ggunn:
Gordon,
I know you are probably the most experienced Cozumel traveler here, but if there is a new rule, somebody's has to enforce it. It's the nature of people and rules.
No Night Diving in Coz??? Aaaaaaargh!
- Thread starter Dave Zimmerly
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Gordon,
I know you are probably the most experienced Cozumel traveler here, but if there is a new rule, somebody's has to enforce it. It's the nature of people and rules.
redhatmama:Gordon,
I know you are probably the most experienced Cozumel traveler here, but if there is a new rule, somebody's has to enforce it. It's the nature of people and rules.
Nah, I'm nowhere near that. There are folks on here that live there, some that own property there, and some that can just plain afford to go there more often than I.
The rules are tools that can be used if they are needed. If someone is flailing, bouncing off the reef, or dragging his/her gear, invoke the 3 meter rule. If he/she has good buoyancy control and "dives tight", there's no reason to not let him/her go in close for a look at a toadfish. The fact that the rules are an edict from the government gives the dive shop an out; they can say that it's not their idea, it's the marine park's, so they don't look arbitrary.
Universal enforcement is not a good idea in this instance; if it were, they'd have to either keep everyone way off the reef or let every clumsy oaf blunder about and bash things up. I freely admit that one reason I feel that way is that I have confidence in my skills.
The dive ops absolutely will enforce the rules... when it is necessary.
We just got back from Coz and had a fabulous week of diving. We stayed at Hotel Cozumel. They have everything there back up and running. Their pier is open (one of the few). I heard that Casa Mexicana was up to full speed too. We dove with Deep Blue and got to go whereever we requested with our cameras. We were told that the restrictions were up to the divemasters descretion. We got to dive Mariciabo, Columbia, Barracuda, San Juan, Punta Tunich, Francesca etc. All of us had our cameras on every dive. Night dives on Paradise were going too. All of the restaurants downtown are up and running as well. If you haven't tried Rockin Javas Carribean Cafe, it is definitely worth a look. Also, Quesadillas at Papa Hogs Cafe, lasagna at Primas or Guido's, Pancho's Back Porch etc are wonderful. For those of you needing a 'fast food' fix. McDonalds and Burger King by the Ferry Pier are gone. There is a Burger King still open in the mall behind Chaudrai's grocery store. It is a great time to head for Coz!!!
Bbarnes:
Thank you for posting this...since some people didn't want to believe me
These first hand accounts are great for an unbiased opinion.Yes, Casa Mexicana is open, as is Bahia their sis ter hotel. Vista del Mar is also open. In fact, virtually all downtown hotels are open. The only ones we are waiting for are the big AI resorts which will start opening at the end of the month and mid-February.
Glad you had a great time!
Nevis Diver
Contributor
Bbarnes:
When I was last diving with our group (DP was the operator) I sometimes felt that I could not take my time since the group was just blowing by everything like they were on a tour bus. There were many times I wanted to spend some time "really looking" at things.
Any suggestions on how to do this or some shops willing to take it slower in order to really "see" things?
Moodiejeff
Contributor
Nevis Diver:
Try a "boutique" dive op like:
Blue XT~Sea
Scuba With Alison
Liquid Blue
Bottom Time Divers
etc.
The personalized service that you'll get will be worth the extra few pesos
Most any dive op that goes out with a "six pack" boat will go slow and make sure you see the sites. Obviously there are hundreds of threads to scour but the ones listed above always seem to rise to the top... I'm sure there are others who will chime in with their faves.
I'm not gonna knock DP 'cause i have never used them but I have learned to stay away from cattle boats!
Nevis Diver
Contributor
Moodiejeff:
Yep. After bustin' my rear for many years I am FINALLY lucky enough to pay extra for what you are talking about and I'm willing to do it. Thanks for the recommendation.....
Dive Paradise was great and pretty accomodating...I enjoyed diving with them and their location was great since we were staying at Hotel Cozumel. I am not knocking them, they have bigger boats if you want to enjoy the ride (which I did) and fast boats if you just wanted to get there and dive. Everyone was nice and helpful. No complaints.....Moodiejeff:
Man, I can't wait to get back there in March.....
Moodiejeff
Contributor
It really won't be that much... at most $10 per tank (and that's stretching it, probably $5 per tank) and I'm sure in most cases less than that. If you do 15 dives that works out to almost certainly less than $150.Nevis Diver:
The dive shop takes care of all your gear, washes it, has it on the boat for you in the morning, gets you to the reef ahead of the big boats, let's You choose the dive site (even Maracaibo, Colombia etc.), plus let's you dive your air - not the groups. Worth every penny in my mind.
We dive with Deep Blue. Request Gabriel as your divemaster if possible although all of their staff is great. Gabriel was great to point out hidden critters and wait as we all took our fill of photos. Two of us were shooting with new cameras and we got plenty of time to fiddle with settings etc. Going with a six pack boat should afford you some extra time to take in the sites instead of just flying by.
Humuhumunukunukuapua'a
Contributor
Christi's (Blue XT Sea) DMs Javier and Pedro were both great and took things nice and slow. It's often just a fact of Cozumel diving that you can't linger for long because of the current, but when you can, they do.
We did a lot of the sites listed above and we did a night dive at Paradise. They accomodated any request in terms of sites, what we'd like to see, etc. Highly recommended.
We did a lot of the sites listed above and we did a night dive at Paradise. They accomodated any request in terms of sites, what we'd like to see, etc. Highly recommended.
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