nikyyo
Contributor
Although I have dived with Blue Angel in the past, this is the first time I have stayed at the Caribe Blue Hotel as well. I have to say that I liked the setup a lot. It was very convenient to just leave my room and walk down to the dock and get on the boat. The Caribe Blue has very large rooms, all with beautiful views of the ocean. The only issue was with the shower: the water was either scorching hot, or cold. I could never get a good mix. It should also be noted that there is a lot of construction going on in and around the hotel (which is to be expected). There were jack hammers and chainsaws going throughout the day, everyday but Sunday. The noise was so loud at times that I could not hear my buddy's voice talking to me on the balcony. Nevertherless, it was a mostly enjoyable experience all in all and I would stay there again.
Having dived with Blue Angel in the past I knew pretty much whatt to expect. I always found them to be a very reasonably priced, no frills, safety conscious dive operation. This trip was no exception. While they do tend to load the boats up, I do not mind being a little crowded when the price point is so low. I was paying 85 dollars a day for my share of the room plus a 2 tank dive daily. You just can't beat those prices.
The Diving: I dove 5 days (my plan was to dive 7 days, but I cut it short). Site visited were Punta Sur (devil's throat), Tortugas, Chun Cha Kab, Delila, Santa Rosa Wall, Tormentos, Los Palmas, Palancar Bricks, Palancar Gardens, and Punta Tunich. I thought the damage caused by Wilma was very widespread, and even affected deep sites sites like Punta Sur. The only site which seemed unaffected to me was Chun Cha Kab. While there is a lot of coral damage, it's the sand covering so much of the reefs that really strikes you. Santa Rosa Wall was virtually completely covered, at least the portion that we dove. Yucab, which is one of my favorite reefs, apparantly isn't even dove anymore. At least Blue angel wouldn't take us there. After two requests they said "no one is diving Yucab right now." I just kept thinking that if the sites that they are taking people to have that much damage, how bad a shape must Yucab be in? I posted questions about Yucab before I left but got no responses. I really loved that reef, it was so lush and pristine.
I thought the fish life was somewhat below that of years past with the exception of Tormentos which was loaded with fish. The visibility was good, but again, not like past trips. I imagine this is the residual results of the hurricane? I have to say that Tortugas was a very fun, and different, dive. It is across the water (near Playa?) with very high current. There is no ref to speak of but we saw HUGE turtles who didn't mind you getting up close to them. I have never did this dive before and didn't know it even existed, but I highly recommend it.
The Food: As always.....excellent. Restaurants eaten at were El Morro (twice), Los Palmas, Conchita Del Caribe, Casa Dennis, La Morena,El Pique, Costa Brava, French Quarter, and La Lobsteria. El Morro continues to be my favorite on the island. This time I tried the zacarius special: OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!!! I would not go back to Lobsteria again, not that it was terrible, it just wasn't that great on an island with plenty of great restaurants. By the way, the food at the caribe blue I thought was fair at best.
Does anyone recall the damage caused by Gilbert to the reefs and how long it took for them to rebound? I would be interested in a comparison to get a gauge on assessing how long it may take for the reefs to rebound now. ANyway, there it is. If anyone has any questions you can feel free to im me and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability.
Having dived with Blue Angel in the past I knew pretty much whatt to expect. I always found them to be a very reasonably priced, no frills, safety conscious dive operation. This trip was no exception. While they do tend to load the boats up, I do not mind being a little crowded when the price point is so low. I was paying 85 dollars a day for my share of the room plus a 2 tank dive daily. You just can't beat those prices.
The Diving: I dove 5 days (my plan was to dive 7 days, but I cut it short). Site visited were Punta Sur (devil's throat), Tortugas, Chun Cha Kab, Delila, Santa Rosa Wall, Tormentos, Los Palmas, Palancar Bricks, Palancar Gardens, and Punta Tunich. I thought the damage caused by Wilma was very widespread, and even affected deep sites sites like Punta Sur. The only site which seemed unaffected to me was Chun Cha Kab. While there is a lot of coral damage, it's the sand covering so much of the reefs that really strikes you. Santa Rosa Wall was virtually completely covered, at least the portion that we dove. Yucab, which is one of my favorite reefs, apparantly isn't even dove anymore. At least Blue angel wouldn't take us there. After two requests they said "no one is diving Yucab right now." I just kept thinking that if the sites that they are taking people to have that much damage, how bad a shape must Yucab be in? I posted questions about Yucab before I left but got no responses. I really loved that reef, it was so lush and pristine.
I thought the fish life was somewhat below that of years past with the exception of Tormentos which was loaded with fish. The visibility was good, but again, not like past trips. I imagine this is the residual results of the hurricane? I have to say that Tortugas was a very fun, and different, dive. It is across the water (near Playa?) with very high current. There is no ref to speak of but we saw HUGE turtles who didn't mind you getting up close to them. I have never did this dive before and didn't know it even existed, but I highly recommend it.
The Food: As always.....excellent. Restaurants eaten at were El Morro (twice), Los Palmas, Conchita Del Caribe, Casa Dennis, La Morena,El Pique, Costa Brava, French Quarter, and La Lobsteria. El Morro continues to be my favorite on the island. This time I tried the zacarius special: OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!!! I would not go back to Lobsteria again, not that it was terrible, it just wasn't that great on an island with plenty of great restaurants. By the way, the food at the caribe blue I thought was fair at best.
Does anyone recall the damage caused by Gilbert to the reefs and how long it took for them to rebound? I would be interested in a comparison to get a gauge on assessing how long it may take for the reefs to rebound now. ANyway, there it is. If anyone has any questions you can feel free to im me and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability.
