Cozumel post Hurricane Clarity Q's

[Boomin_Fool]

First off I would like to say hi! My name is James and ive been diving for about 3 years, and I enjoy the peacefulness the underwater world brings.

First and formemost im plainning a dive trip with my father for within the next few weeks! He would be here asking but he has just figured out how to use orbitz/expedia and such, so online forum worlds are out of the question for him!

We have gone to Cozumel yearly for the past 3 years. With the hurricane recently coming through we are concerned about how the water clarity will and if its even in a decent state to go to.

Our other consideration was gong to Belize. Neither of us have been there, so I'm not to sure of...well basically anything about it

When looking at Belize tickets I noticed there was 2 airports, is there a prefered one to fly into? Also what is some good logging there, 3 star + is preferable?

Ive been searching through past posts and I see lots of people recomend cozumel over belize, is there any particular reason for this?

I have approx 20 dives under my belt and my father is up to 50+. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Damselfish]

As far as Coz, there's been lots of discussion on this board. To summarize while some of the more southerly resorts will be closed for a couple months many others are mostly fine. There does seem to be some issue with charter flights being cancelled which may or may not affect you. It's said the currents will/are clearing the vis quickly. You can read about it all here - http://www.scubaboard.com/forumdisplay.php?f=208

Belize I think there is only 1 international airport, Belize City BZE. There are lots of little airports you can fly to from there. There are a number of areas you might stay in Belize. There are lots of places to stay and dive on Ambergris Caye (for that fly to San Pedro from Belize City, or maybe take a boat.) There are also places to stay out on the atolls east of Belize City - Lighthouse & Turneffe. I haven't dove Ambergris but people who have done both Ambergris and Lighthouse seem to think Lighthouse diving is better. (You can take a day boat from Ambergris or Belize City to Lighthouse, but it's a very long trip.) Really getting away from things, there is also some diving/hotels to the south in the Placencia/Gladden Spit area. Or even Glovers atoll.

I haven't been to Coz but obviously lots of people love it. I think most people who go to Belize dive Ambergris Caye, I haven't done either but from what I read I suspect Coz is better. But if you compare Lighthouse Reef and Coz I'm not sure which would come out ahead, I'm sure someone will comment. Coz does have lots of good deals and is relatively cheap and easy to get to from some places, which probably also accounts for some of it's popularity.

 

[Christi]

I have been diving for the past four days and things look good, much better than I had expected. My staff and I dove the first two days after the storm (Tuesday and Wednesday), and we (marine park volunteers) have been conducting a general reef clean-up for the past few days. Just as the streets have unwanted debris and trash after a storm, so does the ocean, this is natural, and NOTHING to cause alarm.

The streets are now clean and the reefs are now clean thanks to the organizational efforts of the marine park and some very dedicated instructors/divemasters/captains and shop owners here on the island.

As far as damage, the reefs sustained very minimal damage and the visibility is almost completely back to normal. Visibility yesterday was 70 to 80 feet on Santa Rosa and Tormentos. It was reported the same today (I didn't end up diving today because of a little head cold). Visibility for Columbia and Punta Tunich was reported 60/70 ft and 80 feet respectively. Visibility continues to improve significantly each day.

I have seen some reports that the southern reefs are "covered" with sand. This is an exaggeration. There is minimal sand deposit, but the reefs are still very healthy and the current moving through helps keeps it that way. The current will also serve to move the sand through, so come on down...the diving is beautiful!!!

 

[robbcayman]

Hey Christi, glad you made it out okay. Do you have any pics of the destruction? Thanks

 

[IvoryDiver]

I am happy to hear that things are looking good in Cozumel..I will be there in about 10 days! I can't wait. I am a fairly new diver with about 15 dives under my belt now. What would be your best recommendation to prepapre for 6 days of non-stop diving? I have dived 2 days in a row before but never 6 days. How do you combat the sore muscles and possible fatigue?

Dive Happy!

IvoryDiver

 

[rrunyan]

IvoryDiver,

My advice would be this:

One, drink water.

Two, drink even more water.

Three, drink some more water.

My wife and I will be on the island from 08-06 til 08-13. Hope to see you on the reefs.

Ron in SoCal

 

[IvoryDiver]

Wonderful!
I should be there with a friend from the 3rd to the 10th...we might actually cross paths.

You forgot "four"

Four, do not drink sea water!

Dive happy!

IvoryDiver

 

[halocline]

I just returned from Cozumel, dove Fri-sun last week, and conditions steadily improved throughout the short time I was there. Visibility on the reefs south of Santa Rosa that I dove was not up to usual Cozumel standards, but probably within a few more days it will be. I did see some coral damage on the tops of some of the more shallow reefs, but nothing catastrophic. The big sponges, gorgonians (sea fans) and fishes/invertibrates were all normal, which is to say really beautiful. I saw more turtles on this trip than I ever had. I was thinking about what must happen with big storms and some of the really shallow pacific reefs, particularly ones that are dominated by the thin branching acropora and montipora corals that are pretty fragile. By comparison, Cozumel reefs seem relatively storm-proof.

I really enjoyed diving this week, and the island was pretty quiet, which is really nice. It's amazing, though, how quickly the cruise ships return! I took a bike ride over to the east side of the island, where I was stopped by police at the junction of the cross-island road and the east side road, although I did walk down the beach quite a way. The police told me that punta morena was completely destroyed, and that nice hotel (I think it's ventanas en la mar?) also ruined. But, and this is somewhat bizarre, the small palapas right on the beach at the little restaurant/T-shirt joint at the junction (mescalito's, maybe?) were still there with very little damage...figure that one out.

I would say confidently that there's nothing in Emily's wake that would justify cancelling an upcoming trip to Cozumel, unless you're planning on staying in one of the big resorts down away from town. There are plenty of good places to stay that are undamaged, though, and finding alternate lodging would be no problem.