dk2943
Contributor
The economy has hit very hard, so hard that I had to cut back on all "non-essential" activity. Unfortunately, that included diving. I have been so distraught over the fact that I could not dive, I even stopped visiting this board and other dive sites. (Sob!)
Things started to look a little better, so, over Memorial Day, I took my family on a cruise to Cozumel. I concluded that I could not visit Cozumel without diving, so I signed up through the cruise line, Carnival.
We arrived at 1pm and by 2pm, we had met our dive leaders. They led us to a boat, and we then went on a 35 minute ride to their doc, where everyone who was renting gear got their gear (I had brought mine) and the tanks were loaded on the boat. We went to Santa Rosa reef. As soon as I got in the water, I noticed that my trusted computer decided it needed a new battery. I had checked it before I left and it was fine, but now it was just staring at me. We went down about 60 feet to an unremarkable reef (unremarkable in that I have seen many reefs), except that the visibility was fabulous. Then we were led to a wall. I have been to the wall in Nassau, where you look down into the abyss, and it a deep blue, almost black, but here the water retained a sparkling blue as far as I could see. I dropped down the wall about 15 feet but the divemaster did not want us to go deeper.
We came back up, got in the boat and went back to the dock, where the tanks were switched. Then we went out to San Clemente reef. All of sudden, my computer decided to work! We saw a sea horse and a smallish goliath grouper. I also saw whole fields of broken, dead coral and lots of abandoned conch shells. I assumed this was from the hurricanes. When it was time to go back up, I realized how great it was to be 50 feet down and look up and see where the boat is.
As soon as we got on the boat, dolphins showed up, cavorting around us, a nice was to end the dive. If only we had been in the water when they showed, oh well. We were taken back to ship by taxi.
When I got back, the gods must have been smiling, as it looks like I will have the funds to get back to diving regularly!
Things started to look a little better, so, over Memorial Day, I took my family on a cruise to Cozumel. I concluded that I could not visit Cozumel without diving, so I signed up through the cruise line, Carnival.
We arrived at 1pm and by 2pm, we had met our dive leaders. They led us to a boat, and we then went on a 35 minute ride to their doc, where everyone who was renting gear got their gear (I had brought mine) and the tanks were loaded on the boat. We went to Santa Rosa reef. As soon as I got in the water, I noticed that my trusted computer decided it needed a new battery. I had checked it before I left and it was fine, but now it was just staring at me. We went down about 60 feet to an unremarkable reef (unremarkable in that I have seen many reefs), except that the visibility was fabulous. Then we were led to a wall. I have been to the wall in Nassau, where you look down into the abyss, and it a deep blue, almost black, but here the water retained a sparkling blue as far as I could see. I dropped down the wall about 15 feet but the divemaster did not want us to go deeper.
We came back up, got in the boat and went back to the dock, where the tanks were switched. Then we went out to San Clemente reef. All of sudden, my computer decided to work! We saw a sea horse and a smallish goliath grouper. I also saw whole fields of broken, dead coral and lots of abandoned conch shells. I assumed this was from the hurricanes. When it was time to go back up, I realized how great it was to be 50 feet down and look up and see where the boat is.
As soon as we got on the boat, dolphins showed up, cavorting around us, a nice was to end the dive. If only we had been in the water when they showed, oh well. We were taken back to ship by taxi.
When I got back, the gods must have been smiling, as it looks like I will have the funds to get back to diving regularly!
