Newbie to Cozumel

[del_mo]

We stayed at Hotel Cozumel the week of Apr. 22 and found the accommodations very nice. Most people loved the food, but as a very picky eater I survived. Dive Paradise was just across the street, which you took an under-road path to. Our week stay included 19 dives. One night dive off Hotel Cozumel was fantastic....3 octopuses, juvenile drum, barracuda attack, brittle stars, fire worms, a ray, high hats, scorpion fish, and a halocline.

Having little to compare the "new" Cozumel to, you could see glimpses of what the reefs were like under the overhangs. Yep, sand everywhere. But, the fish life was very decent. Trunk fish everywhere, parrot fish (some HUGE), angels, rays, turtles, sharks, bugs, crabs, sailfin gobies, eels, splendid toadfish, flounders, basslets, chromis, butterflies, top hats, drums, etc etc. The most fish I've ever seen on a reef? No, but very competitive.

We also when to Turtle Pak Reef, off Playa Del Carmen. Fewer fish, but turtles everywhere, and turtles that didn't get spooked by divers. They just chomped away. Head scratching and neck rubs where not unwanted.

We also went to the cenotes. Some of the group were happy to have done it but wouldn't do it again. I can't wait to go back. Just a surreal experience.

It'll be awhile before I go back to Cozumel. But when you consider the hugely varied geology underwater (reefs, swim throughs and walls), it is still a cool place to dive.

 

[94GTStang]

Sounds like you had a great time. I enjoyed Hotel Cozumel as well.


Happen to have any pics?

 

[Dave Zimmerly]

Glad you had a good time. I think everyone should dive Coz at least once. Great drift diving. Off to Roatan in 9 days.

Dave (aka "Squirt")

 

[Misplaced Priority]

...One night dive off Hotel Cozumel was fantastic....3 octopuses, juvenile drum, barracuda attack, brittle stars, fire worms, a ray, high hats, scorpion fish, and a halocline...

We also went to the cenotes. Some of the group were happy to have done it but wouldn't do it again. I can't wait to go back. Just a surreal experience.

Del Mo
What did the cuda attack?
and (sorry if this is a stupid question) What are the cenotes and why would some not do it again?

I just got back from Coz and dove the Santa Rosa Wall and Paridise Reef. Had a great time.

 

[ggunn]

Del Mo
What did the cuda attack?
and (sorry if this is a stupid question) What are the cenotes and why would some not do it again?

The cenotes are ancient limestone sinkholes full of fresh water; all the cenotes in the area diveable by non-cavers are over on the Yucatan. Dos Ojos is probably the best known; there are two sinkholes close together linked by an underground passage. It's a really cool (in all senses of the word) dive. It's nearly all an overhead environment, so I would not suggest novices dive there, and you'll need a good dive master, preferably one with a lot of caving experience.

 

[Nevis Diver]

The cenotes are ancient limestone sinkholes full of fresh water; all the cenotes in the area diveable by non-cavers are over on the Yucatan. Dos Ojos is probably the best known; there are two sinkholes close together linked by an underground passage. It's a really cool (in all senses of the word) dive. It's nearly all an overhead environment, so I would not suggest novices dive there, and you'll need a good dive master, preferably one with a lot of caving experience.

I enjoyed the cenotes but I would rather spend a day on the reefs than in the caves. Just opinion. However, an evening in PDC can be fun especially "after hours".

 

[del_mo]

Oh, oh....you caught me. My wife wasn't sure if it was a grunt or a juvenile something else. There were two swimming in line, then there was one!

Because the formations of the cenotes make for some tight swimming, and the haloclines (anyone remember the 1970's?) distort visabiliy, some people were creeped out by the experience. But the viz was as far as your light would shine, the stalagtites and stalagmites and pre-historic markings made for a cool couple of dives.

 

[ggunn]

Because the formations of the cenotes make for some tight swimming, and the haloclines (anyone remember the 1970's?) distort visabiliy...

Haloclines in a cenote? I've only done Dos Ojos, but it's totally fresh water, no salt.

 

[Firefyter]

Haloclines in a cenote? I've only done Dos Ojos, but it's totally fresh water, no salt.

IIRC, Tajma Ha has a halocline in it. We dove it last year, but we also dove 3 other cenotes, so I could be mistaken as to which one it was. It could have been Chac Mool, but I don't think so. At any rate, it's there, and it's a really cool experience.

 

[del_mo]

We did Chac Mool: King and Little Brother. Both had 'em. Little Brother also had a room that opened up above the water table, but still underground. We took out our regs and talked about the tree trunks (up to a foot in diameter) that ran just to the top of the water (through the limestone above) with just a couple of tiny (like 12 inch long) tap roots that dropped into the water. We were told by the guides that there are 13 cenotes that are diveable without cave certification, and each is different.