Scuba Club Cozumel (Jan 5-9)

[Bobby T]

My wife and I just returned to warm and sunny Wisconsin - only 20 degrees below zero when we got home and the truck died on the way home from the airport - now that was fun

I can't say enough about SCC. We are novice divers - only 11 under our belts before the trip. Now at 24! The resort was perfect for us. We spent our first day shore diving right from the resort. It was a perect way to refresh our skills. Even vetured out in the dark of night for the first time ever - pretty cool if I don't say so myself.

The dive boats, DM's, rental equiptment (BCD and Regs), wait staff, food, rooms, showers....everything was perfect.

Martin was our DM. He did a great job. We dove off the Reef Star - very easy to get on and off and plenty of room for gear and relaxing. Being basically rookies and not diving for the last couple years, we were somewhat nervous. Martin and the Crew did such a nice job instructing and advising that we were ready to take on just about anything by the end of the trip.

We paid an extra $65 each for the "Twilight Dive" one day. The dive consisted of a 50 minute dive just as the sun hit the horizon and then a 45 minute dive in the dark. This was a first for us and it was awesome. Well worth every penny and not nearly as spooky as I thought it would be. The other 2 couples on that dive with us were a blast. Never dove with anyone wearing a skully before. They had some awesome camera equipment as well. I'm still hoping to see some photos when they get back from their trip. Never got to do a "Taxi Dive" aka "Light House Dive". I can't wait to get back for that one.

Food and rooms were nice - not great, but very nice - lots of hot water in the showers. Make sure to ask Mario for a sample of is habanero sauce but have a beer close by. Internet access was free and you could surf from just about anywhere at the resort.

Just a 10 minute walk to downtown. Plenty to do there.

We'll be going back as soon as we can. I highly recommend this resort for novice divers. It's laid back, quiet, easy going, and full of interesting people that have dove all over the world. Best of all - not a kid in sight! Feel free to contact me with questions.

 

[TheUWPhotographer.com]

Glad you had a good time. Us Cozuholics like company. We're headed down to SCC in a couple of weeks. Martin is a great DM and a long time friend. I've known him for many years going back to the days when he worked at Aqua Safari. He took me to some little place in a back yard through an alleyway for the best margarita I've ever tasted. Its not there any more, but brings back good memories.

Hope it warms up in Wisconsin. I grew up there and remember what -20 feels like.

 

[jlyle]

Call your travel agent and make reservations for your return trip. It helps with the withdrawal.

 

[splicer]

What's a skully? Is that like a hood/vest for warmth?

 

[Bobby T]

Haaa. No its actually one of those neckerchiefs you where on your head - like a bad ass biker would. The 2 couples we were with were wearing them on the boat and then geared up and dove with them on. It was kind of funny to me - especially since we both had one back at the room. My wife is thinking about trying it now. She thinks it might help keep her long hair from tangling in her mask. I don't know - could work I guess!

 

[splicer]

We are considering SCC but were a bit worried about the first come first serve room type. Was this a problem? Were there any less desirable rooms? Thanks for the skully description, I was stumped.

 

[Bobby T]

Rooms at SCC

We checked in late - about 6:30pm on Monday January 5th. We got room 40 which I thought was perfect. 1st floor, close to and facing the ocean, less than 30 steps to the dive boat pier and hammocks. Rooms 39 and 41 were also great. The thing about it is that the resort is small enough so that you are never really far from anything. I would imagine the 2nd and 3rd floor rooms are a bit of pain with regard to hauling all your gear but you do get the added safety of not having to worry about your equipment when it is hanging out to dry. To tell you the truth though, I was so comfortable at that resort I would have left my wallet full of money laying on the pier and expected it to be their in the morning. There was not even 1 person I considered to be of a questinable nature - including the staff.

I've attached a few photos for you. Room 40 is just to the right of the biggest tiki hut (kind of center, just left). The restaurant is far left and the dive shop is dead center but back behind the buildings just a few steps (you really can't see it). The main pier for pick up is hard to make out but it is that thing going off to the left of the screen with the little red bouyies. I'm telling you, everything at the entire resort is within 60 steps.

Just a tip, if you do book SCC send the resort a message from the website a week or so ahead of time and ask for room 40 - or even 39 and 41. My guess is that they will do their best to make the arrangements. Just so you know, they were very accomdating to us with a late check out as well. We spent 5 days in PDC after we left SCC. We dove the last day at SCC and didn't check out until after 3pm.

Good luck and have fun. If you do stay at SCC I would love to hear from you afterwards. Depending on your schedule - do the "Twighlight Dive" it's extra but worth it.

 

[splicer]

Thanks for the info. We have decided on SCC. It took a little bit to talk my don-diver wife into it.

 

[Scuba Monster]

Thanks for the trip report. We have been to SCC a couple of times, so your report brought back memories and now I am having SCC withdrawals. Time for a quick trip! We dived with Martin too - he is a good DM. I am glad to hear he is still there. How about Raymundo, is he still there?

We stayed on the 3rd floor both times. If you don't mind walking, the patio has a good view and a great place to watch the sunset. I guess because of the steps, not many people go up there. I wouldn't mind putting in a request for the room you stayed in for a change, but still catch the evening sunset on the 3rd floor.

What is the "Taxi Dive" aka "Lighthouse Dive?" Last time we stayed for 8 days, and I don't recall that one.

Is a skully and a do-rag one in the same? In Texas we call them do-rags. I tried diving with a do-rag to keep the hair out of my face. It looked cool (or at least I thought so), but it moved around too much under the water and came loose. Now I dive with chin strap hoodie, which I thought was kind of dorky at first. But it really keeps the long hair out of my face and from getting more tangled. I finally figured out that the fish don't care what I look like. Everyone is different, so the skully aka do-rag might work out for your wife, but just didn't work for me.

Thanks again for your post.

 

[splicer]

We have been using the contact link in the SCC web page but noticed that the person responding is from Houston TX. Is there a direct email to a real person at the resort, also is there an email address to someone at the dive shop?