mmitchell6
Registered
Hey all, just got back from my first trip ever to Cozumel and boy was it an incredible experience. By not freaking out about the Swine Flu and being from New York City, I had a choice, stay here and get sick or go to Cozumel and get sick. Hmm...let me think about that one, ok done! Personally, I would rather get sick in paradise than to stay here and get sick, just my preference, my choice. First of all, I was under the impression that the cruise ships were allowed to dock, well when I got there last week, that wasn't the case, they still were not allowed to dock. The city was like a ghost town, great for divers, but I really felt sorry for the economy. At times, I was the only one eating in the restaurant.
What really amazed me was meeting people and telling them this was my first trip ever, well I got responses like "this is my 6th, 7th, 21st or 26th time here. Wow, I was the new kid on the block. They all said you'll love it and you know what? That should tell you something about Cozumel. They were right! Where else could you go in the world and find great diving (which I will get to in a second), great food, wonderful, beautiful people and on-top of all that, inexpensive prices. Yes, you could stay at an all inclusive and never come out of your safety blanket, but you'll be missing people who are proud of their heritage/culture.
Now about the diving! I dove with Blue XT (Christi's operation). The kindest group of DM's this side of the planet. Diving with Pedro, what a character, his love of what scuba diving means to him shows, Aturo, who taught me the meaning of "take your time", increased my bottom time from an average of 32 minutes (I'm a new air hog), to almost 1 hour, and Ramone, who is like a gisselle in the water, just watching and observing them was an experience all it's own. Christi has put together an ensemble of vets unmatched on the island (ok, so I haven't dove with any others ops there, so maybe there are better, but for me, they gave me an incredible experience). As for accommodations, I stayed at the Blue Angel Resort (formerly Caribe Blu). This hotel was nothing like their website, in reality, the hotel, as advertised, was better than what the website describes. I was like, "this is not what I expected"! The changes there are happening for the better largely due to the new owner Eva. After speaking with her for almost an hour upon arrival, she gave me the complimentary A welcoming drink? it could have been water, soda or an alcoholic beverage, well I went for the alcohol. It was so a pleasant welcoming, that after an hour I realized my bags were still with me and I haven't even gotten to my room. She wants every guest to feel comfortable and she's not satisfied if you're not. Her personality exudes down to her staff. They all made me feel very very welcomed. And the guests, like I stated above, were all repeaters, I don't think I met anyone who was experiencing their first visit. That tells you about the place. I wanted to go where the divers go and met some of the nicest people. They also have a dive shop that I did have the opportunity to dive with (Drift Dive Certificate), I dove with Matt, the Blue Angel Dive Shop instructor. What the heck in the water there? He was awesome. Another human who has grown gills. He made my day when he complimented me on my diving skills (being a newbie and only 50 dives under my belt)!
So how was my first visit to Cozumel? Will I go back! What do you think?
What really amazed me was meeting people and telling them this was my first trip ever, well I got responses like "this is my 6th, 7th, 21st or 26th time here. Wow, I was the new kid on the block. They all said you'll love it and you know what? That should tell you something about Cozumel. They were right! Where else could you go in the world and find great diving (which I will get to in a second), great food, wonderful, beautiful people and on-top of all that, inexpensive prices. Yes, you could stay at an all inclusive and never come out of your safety blanket, but you'll be missing people who are proud of their heritage/culture.
Now about the diving! I dove with Blue XT (Christi's operation). The kindest group of DM's this side of the planet. Diving with Pedro, what a character, his love of what scuba diving means to him shows, Aturo, who taught me the meaning of "take your time", increased my bottom time from an average of 32 minutes (I'm a new air hog), to almost 1 hour, and Ramone, who is like a gisselle in the water, just watching and observing them was an experience all it's own. Christi has put together an ensemble of vets unmatched on the island (ok, so I haven't dove with any others ops there, so maybe there are better, but for me, they gave me an incredible experience). As for accommodations, I stayed at the Blue Angel Resort (formerly Caribe Blu). This hotel was nothing like their website, in reality, the hotel, as advertised, was better than what the website describes. I was like, "this is not what I expected"! The changes there are happening for the better largely due to the new owner Eva. After speaking with her for almost an hour upon arrival, she gave me the complimentary A welcoming drink? it could have been water, soda or an alcoholic beverage, well I went for the alcohol. It was so a pleasant welcoming, that after an hour I realized my bags were still with me and I haven't even gotten to my room. She wants every guest to feel comfortable and she's not satisfied if you're not. Her personality exudes down to her staff. They all made me feel very very welcomed. And the guests, like I stated above, were all repeaters, I don't think I met anyone who was experiencing their first visit. That tells you about the place. I wanted to go where the divers go and met some of the nicest people. They also have a dive shop that I did have the opportunity to dive with (Drift Dive Certificate), I dove with Matt, the Blue Angel Dive Shop instructor. What the heck in the water there? He was awesome. Another human who has grown gills. He made my day when he complimented me on my diving skills (being a newbie and only 50 dives under my belt)!
So how was my first visit to Cozumel? Will I go back! What do you think?
