H20Bubbles
Contributor
So we are back from our week and wedding in Cozumel, and I have to say that I am having a hard time staying focused on work at the moment.
First off, I have to say a HUGE thank you to everyone at Blue XT Sea Diving. You all made not only the diving, but the whole experience for our wedding guests quite special. An "extra special thanks" especially goes out to Christi. She went far out of her way to not only make the diving great, but also helped us pull together an amazing rehearsal dinner for our wedding group as well (24 people). Everything you read about her customer service here on ScubaBoards is totally true - and both Marie and I consider ourselves truly lucky to have met her. It was hard saying goodbye on Friday - though I can guarantee we will come back to dive with her again.
Now a little about the diving....
We got in 11 dives over the 5 days we had available for diving. We had two people complete their OW certifications, two people complete their AOW certifications, two people just diving, and two people do an introduction to Scuba class (separate from the others). Christi was able to work her schedules so that our main diving party (even with instruction) always ended up on the morning boat together. Many times the ratio of instructors/dive masters to divers on the boat was silly (1:2). It was especially nice getting to dive a number of times with Christi herself - though we need to find a way to get you out of the office more.
During the week, we dove Palancar Gardens, Palancar Bricks, Palancar Horseshoe, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Tormentos, La Francesa, Paso del Cedral, Chankanaab, Paradise (night).
In coming back and reading about the Hiroshima of diving - I can honestly say we just don't agree and didn't see it. As everyone (or at least 99.985% of everyone) will say and agree... there was damage, but on almost all of our dives the reef and corals looked to be doing well, and the fish and aquatics were plentiful. During the dives, we were fortunate to encounter Southern Stingrays, Eagle Rays, Nurse Shark, Turtles, Green Moray Eels, Spotted Snowflake Eels, Snake Eels, Turtles (a number of them, including to territorial males), Sea Cucumbers, Crabs, Lobster, and more.
The one exception to the quality of diving that we did notice was Chankanaab. Unfortunately, this reef was hit hard and shows the signs of the hurricane. Though there were still a number of large crabs and lobster, the reef and other fish life were slim. Very unfortunate to see how badly this area was hit.
Here are the highlights from the trip...
The following photos were taken on Santa Rosa on March 21.
First off, I have to say a HUGE thank you to everyone at Blue XT Sea Diving. You all made not only the diving, but the whole experience for our wedding guests quite special. An "extra special thanks" especially goes out to Christi. She went far out of her way to not only make the diving great, but also helped us pull together an amazing rehearsal dinner for our wedding group as well (24 people). Everything you read about her customer service here on ScubaBoards is totally true - and both Marie and I consider ourselves truly lucky to have met her. It was hard saying goodbye on Friday - though I can guarantee we will come back to dive with her again.
Now a little about the diving....
We got in 11 dives over the 5 days we had available for diving. We had two people complete their OW certifications, two people complete their AOW certifications, two people just diving, and two people do an introduction to Scuba class (separate from the others). Christi was able to work her schedules so that our main diving party (even with instruction) always ended up on the morning boat together. Many times the ratio of instructors/dive masters to divers on the boat was silly (1:2). It was especially nice getting to dive a number of times with Christi herself - though we need to find a way to get you out of the office more.
During the week, we dove Palancar Gardens, Palancar Bricks, Palancar Horseshoe, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Tormentos, La Francesa, Paso del Cedral, Chankanaab, Paradise (night).
In coming back and reading about the Hiroshima of diving - I can honestly say we just don't agree and didn't see it. As everyone (or at least 99.985% of everyone) will say and agree... there was damage, but on almost all of our dives the reef and corals looked to be doing well, and the fish and aquatics were plentiful. During the dives, we were fortunate to encounter Southern Stingrays, Eagle Rays, Nurse Shark, Turtles, Green Moray Eels, Spotted Snowflake Eels, Snake Eels, Turtles (a number of them, including to territorial males), Sea Cucumbers, Crabs, Lobster, and more.
The one exception to the quality of diving that we did notice was Chankanaab. Unfortunately, this reef was hit hard and shows the signs of the hurricane. Though there were still a number of large crabs and lobster, the reef and other fish life were slim. Very unfortunate to see how badly this area was hit.
Here are the highlights from the trip...
The following photos were taken on Santa Rosa on March 21.
