of some
> help. As to accomodations, Check out Caribe Blu
> http://www.cozumel-hotels.net/la-reina/ and tell Jeanie I sent ya'.
>
> Enjoy your trip!
>
> Gordon in Austin