To oversimplify, there are two kinds of reef divers.
- Divers looking for fish primarily
- Divers looking for coral structure primarily.
Aldora Divers
- Thread starter Steelyeyes
- Start date
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I agree with this sentiment. While there may be certain dive sites I prefer when I'm on a dive trip to Cozumel (and elsewhere) I'm not going to get upset if I don't visit them on the trip. When I'm in the Caribbean I'm on vacation and getting upset over dive sites is not conducive to my main vacation desire: relaxation. Even a mediocre dive in the Caribbean is typically better than the good dives I get in back home; I'm warmer while wearing much less neoprene, the visibility is significantly better, and the marine life more varied and colorful. Plus I never have to worry about parking.
I concur, especially with the bit about not getting upset about stuff on vacation. Maybe if we were to be blown out on our last dive day, that would get my knickers in a tangle, but the other stuff (street hawkers, taxi fares, exchange rates, etc.) that some people complain about in here, not so much.
You are correct; it is an oversimplification. I would be a type 3 diver - one who is happy to be diving around Cozumel, no matter what we see.
Except that it’s not a question of getting upset. It’s a question of getting the most out of the dives. Would I get upset about diving Palancar Caves again (and again and again)? No. It’s a great dive and better than a lot of what you would see elsewhere in the Caribbean. But it’s more interesting (at least for me and a lot of other people) to see other sites. It’s also nice not to be on a site with three other groups, not to mention being in a group that doesn’t limit my dive time and experiences. Not everyone is looking for the same thing and some of us are simply pointing out the differences among dive ops. If you don’t care about those things, fine. If you do, you will want to know the differences between dive ops. That’s why some of us are pointing this out. Nobody is saying that you have to dive with Aldora, or Living Underwater, or any other dive op. But I (for one) don’t understand why some people need to question why others would look for something different.
The War Department and I were early clients of Aldora in the ‘90s. We were very pleased with the experience. She completed her AOW with them.
We stayed at El Presidente one year. We would have breakfast at the pier and watch the big, slow cattle boats plying the water. When a small boat came hauling ass in our direction, we knew our gear was on board and it was time to finish our coffee.
Diving with Aldora was memorable and safe. Happy to hear they’re still in business.
We stayed at El Presidente one year. We would have breakfast at the pier and watch the big, slow cattle boats plying the water. When a small boat came hauling ass in our direction, we knew our gear was on board and it was time to finish our coffee.
Diving with Aldora was memorable and safe. Happy to hear they’re still in business.
Are you talking to me? I hope not; I never did anything like that. There are lots of excellent dive operations on Cozumel who offer features that may or may not appeal to you, me, or someone else. That's a good thing, and I never said otherwise. I could go point by point as to which attributes appeal to me, which ones do not, and to which ones I am indifferent, but "some people" will interpret it as a slam on their dive op of choice if I say that something that the op offers is not a plus for me or if I say that what a particular op is touting as a reason to dive with them is not at all unique to that op. I speak only for myself; I hope that everyone is happy with whomever you are diving with, but if you are not, then by all means make a change.
I am not compelled to do anything, nor am I "butting in"; I am simply expressing my opinions, the same as you and everyone else in here. But you are illustrating my point; why is it that you take what I have been saying as a slam on Aldora? I have (repeatedly) said that Aldora is an excellent dive op, one of many on Cozumel. They aren't my cuppa tea for reasons of my own, but they are for many others, and I think that's great for those divers and for the op. Both parties have found a match that suits them.
BTW, my affinity for Blue Angel is for the hotel, not necessarily for the dive op; the op just happens to be conveniently based there and they check all the boxes for me. Before they were there I dove with Alejandra's operation for the same reasons. There are plenty of other ops on the island who would be just as good for me, just not as convenient.
You know what I was getting at with my statement. I know I am responsible for my own safety, but if you do have a DM that is reckless, he or she can cause issues for the whole group and make the experience unenjoyable.
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