Hi, Gang!
After being away since just before Wilma, we headed back to Cozumel for two weeks of diving. We have been going there for well over 10 years and have felt that it was the best diving in North America; and we were more than curious about the diving after a year-and-a-half of post-Wilma recovery.
For old Cozumel hands, the damage is evident and dramatic: lots more white sand, the final state of dead coral. Somewhat less color since there is somewhat less coral. However, the sea still abounds with life and the diving is wonderful. The bottom line: Cozumel is well on its way back and is a wonderfully inviting place for divers.
We have dived with several dive shops, but now dive exclusively with Fernando Gonzalez/Manta Raya Divers. He has a sixpack that is immaculate and he is a superb divemaster. Fernando is a graduate marine biologist and can explain nearly everything you will see.
We looked at the diveboats of other shops and I was shocked at the lack of divers compared to past years. It is time to get the word out: the diving on Cozumel is great!
A few other notes are in order. Some of our favorite restaurants have raised prices fairly dramatically. The place we stay has a kitchen and we tend to eat in so restaurant prices do not affect us dramatically. However, if you are staying in a hotel, you are affected. My advice: look at the menu before going in. If you go off the beaten track, you will likely find more affordable meals. Puerta Maya suffered tremendous damage and that has somewhat limited cruise ships. However, for us old Cozumel hands, the town is still overwhelmed by non-diving tourists. And it appears that the piers will be restored. Nuff said...
For some reason I cannot upload the photos I took on this trip just now. I will try to get that sorted out. The highlight of the trip was finding seahorses. The first time we searched for them it took us an hour. Since we were at 35 feet and using Nitrox, we stayed down for another half-hour and enjoyed the experience. We returned the next day and found them more quickly. On the second dive we found 5 of the beautiful critters. However, we were told that there may be as many as 25.
I realize that this is not a detailed report, but my intent was to simply communicate that those of you who have delayed going to Cozumel because of concerns about the quality of the diving that you can shelve those concerns: the diving is great!
joewr:14:
After being away since just before Wilma, we headed back to Cozumel for two weeks of diving. We have been going there for well over 10 years and have felt that it was the best diving in North America; and we were more than curious about the diving after a year-and-a-half of post-Wilma recovery.
For old Cozumel hands, the damage is evident and dramatic: lots more white sand, the final state of dead coral. Somewhat less color since there is somewhat less coral. However, the sea still abounds with life and the diving is wonderful. The bottom line: Cozumel is well on its way back and is a wonderfully inviting place for divers.
We have dived with several dive shops, but now dive exclusively with Fernando Gonzalez/Manta Raya Divers. He has a sixpack that is immaculate and he is a superb divemaster. Fernando is a graduate marine biologist and can explain nearly everything you will see.
We looked at the diveboats of other shops and I was shocked at the lack of divers compared to past years. It is time to get the word out: the diving on Cozumel is great!
A few other notes are in order. Some of our favorite restaurants have raised prices fairly dramatically. The place we stay has a kitchen and we tend to eat in so restaurant prices do not affect us dramatically. However, if you are staying in a hotel, you are affected. My advice: look at the menu before going in. If you go off the beaten track, you will likely find more affordable meals. Puerta Maya suffered tremendous damage and that has somewhat limited cruise ships. However, for us old Cozumel hands, the town is still overwhelmed by non-diving tourists. And it appears that the piers will be restored. Nuff said...
For some reason I cannot upload the photos I took on this trip just now. I will try to get that sorted out. The highlight of the trip was finding seahorses. The first time we searched for them it took us an hour. Since we were at 35 feet and using Nitrox, we stayed down for another half-hour and enjoyed the experience. We returned the next day and found them more quickly. On the second dive we found 5 of the beautiful critters. However, we were told that there may be as many as 25.
I realize that this is not a detailed report, but my intent was to simply communicate that those of you who have delayed going to Cozumel because of concerns about the quality of the diving that you can shelve those concerns: the diving is great!
joewr:14:
