First timer to Cozumel and First time Diver

[ThePetiteRunner]

For the OP, I am surprised you calculated the costs at 300 more locally. I guess that must be because of hotels. As myself and others have said before though, you will have much more appreciation and be more comfortable on vacation if you learn and dive here first.

The hotels in Monterey get cheaper in fall and winter while the diving gets better.

Diving in Cozumel after learning and diving in Monterey, was a dream. I wore a 2mil shorty, but the water was 84 at 90'! There is no question that diving in warm water is much easier and having learned in cold with more weight and much more exposure protection made the experience even better.

Hello neighbor!

Thank you for this. I am reconsidering Monterey, I had no idea about diving getting better into the Fall and Winter months. I'll have to re-evaluate. The $300 costs was the difference for both my fiance and I to get certified here. All in all, I suppose it isn't THAT much worse and if we found a better rate with a hotel, it would change that number significantly. I'll send you a PM about recommendations for local dive shops, if you're open to it. Thank you!

 

[Mossman]

What value were you trying to provide here? Why bother to post at all?

Why bother to dive anywhere at all. Exactly. I could just read others' posts and write my own posts entirely based on others' experiences. Would be a lot cheaper, that's for sure!

For the OP, I am surprised you calculated the costs at 300 more locally. I guess that must be because of hotels. As myself and others have said before though, you will have much more appreciation and be more comfortable on vacation if you learn and dive here first.

Unless the cold water scares them off of diving for good. There's a reason why so many get the diving bug in the Caribbean instead of Antarctica.

Diving in Cozumel after learning and diving in Monterey, was a dream. I wore a 2mil shorty, but the water was 84 at 90'! There is no question that diving in warm water is much easier and having learned in cold with more weight and much more exposure protection made the experience even better.

Not sure about that. I've never experienced a down current in cold water, but I have in warm water and it was pretty scary. The fastest currents I've ever experienced, where I felt almost out of control, were in warm water. A thicker wetsuit and more weight doesn't necessary make a dive more challenging, just more constricting and heavier.

 

[DandyDon]

This is good advice. My dad and I got certified last year (though he had dived for at least a decade in the military) in Grand Cayman. I got extremely sunburned on the first day, which added to my anxiety because we had booked a solid week of diving. I ended up needing an extra day of instruction than was planned.

Ear problems ground more new divers. Some has smaller e-tubes, some have other challenges, and some of us cannot dive without Pseudoephedrine - none of which they'd know about until they try diving deeper than 20 feet. Pseudoephedrine is almost impossible to buy in Mexico anymore (my regular source recently doubled their price on the generic Actifed I take every day so I am back buying it at Walgreens who only went up 50%, but I fear the day that no one carries it anymore with reduced marketing and stricter rules!), and an ear barotrauma or swimmer ear infection can ground a diver for more than a week.

 

[drrich2]

I could just read others' posts and write my own posts entirely based on others' experiences.

Which is not what I did. Just in case that was an insinuation.

Richard.

 

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Ear problems ground more new divers. Some has smaller e-tubes, some have other challenges, and some of us cannot dive without Pseudoephedrine - none of which they'd know about until they try diving deeper than 20 feet. Pseudoephedrine is almost impossible to buy in Mexico anymore (my regular source recently doubled their price on the generic Actifed I take every day so I am back buying it at Walgreens who only went up 50%, but I fear the day that no one carries it anymore with reduced marketing and stricter rules!), and an ear barotrauma or swimmer ear infection can ground a diver for more than a week.

My issue was with no-mask breathing and getting out of my own head, but there was a gentleman on the boat who had to scrap his 2nd dive due to clearing issues. He was snorting Afrin like it was going out of style to no avail. I can certainly sympathize with him due to chronic allergies, but they (unless I get a sinus infection) have never kept me from clearing or needing anything beyond my daily Zyrtec pill.

I took Sudafed for the first time ever earlier this year for my sinus infection. That stuff works amazing, but I would not want to dive on it - I was high as a kite. That's a shame that it's difficult to source in some places. Much like that bug spray that was banned (was it DDT?) and now the new stuff doesn't work half as good.

 

[drrich2]

Not a recommendation/endorsement for anybody else - just what I choose to do for myself. When I take Sudafed, I use the 24 hour version. I don't want it wearing off while I'm down there.

I've had reverse block on 2 dives in my life (I don't think either involved Sudafed that I can recall), it's painful, scary and can take time to work through (which I did, but there's no guarantee in advance that you can), and a choice between drowning and rupturing an ear drum is not a choice I want to have to make.

Richard.

 

[DandyDon]

I took Sudafed for the first time ever earlier this year for my sinus infection. That stuff works amazing, but I would not want to dive on it - I was high as a kite. That's a shame that it's difficult to source in some places. Much like that bug spray that was banned (was it DDT?) and now the new stuff doesn't work half as good.

I stick to actual medicine names because while Sudafed took its name from pseudoephedrine, the brand name is now used for meds only a little more effective than placebos - since pseudoephedrine came under all the regulations. Some states have regs worse than the federal rules, requiring a prescription.

Anyway, pseudoephedrine is chemically similar to speed and affects different people different ways - so good to test taking it on an off day. I take one right before going to bed with no problems.

 

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Didn't realize it, but apparently there's quite a few versions of Sudafed and/or pseudoephedrine with several different active ingredients. I must have got "the good stuff" since the pharmacy wanted my license. I just asked the pharmacist for the strongest OTC medication possible.

 

[DandyDon]

Didn't realize it, but apparently there's quite a few versions of Sudafed and/or pseudoephedrine with several different active ingredients. I must have got "the good stuff" since the pharmacy wanted my license. I just asked the pharmacist for the strongest OTC medication possible.

Well, they use the recognized name of Sudafed to market Phenylephrine products now that Pseudoephedrine is restricted, making it difficult to market. Phenylephrine just doesn't seem to work well tho. Sadly, many just go on marketing and stick with it not realizing the good stuff is still available behind the counter.

Your approach seems to have worked well, at least with that pharmacist. Many are just not carrying Pseudoephedrine anymore because of all the restrictions, reporting, other hassles. Others may carry only 30 mg pills, which is a child's dose so you have to take two at a time - if one bothers to read the contents and directions. My brilliant and highly educated daughter wasn't.

 

[ThePetiteRunner]

Just an update - decided to go with the pre-trip certification. We're signed up for a class in early-mid September and hopefully we'll be able to do our dives in Monterey And now that I've seen the course materials, I understand why so many of you guys suggested we not waste our honeymoon time studying!

Thanks again for all the help!