My Cozumel experience

[nikyyo]

Here we go again. How many threads are there out here where someone had a less than flattering opinion about the shape of the reefs in Cozumel and select posters tried to beat them into submission with insults, etc. I appreciate what you had to say, catfish. Its as valid as anything else that I've read out on this board.

I have to say that I agree with your assessment scubabum. Especially the last sentence. People can dive the same reef and all can have different experinces. I too was taken aback by the extent of the damage in Coz, and reading the reports leading up to the trip certainly didn't prepare me. I really recommend anyone who hasn't gone to coz post Wilma to go and make their own determinations, because IMO one really can't get a fair assessment from these boards (i.e. opinions are always subjective). Catfish mentioned that he contemplated stopping diving after a few days. Well I DID stop diving two day s before I had planned because, IMO, the reefs were so trashed. I do not say this with glee, but with great sadness. As far as posts regarding the southern sites not being affected: well that's just plain false.

A trip to Coz is never a bad decision. There's too many good things about the island. Go and make you own decisions. If you don't like the diving, just eat some of the best Mexican food you've ever had and enjoy the beautiful people and sunsets.

 

[scubasherry]

I have been to Cozumel multiple times pre-Wilma and twice post-Wilma, once in November, once in April. I've seen many reports, positive and negative about Cozumel post-Wilma, and have posted comments of my own based on my personal experience. Based on everything I've read, I am wondering if I am the ONLY one who finds the reefs even more fascinating now. Yes, there is evidence of damage due to the 2 hurricanes that struck the island last year. As a result, the diving is different, the reefs look different, and there aren't as many drums, seahorses and the like. Some reefs are covered with sand, others are fine, there are fewer sea fans and the huge sponges, broken fields of finger coral, etc.

However, maybe we should look at this in a different way. The damage from Wilma is providing us with a unique opportunity to study the reefs and the reactions of the marine life. Instead of looking around and seeing a wasteland, take a closer look and you'll be amazed at what you see. In the sand there are TONS of baby flounders, they were everywhere in April. There are so many eggs, new hatchlings and tiny juveniles that it's mind boggling. When I was there in November, we saw many octopus out in the open guarding their new nests, and the sponges were also spawning--something Pedro (Blue XTSea) said he had never seen the whole time he'd been diving. Swim closer to that coral head (but don't touch)--you can see baby polyps that have formed! I even saw some new sponges starting up when I was there in April, and lots of new sea fans that were only a few inches high. It seems that the hurricane actually caused the marine life to propogate--nature's way of rebuilding and repopulating.

And let's not forget the formations of the reefs themselves--has anyone else swam through the "new" swimthroughs that the winds and waves of Wilma created and thought "Wow, all this was under sand!" I am amazed at the powerful force that was able to uncover old reef that was buried under 4-10 FEET of sand. The old reef structure, the anchors, even the famed "Bricks" on Palancar that have been buried--it's like Wilma did an archaelogical dig on the underwater topography of Cozumel, allowing a whole new generation of divers a glimpse into the past.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there isn't damage, but instead of glancing around and saying "The diving sucks, I'll come back in a few years when it's "back to what it used to be", we should view this as an opportunity to study the past and learn something, before it all gets covered up again by time or another hurricane (god forbid)

Catfish, I'm not addressing you or anyone else in particular, I can see and understand your viewpoint. I just wanted to take this opportunity to offer another perspective that no one has brought up yet. Thank you for listening....

I think your thoughts on all this were very well stated. Couldn't agree with you more. Life is an oppertunity and even though what was taken away was much....to see life regenerate itself and watch it grow is a wonderful gift. I wish I could be blessed to dive the reefs every day and watch miracles happen.

 

[Christi]

Catfish mentioned that he contemplated stopping diving after a few days. Well I DID stop diving two day s before I had planned because, IMO, the reefs were so trashed. I do not say this with glee, but with great sadness. As far as posts regarding the southern sites not being affected: well that's just plain false.

That makes me sad.

I agree, the southern sites are not unaffected (unless you got around to Maracaibo, Islote, etc. those are as pristine as ever). Thee is SOME damage at the tops of the shallower sections of Palancar, but it doesn't encompass the whole area.

The reefs are changed forever, that's nature and change does not equate to destruction...as the old cliche goes, the only thing constant is change.

Did you get a chance to dive Chun Chacab, Maracaibo (deep or shallows), Islote, Columbia Shallows, Cathedrals, Palancar Bricks, Dalila, Francessa to name a few? These sites are as good if not better than before.

I know some people have a harder time adapting to change than others and some focus on the negative aspects of rather than the positive aspects of change. That to me is just as sad.

 

[sharky60]

must...use...self...re.strai..n...t...
keep...off..so.ap...box...

 

[ggunn]

To say the southern reefs were unaffected is just plain false. You can look at the world through rose colored glasses, or you can call a spade a spade. As I said, we enjoyed our vacation, but to say the diving was even comparable to our previous visit would be a complete farce. Many here will continue to visit Cozumel no matter what. That's fine. I'm just trying to put out the message to the non-diehards that (in my opinion) everything is not as it is being portrayed by many of the posters here. We went on this trip expecting to see damage, but after reading all the posts about how great Cozumel still was, we were totally unprepared for the extent of the damage. This was the only dive trip I've been on where I considered not diving after the first couple of days.

At the risk of fanning the flames...

It's really a matter of perception. I went through many tanks on Colombia Shallows in May, and on that particular reef, you'd be hard pressed to pick out any damage specifically from the hurricane. There were some small piles of broken finger coral here and there, but there always are, and there was no sand on top of the reef at all. OTOH, after the first time to Yucab, I asked that they not take us there any more. There's good there, and there's bad there, and it's up to you which you'd rather focus on.

For me, Fiji, the GBR, Palau, the Red Sea, etc. are all out of reach. Diving is only one of many things I do, so mounting a dive trip to one of those places is probably something I will always leave to others. There are other reasons I like Cozumel in addition to the diving as well; I have friends there and I have an emotional connection to the island that is hard to quantify.

Nature made the reefs, nature batters them with hurricanes, nature builds them back again; it's all part of the process. You take the good with the bad because you have no choice. You can argue about it until you're blue in the face or until the mods step in, but it won't make any difference; some folks will always focus on the negative, others will focus on the positive. Neither are right and neither are wrong, and nobody's going to change anybody's mind, no matter what the level of invective, so lets give it a rest, OK?

Peace,

 

[catfish]

I know some people have a harder time adapting to change than others and some focus on the negative aspects of rather than the positive aspects of change. That to me is just as sad.

Some people have a business to promote, some do not.

 

[Christi]

Some people have a business to promote, some do not.

Edited:
not worth a response

 

[ggunn]

Some people have a business to promote, some do not.

<throws yellow flag and blows whistle> Cheap shot call....

 

[tiggy]

We also just got back from Coz. It was our second time there, first post-Wilma. I loved every second of the diving and would gladly go back in an instant. One of the memories I have was at Palancar Gardens. While checking on my buddy, I'd rolled onto my back and just happened to look up. Silhouetted between the brilliantly blue water and the coral were hundreds of little fish in what looked to be a choreograhped ballet. The amount of life teeming on the reef simply took my breath away.

When I hear the word "trashed", I think of a totally destroyed, barren landscape. Personally, I didn't see any of that. It may be that way at other sites, but the ones we dove I found quite lovely. None were "bad", just not my favorite.

I often wonder if we look at our memories through the rose tinted glasses. In other words, we only remember the very best parts of each trip and forget the things that just weren't our favorite. That may explain why current and future trips just never seem to compare to the past ones.. until they are past ones.

 

[HammerNoMore]

<throws yellow flag and blows whistle> Cheap shot call....

There is definatly an agenda in this tread but it's not coming from anyone with a business on Coz.