I made the journey to Xcalak in April of 1994. I have to say that was one of the best trips I have been on. Three of us flew into Cancun, took a taxi to Playa del Carmen and crossed over to Cozumel to meet a friend that had led a group of divers down the week before. We dove Cozumel for a couple of days, rented cars and made the trip down. Let me tell you that "Less than perfect" does not begin to describe the old beach road. I can't remember exactly, but I think we left Playa at about 1:00 p.m. and finally made it to Xcalak about 8:30 p.m. battered and bruised mentally and physically from that dammed road! The rental company gave us 2 brand new nissan sedans (I think the US equivalent would be a sentra), and I doubt those cars were ever the same. It did'nt help matters any that we drove them like we stole them! Anyway, it seems there are many more options available now for accomodations. In '94 since we were on a tight budget (college students) we pitched a tent infront of the Adventuras Chinchorros dive shop. (Now XTC from what I understand) I have one of the most beautiful sunrise photos taken from the door of our tent. Ahhh, the fond memorys. Anyway, as for local diving, I will have to pull my log book out to remember the exact sites. I remember one was La Chimanea. This one stands out in my mind as being quite spectacular. As for Chinchorro, we were lucky to have beautiful weather being in April. Calm winds and flat seas, it was a beautiful day. I have to say that I love a dive site that when you stand on the swim platform waiting for the captain to yell "Aqui!" you can look around 360 degrees and there is not another boat in sight. My kind of place! This was also my first opportunity to see many sea turtles on a reef. Another thing that stands out in my mind is the largest barrel sponge that I have ever seen. I stood on the sandy bottom a few feet away and this thing had to be a good foot taller than I was, and i'm 5'10". It was also probally 3.5-4 feet in diameter. But sadly enough, after three days it was time to head back to Cancun for the flight back. I can not stress enough how nice the locals were. It was as if they took you in as part of their family. The dive shop owner even had his wife pack us sandwiches for the trip! Wow, i'm ready to pack and head back just thinking about it. I am actually planning to go back in the next year or two. I would like to see it all again before the area becomes too over developed as the rest of the Yucatan has. Anyway, good luck and have a great time!
P.S. FYI, I can not tell you how hard it is to find someone to rent you a room in Cancun when you show up not having showered or shaved in 3 days. Not to mention being covered in salt and sand!
