Skittl's December 2014 Review- Tres Pelicanos, Suites Bahia, and lots of food.

[Skittl1321]

Earlier this year I started getting bored, and planned a hypothetical trip to Cozumel. Then someone (DJDiverDan?) posted some really great airline fares, and suddenly my hypothetical trip became a real one. Even though I LOVED my last trip (Scuba with Alison staying at Sunscape Sabor) we did a few things differently this time. First- Alison was booked so I had to find a new op. Second we decided we wanted to stay in town instead of staying at an all inclusive. I'm happy to say our second trip was a great success.

Hotel
It turns out hypothetical trips don't have high budgets, so we chose Suites Bahia. We got a $42 per night room rate for a balcony room. When we got there we tried to see if we could upgrade to ocean view (hoping it was cheaper than the online price)- but it was an extra $22 per night- we declined. We were on the fourth floor, furthest side room forward- room 46, and had one of the "pizza hut" view balconies, but if you sat on an angle, we had a gorgeous view of the ocean.

The positives:
It was a WONDERFUL room, without a doubt we'd stay there again. Plenty of space- a king size bed (nice upgrade from the two doubles at sunscape) and a double bed (for our luggage...). The room was very clean, and the air conditioning worked well to keep the room cool and not too humid (the in room humidity last year was horrible, though it rained the whole time so that AC was fighting a losing battle.) There was a flat screen TV in the room, but the remote they gave us didn't work- I didn't try to turn it on any other time. We had a fridgerator, with freezer that worked excellent as well as a microwave. The room was outfitted with plates and utensils, all plastic wrapped so you knew they were clean. There was also a bottle opener and a bit of storage space in the kitchen. The sink was outside of the bathroom, which I like in a hotel. There was a small closet with hangers. There was plenty of hot water in the shower, the shower stall was small, but fine. There was a small bench at a vanity mirror (but the light was pretty bad if you are a make up applying type). The balcony had two chairs and a little table.

Breakfast was included at Casa Mexicana. It was a simple, but decent spread. I love chilaquiles which were always available. They had beans, eggs, sausage, sometimes bacon (and it was good crisp not fatty bacon!), some other things I can't think of. There was fresh fruit, including pineapple (important to me). There was an egg station that would make all kinds of eggs. I got an omelet and wasn't impressed. It just tasted like oil and the fillings were not flavorful or incorporated- they basically just sat on top of an already cooked egg. Kevin got Huevos Motulenos and he said they were good but very different than he had elsewhere (no plantains for one). It looked like they would also make pancakes or waffles for you. Unfortunately I didn't get to try a lot of what they make because my pre-dive breakfast is often comically small; I just can't eat before diving. The last two days I filled my plate to the brim! There was also cereal available.

The negatives:
If you are someone who is really concerned about security you will not like this hotel. There is no dead bolt on the door, but even worse the inside windows open to the inside hallway and are only secured by a small slide lock. The outside door is a typical sliding glass door with small lock. Of course, we had no problems, but it is a lot to worry about. (Neutral: To get the lock for the safe you had to pay a fee (deposit?) We just decided not to.)
The bathroom is TINY. You cannot close the bathroom door if you are siting on, or standing in front of the toilet. You basically have to walk around the door and then close it. This caused a few yells after toes were stubbed in the dark in the middle of the night. The water pressure in the shower was laughable. A spray bottle might have more water pressure. I basically gave up shampooing my hair and just applied copious amounts of conditioner hoping it could be salvaged when I got home.



But for $42 a night. Um, this place was a steal. It doesn't look like any pictures of the hotel made it to flickr, so enjoy this photo of brain coral instead:


Brains up close! by KevinMarks81, on Flickr

 

[Skittl1321]

The dive op:

We chose to dive with Tres Pelicanos. A number of reasons factored into our decision.
They were very reasonably priced, including gear. They give you a ride from town to the marina. They have a fast, comfortable boat. They take care of your gear for you.

We were very happy with our decisions.
Some thoughts about Tres Pelicanos:
They have a great boat. It is VERY fast, though it can be a VERY bumpy ride up front. After one day where I thought I may have actually broken my back, I learned to ride in the back of the boat, and possibly even standing up. Except for in the waves mostly around the cruise ships, the ride is nice. The seats are separated by the tanks, so you have your own space and the floor of the boat is covered in mats so it is comfortable to walk on. There are cubbies below the seats to stash stuff and nets overhead- so it is easy to keep everything tidy. One thing I really liked is that the life jackets are clearly visible in the overhead nets. You don't have to wonder where they are for an emergency.
The Skinny Shark by KevinMarks81, on Flickr

We had one day out on the Small Shark, a rental for Tres Pelicanos. It was a nice boat too, but needs some repair in the looks department. It was a little slower, but still pretty good. Also comfortable, though the roll in is from a bit higher. Steve says they are hoping to acquire it and rename it the Loan Shark.

As much as I still think it isn't make it our break it in choosing an op, it was nice to have our wetsuits taken care of us at the end of each day (We were of course used to having all the other gear being taken care of.) Definitely an extra bit of service they provide.

Having rides to and from the marina was FABULOUS. It was so easy staying at Suites Bahia and eating breakfast at Casa Mexicana because the shop is located on the block between them. Super easy. Most days Steve drove us to the marina, one day Kevin got asked to ride in the truck with all the gear. Each day we were in the cab of the truck, with seat belts, but a few people did ride in the back of the truck. Some days when the truck wasn't there to meet us at the marina, we took a taxi back and the shop picked up the tab. THIS is one of the services I would choose TP for. It really makes a difference. (They also picked up divers at El Cid while we were there, and the southern resorts. If you are at the Iberostar, you have to wade to the boat.)

Some divers might like that they don't put your gear together for you (though I bet they would if you asked). When we got on the boat each day, our bags were there, and we all grabbed them and assembled our gear/tanks. After the first dive the captain does put your gear on the new tank for you. (Note: One day I had some issues with my tank only being 2400 psi. The DM switched it for me, but when he turned the second tank on, he only barely turned it open, maybe a quarter turn to check the gauge, and then left it. Thankfully I saw and opened it the rest of the way- no matter who you dive with, remember you air is your responsibility.)

The divemasters were very good, but VERY different from what I experienced last year. Alison is, without a doubt, a mother hen, and she keeps her chickens together. (Very experienced roosters or laying hens (??? not sure how to make the analogy work without being sexist) could go off, but mostly, everyone was a group.) If you look comfortable in the water, TP gives you freedom. Servando (Divemaster) LOVES swim-throughs. If he can get into it, he swims through it. If you don't love them, you can stay above the corals and follow his bubbles. This isn't always easy, since the bubbles don't come through the coral very quickly, which often means you are on your own for quite a long time. (One of our dives I don't think anyone actually followed him, so the whole group was above the reef.) You can go poke into things on your own (the briefing rule is to not follow anyone but the DM/ your buddy into a swim-through, but you can go in one on your own if you want). On one dive with poor visibility (this time with Jorge) we actually didn't see Jorge after the initial descent. We knew people were ahead of us, we would sometimes slow down until we saw the bubbles behind us, but we couldn't see people. Steve, the owner, was actually on that dive and eventually came and found us- but for most of the dive it was just my buddy, me, and the ocean. This wasn't a problem for us, and I imagine if we didn't look confident in the water it wouldn't be the case- but know, if you want freedom, they are going to give it to you. (One notable exception- on Santa Rosa, we went over a sandy area to the other side of the reef- 2 of the group was missing, and Servando took off swimming as hard as he could against the current. 5 of us were together on our own for about 15-20 minutes until he got back with the other two divers. In this case, he said on the boat he found them swimming across the sandy bottom in the wrong direction. So they do obviously have group safety in their mind. Visibility was bad- so when these things happened, you couldn't see anyone else.) The DMs will put up an SMB for you if you don't have one, but Kevin sent his up a few times since a DM wasn't nearby. (Sometimes Steve found us and he put one up for us.)

Tres Pelicanos has you go to your safety stop at 600 psi. And there isn't an "on the boat" briefed pressure. A few people stayed at their safety stop if there was stuff to see for a long time, and came up nearly empty. Me personally, I thought 600 was a bit low, and went to the safety stop when my buddy was at 600 or when I was at 700. I like to be on the boat at 500. Of course, my dive style worked fine, because you went up with your buddy (or by yourself) so it's not like I was forced to stay down longer than I was comfortable with. Another example of the individualistic attitude of the dive op: a few times divers came up AFTER the divemaster was already on the boat.

Now- I don't want to scare beginners off TP, because I think they could very well work great for them too. I don't like rolling into the water, and I generally get really nervous about first dives no matter what the situation was. The first dive I was the last to roll, and when the "go" came, I just blankly went "no!". The DM was already in the water, but the captain, was very good about giving me a little pep talk, and helping me calm down and roll in. Well, of course, after a mini-panic attack, I wasn't ready to descend immediately, especially since I convinced myself I was choking on my regulator (more on that later), so as soon as I started descending, I immediately wanted to be on the surface again. I came up, Servando came up with me, and I told him my mask was leaking. (It had water in the nose, I'm really picky). He told me it wasn't, and held my hand to descend. I took a second to adjust my mask, and he held my hand as we started to descend together. At 5 feet, I let go of his hand, but he grabbed mine again. At 15 feet, my buddy joined me, so I let go of Servando's hand and grabbed Kevin's for the first part of the dive. I fully believe that if I needed it, he would have held my hand the entire dive.

They are really a first class op. I highly recommend them. And their prices were great- especially if you get a weekly package.

---------- Post added December 16th, 2014 at 05:34 PM ----------

We also got rental gear from Tres Pelicanos.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend their gear rentals to other divers, though I did have one small (totally my paranoia...) problem.

Gratuitous Skittl picture where you can see the gear (yes, I have bad trim. Diving horizontally really hurts my neck, so I don't do it much anymore.):
IMG_1674 by KevinMarks81, on Flickr

In terms of where I've rented gear I'd say that I like Alison's regulators and BCs best, then Tres Pelicanos, then my local shop. I like a regulator that is not hard to breathe on, and a BC with pockets and no integrated weights. My shop uses integrated weights, which I find really heavy and cumbersome. Their regulators (and especially octos) are a little hard to breathe on, but they also rent cold water gear, so I think they are at a disadvantage in this category. Alison's regs were amazing (and tasted like fresh detergent) her BCs were great, had lots of pockets, no weights, and the regs also had all the clips you needed to attach the octo and gauges to your BC. She also has a computer standard on her regs.

But this is about TP (just wanted to give some frame of reference to compare.)
All the gear we rented worked well and was in good repair. The BC fit nicely.
The reg I had some problems with. First- I just felt like it was too big in my mouth- leading to the choking on the surface problem I had the first day. Other days I felt like it pushed my gums down uncomfortably, and often took to holding it outside of my mouth just a bit so I'd have room. My husband didn't have any complaints about it. There were no sort of clips or holders to secure the gauges or octos to your BC though. (But the octo could be folded and pushed up a sort of upside down pocket in your BC, so maybe this was by design.)

The main problem I had was that as the dives went on, after 45 minutes or so, it got harder to breathe off the regulator. My last day diving, it go hard enough that I felt like I was trying SO hard for air I was worried I was running out. My gauge clearly said I had 1000 PSI, but every breath was getting harder, and I didn't want to see how long it lasted until I found out the gauge was wrong. I signaled to my husband that my regulator was bad (I didn't want to signal out or low on air and freak him out) and switched to his octo. The good news- the octo was fabulous. It breathed so easy! (The ones at our shop leak and I have some serious issues with breathing off of them.) Steve saw me on the octo and immediately came over to check on us- he looked at my gauge, and of course though I was insane since I wasn't out of air. He breathed off my reg and on the boat asked me what was wrong- because he thought it was breathing fine. Like I said- it was probably me and not the gear, but I'm really picky. I figured that would be exactly his reaction if he tried it, because maybe it was only bad in comparison to how easily it breathed earlier in the dive. We still got nearly an hours dive in- but I was back on the boat with 900+ psi. The second dive of the day I was nervous about it, but figured if there were any problems I'd just come up. Same thing happened, nearing the end of the dive, about 1200 psi left it got hard to breathe again. This time I figured it was just in my head, and so I signaled Kevin "bad reg" and signaled for him to stay arms length from me. I did not end up changing that dive, and it actually got easier, and then harder to breathe again- but I just stayed close and we finished the dive normally.

(I will say though, being able to switch to the octo without any problems was a bit of a win for me, so I'm a little glad I had the opportunity to do it.)

We didn't rent computers from them, and they were not on the regs provided.



Not really gear- but on a cold day, Steve handed out some windbreakers to the boat, so that was nice. Oh, and a cooler was provided as a camera rinse tank.

---------- Post added December 16th, 2014 at 05:56 PM ----------

The dives:

First off, the visibility sucked this year. Last year the idea of losing the group because you couldn't see them would have been laughable. This year, it happened quite a bit. Maybe 50 feet visibility at times? I don't know, I have a hard time estimating distance.

But really, we dive in a mud hole, it was still amazing diving.

My favorite dive was Palancar Bricks- the coral is absolutely beautiful. I'm not sure what dive this was from, but look- coral.
IMG_1768 by KevinMarks81, on Flickr
IMG_1782 by KevinMarks81, on Flickr

La Francesa was also wonderful- so many fish it was like swimming in an aquarium.

We saw a few morays- none out swimming this time (we only saw one of them swimming last year so I didn't expect it).
Green Moray by KevinMarks81, on Flickr

This time of year is great because there are lots of eagle rays. This year we didn't see groups of them, but we saw quite a few individually. No great photos because the visibility wasn't great, and they generally weren't TOO close.
Eagle Ray by KevinMarks81, on Flickr

We had one dive where we couldn't go a few feet without running into a turtle- it was fabulous.
IMG_1715 by KevinMarks81, on Flickr

One thing that was very different than last year was that all the nurse sharks we saw swimming were free swimming. None were just sleeping under overhangs. Our last dive on Francesa there was a WAY too friendly nurse shark that came begging for lion fish- she took time swimming around each of us, probably for 5-10 minutes, and took a nibble at one guy's SMB. Just a bit too close for comfort for me. (I laughed when I got back on the boat, I said it made me nervous and another diver said "Oh, I was fine because I know they don't have teeth." Um, they do. It would hurt.)
Friendly Nurse Shark by KevinMarks81, on Flickr

We didn't see too many lion fish this year. I heard they've all gone into hiding during the day. This particular fish is now deceased.
Lion Fish by KevinMarks81, on Flickr

I wasn't around for this one- Kevin did one more day of diving than I did. (Neither of us saw a splendid toadfish this year. That was the only thing on the list missing. Oh, and a sea horse, but we've never seen one.)
Flamingo Tongue Snails by KevinMarks81, on Flickr

This is also the day I didn't go. The only jawfish I saw was in his hole.
Jawfish by KevinMarks81, on Flickr


I don't have a picture of me NOT seeing a turtle- but I think everyone else who was on the boat that day has one of the turtle that basically sat on the top of my head.


These are the dives we did:
Palancar Gardens: Max dept 74, Avg Depth 45. 47 minutes 30 seconds (panic attacks really don't help air consumption)
Paso de Cedral: Max depth 54, Avg Depth 38. 67 minutes (this dive and all the others except the one we went up early later on, I went up with extra air because my buddy was low, so they could have been longer- great bottom times with Tres Pelicanos)

Columbia Deep: Max depth 73, avg depth 45. 65 minutes (I kind of find it funny that I managed Palancar Gardens deeper than Columbia deep.)
La Francesa: Max depth 55, avg depth 40. 62 minutes

Delilah- South: Max depth 75, avg depth 46. 58 minutes
Delilah- North: Max depth 59, avg depth 42. 62 minutes (we didn't make it all the way through the reef, so we dropped in where we left)

Paso de Cedral: Max depth 54, avg depth 41. 62 minutes (we repeated this site because another diver had lost a Go Pro the day before and we hoped to find it. This was the dive where it felt like it was just Kevin and I and the ocean, because mostly no one else was in sight.)
Santa Rosa: Max depth 56, avg depth 43. 58 minutes (an unusual choice for a second dive, but it is lovely on top of the wall.)

Palancar Bricks: Max depth 73, avg depth 45. 52 minutes (this is the dive I cut short and went to the safety stop with 1000 psi)
La Francesa: Max depth 61, avg depth 41 (We got asked if we mind repeating a site. I just said "it's fine. The fish move around. Servando was really happy with that answer.)

Lots of really great, long dives. We can't wait to go back to Cozumel again (and are going to have to split our diving between Alison and TP- because we really liked them both.)

---------- Post added December 16th, 2014 at 05:57 PM ----------

I'll post about restaurants later.

Want to see more pictures?

Here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevi9903/sets/72157647387477314/

 

[cicopo]

Nice review of both the hotel & TP. I've dove several times with Jorge over the years & did last trip again just after he joined TP. I suspect I'll do a couple of days with him again in Feb depending on just who of the several friends I hope to dive with have a seat for me. I DO like the way TP gets you to & from the Caletta as part of the package.

 

[manta_man]

Dive Master card issued 1987, Guia Parque Marino class and certificate taken 2012. I am a certified Guia (guide) in Parque Nacional Cozumel.

 

[gopbroek]

Skittl although I only was able to dive with you on your last day, I enjoyed it. To clarify a point in your post, Steve Belmont is a DM and licensed and registered with the Cozumel marine park as is ‘Big Mike’ Buscher (Jeanie’s husband), they have taken the park course and have the license. When they accompany the trips, on back half of the dive they normally will function as ‘un-official’ backup DM’s and run ‘drag’ to assist the other divers.
I wish you could have been on last Friday's afternoon dive. They had a novice diver who had become nervous the previous day so we did an easy dive on the top of Santa Rosa wall. We had a couple Eagle Rays circle us for about 40 minutes; they kept crossing back and forth between the outside and inside of the reef, often with-in 10’ of us, it was awesome.

 

[Skittl1321]

Dive Master card issued 1987, Guia Parque Marino class and certificate taken 2012. I am a certified Guia (guide) in Parque Nacional Cozumel.

Oops, my mistake. For some reason I thought that you weren't a "Cozumel" DM too. Actually, I think I read it here- so I will delete it to not further confuse people who may not read all the way down the thread.

---------- Post added December 16th, 2014 at 07:10 PM ----------

I wish you could have been on last Friday's afternoon dive. They had a novice diver who had become nervous the previous day so we did an easy dive on the top of Santa Rosa wall. We had a couple Eagle Rays circle us for about 40 minutes; they kept crossing back and forth between the outside and inside of the reef, often with-in 10’ of us, it was awesome.

I am really jealous. Instead I was at work trying to get a week's worth of work done in 2 days.

 

[cicopo]

I've dove with Big Mike too but that was with Blue Angel.

When I'm diving with my camera I hold it with both hands just below my chin. Last trip on 1 dive without warning a small Nurse Shark came up under me from behind pushing my camera out of it's way. I didn't know what happened until I saw it just a few inches below my face. It went to each diver looking for a hand out (Lion fish) & then swam off. I did get a photo of it after I got my camera under control & woke up.

Picasa Web Albums - Larry - Diving 2014

We had at least 2 discussions about feeding Nurse Sharks shortly after that trip.

 

[Skittl1321]

Kevin got a very blurry picture that is basically just the forehead of the nurse shark, he didn't upload it because obviously it isn't a good picture. It was pretty much in his face at the time. Coming up from under you without knowing it sounds scary- even if it's just a nurse shark!

I know they don't generally bother people, but I'm nervous by nature, so again, I didn't want to find out what happened when a nurse shark got annoyed.

 

[ccannon707]

Nice report! I totally "get" the part where you felt good about successfully switching between your reg and octopus. I had that same moment. Taking care of stuff is good practice & builds confidence. These days, my new(ish) reg has my good old primary stage as the octopus. Usually on the 2nd dive I switch over because the octo has a different mouthpiece arrangement. I find it comfortable to switch. This is reminding me I want to look into the SeaCure custom mouthpiece.

Last trip my BC was auto-inflating, but intermittently. I own my reg but rent BC's. From dive to dive, day to day, different BC's. I had my reg looked at. It was suggested it was a grain of sand between my reg and the BC... who knows? So I had to deal. I had to unhook the hose for the dive, then blow to inflate and control my buoyancy. Instead of freaking out or pouting, I used it as practice. Not ideal but it worked.

Next trip I'm going to tackle the SMB.

BTW, I went with TP for the last 2 days of diving on my last trip. I liked them too. Very positive, professional group. But geez, they go early!

I like this little thing to hold my octo. Very inexpensive and easy to maneuver underwater:


JCScubaInc

 

[gopbroek]

Kevin got a very blurry picture that is basically just the forehead of the nurse shark, he didn't upload it because obviously it isn't a good picture. It was pretty much in his face at the time. Coming up from under you without knowing it sounds scary- even if it's just a nurse shark!

I know they don't generally bother people, but I'm nervous by nature, so again, I didn't want to find out what happened when a nurse shark got annoyed.

Because I hunt Pez Leon I am often scented from their blood and Nurse Sharks will come up to me for a 'sniff'. They are very docile but often curious and when they come up, gentle downward pressure on the top of their head will normally cause them to go away, sometimes it takes several times. The best thing is to be calm and not frighten them and not poke them with anything sharp. While Groupers will follow like a Saint Bernard, Nurse sharks remind me of a Boxer, benign but not real bright (best dog I ever had was a boxer).