COZUMEL TRIP REPORT
February 15 20, 2006
Hotel: Villablanca (Superior Ocean View)
Dive Operator: Living Underwater
Our last trip was in mid-December, and we were very impressed with the amount of work that had been done and was ongoing to repair, restore and rebuild at that time. Two months later we continue to be amazed at the progress.
Villablanca
We were originally booked at Casa del Mar, but when they pushed back their reopening, I had to make other arrangements. I had gotten opinions on Villablanca ranging from it being below a Super 8 level to it being a nice place. Of the few places Ive stayed in Cozumel in the past 2 years, Villablanca was the best value for the money and someplace that I would stay again. The hotel is friendly, our room was spacious, clean, adequately appointed, the view was great and it is very relaxing and quiet in the late afternoon and evening. There is none of the annoying pool activities and loud music that you get at the larger hotels. They could use a few more lounge chairs at the pool.
I booked an Expedia pre-pay special of $65/nt for an "Ocean view Superior" room. Our room was on the 2nd floor with a perfect view of the ocean across the street. The room had a king bed, dining table, full size new fridge, microwave, coffee maker, sink, dishes and drinking water. The bathroom was large and we always had hot water and good pressure. They could use new bathroom mirrors and light fixtures in the room are a bit dated. But, I have paid more to stay in much older and worn places in Mexico. The hotel has a deal for Expedia customers where you will get a free upgrade on subsequent stays.
We went to Chedraui and bought breakfast food so we didnt have to rush out to eat on dive mornings. We only had one breakfast on our last day at the small on-site restaurant and I was very glad we didnt do that on a dive day. It was very slow (40 min) and food was ice cold when it did arrive. The restaurant is also open for dinner from 6-10p with a limited menu that changes nightly. We didnt try it.
Its a 40 pesos taxi into town and also 40 pesos to the Caleta. It can take awhile to get a taxi to the Caleta if cruise ships are in at Puerto Maya. The taxis are already lined up waiting for fares at the port.
Living Underwater (www.livingunderwater.com info@living-underwater.com)
As always, everything went without a hitch. Jeremy came by the hotel to pick up our gear the day we arrived. Everything was set up and waiting for us on the boat the next morning. Dives are selected onboard each day by request of the divers. Surface intervals are at a beach club. Drinks, fruit and cookies are offered between dives. Nice big towels and, if needed, fleece lined windbreakers are also onboard. If you are diving multiple days, Jeremy will take care of your gear (including wetsuits). Everything is rinsed and dried and waiting for you on the boat the next day.
Living Underwater uses steel 95s and 120s. I find that they are more comfortable for me then aluminum 80s, which usually have my lower back aching by the end of day two. The extra air is a bonus, but I would be just as happy using 80s.
Jeremy has a special knack for finding the smallest things like pipefish, juvenile shrimp, painted elysia, etc. If you think there is nothing new to see, or are into macro photography then he is the DM you want!
Our first day we had 5 divers on the boat, and the remaining 3 days there were 3 of us. Our shortest dive was 50 min with a max depth of 100 ft, and the longest was 1hr 48 min with a max depth of 77 ft.
The Dives
Day 1 Las Tortugas (Playa del Carmen)
I love turtles. We visit Akumal once or twice a year and really enjoy seeing 4+ on almost every dive there. On this site there were huge turtles or all varieties and many of them. We also saw a bat fish and queen triggers. I might try this dive again if its not the first one of the trip. Its a long boat ride there and back and wasnt a great first dive to shake the cobwebs.
Paradise Reef
There is quite a bit of sand on Paradise Reef but marine life around the coral is abundant. There were 5 lobsters in one hole, another massive one walking around, a pair of lizard fish, eels and a splendid toad fish. Also the usual suspects angels, butterfly fish, tangs, squirrel fish, etc.
Day 2 Palancar Caves
This is one of my favorite Cozumel dive sites. I love the coral formations here as well as the swimthroughs and cuts. We had a couple turtles on this dive and a cute spotted ray and sting rays.
Santa Rosa Wall
Lots to see here nurse shark, a school of juvenile blue tangs, pairs of trumpet fish, many pairs of angels, some that came right up to us. I prefer the dives Ive done here when we take the swimthroughs and go a bit deeper on the wall. As we were getting back on the boat an eagle ray and a sting ray showed up. A 90-minute dive and the eagle ray waits until there are only 2 divers still in the water! Urgh.
Day 3 Columbia Deep
This is another of my favorites. I love the swim throughs and formations on this site. It was in good shape in December and seems to have even improved a bit. Lots of marine life.
Tunich Wall
We didnt dive here in December so I dont know if its improving or not. There is a fair bit of sand and no soft stuff. The barrel sponges seem to have done well though. We had a nice current and clipped right along. There was an abundance of every kind of angel and trigger fish as well as lots of squirrel fish. About mid-dive we had a southern sting ray that was being shadowed by 3 permits. This was a fun dive.
Day 4 This was our last dive day and a real treat!
El Islote
We had decided to do 3 tanks for our last day and could not have asked for better conditions. We had tried to go the east side the previous day but it was too rough so we turned back and went to Columbia. Today all looked good so we were in for a treat! Our first dive we had a max depth of 100 ft and spend about 20 minutes around 90 ft. The total dive was 51 minutes. The reef here was beautiful with lots of fans and soft coral all swaying with the surge. There was not that many smaller fish but the topography more then held our attention. This site reminded me of some of the reef dives that I always enjoy on the East End of Grand Cayman. I hope I get a chance to come here again!
We hung out on the boat with fruit, water and cookies while the Jeremy and our captain looked for our next site. About 20 minutes into our SI, there was a spot that looked good so Jeremy jumped in to take a look. Once we completed our SI, this was going to be our second dive site.
Islote Shallows (is what we called this site that was SW of El Islote but still on the east side. If you continued along this section around the point you would be at Maracaibo shallows)
Finger and groove reef well stocked with fans, whips and soft coral. Lots of ledges to look under and a good amount of smaller tropicals around the tops. A huge grouper and snapper. This site also reminded me of East End Grand Cayman reefs.
Palancar Gardens
This is the only Palancar site that I hadnt previously been to and its now taken over my previous Palancar favorite which was Palancar Caves. I could spend hours here just admiring the pinnacles and buttresses. This site is in great condition. We found some new (or maybe remodeled) swimthroughs, and others that are now dead ends. This was a perfect dive to end our trip. A juvenile spotted drum was very calmly hanging out in a nook and didnt get at all skittish when we hung out to watch it and got pretty close. This site was also great for the safety stop because we were over reef the whole time and there was a lot to watch. Our dive ended with a big ray gliding across the sand flats beside us.
I would love to end every Cozumel trip with a day like this!
Food & Drink
If you stay at Villablanca, Hogtown Café is great for post-dive snacks and drinks. Margaritas are good, beer is cold, and the chicken nachos and hogtown style quesadilla are yummy. It opens at 6:30am so its also a good breakfast option if you like a hardy breakfast.
In town, we ate at two of our favorites, La Choza and Casa Denis. We also enjoyed the Ice Mocha Mint espresso drinks, banana bread and blueberry bread at The Coffee Bean. (Everyone's heard alot about these places, so no need to bore you with the details.)
Our new spot and splurge this trip was Panchos Backyard. A pleasant surprise! I knew the atmosphere was nice but didnt have high expectations for the food. It ended up being a very nice evening with good service, nice relaxing atmosphere and the dishes we had were actually very good. I had a fish special and my husband had shrimp with an orange liqueur and tequila sauce. We both had drinks, guacamole, salsas and chips, seafood entrees, dessert and coffees. Considering what we had and also the enjoyable surroundings, the $65 bill did not seem outrageous. I would go again.
Once again, both above and below the water, Cozumel did not disappoint!
February 15 20, 2006
Hotel: Villablanca (Superior Ocean View)
Dive Operator: Living Underwater
Our last trip was in mid-December, and we were very impressed with the amount of work that had been done and was ongoing to repair, restore and rebuild at that time. Two months later we continue to be amazed at the progress.
Villablanca
We were originally booked at Casa del Mar, but when they pushed back their reopening, I had to make other arrangements. I had gotten opinions on Villablanca ranging from it being below a Super 8 level to it being a nice place. Of the few places Ive stayed in Cozumel in the past 2 years, Villablanca was the best value for the money and someplace that I would stay again. The hotel is friendly, our room was spacious, clean, adequately appointed, the view was great and it is very relaxing and quiet in the late afternoon and evening. There is none of the annoying pool activities and loud music that you get at the larger hotels. They could use a few more lounge chairs at the pool.
I booked an Expedia pre-pay special of $65/nt for an "Ocean view Superior" room. Our room was on the 2nd floor with a perfect view of the ocean across the street. The room had a king bed, dining table, full size new fridge, microwave, coffee maker, sink, dishes and drinking water. The bathroom was large and we always had hot water and good pressure. They could use new bathroom mirrors and light fixtures in the room are a bit dated. But, I have paid more to stay in much older and worn places in Mexico. The hotel has a deal for Expedia customers where you will get a free upgrade on subsequent stays.
We went to Chedraui and bought breakfast food so we didnt have to rush out to eat on dive mornings. We only had one breakfast on our last day at the small on-site restaurant and I was very glad we didnt do that on a dive day. It was very slow (40 min) and food was ice cold when it did arrive. The restaurant is also open for dinner from 6-10p with a limited menu that changes nightly. We didnt try it.
Its a 40 pesos taxi into town and also 40 pesos to the Caleta. It can take awhile to get a taxi to the Caleta if cruise ships are in at Puerto Maya. The taxis are already lined up waiting for fares at the port.
Living Underwater (www.livingunderwater.com info@living-underwater.com)
As always, everything went without a hitch. Jeremy came by the hotel to pick up our gear the day we arrived. Everything was set up and waiting for us on the boat the next morning. Dives are selected onboard each day by request of the divers. Surface intervals are at a beach club. Drinks, fruit and cookies are offered between dives. Nice big towels and, if needed, fleece lined windbreakers are also onboard. If you are diving multiple days, Jeremy will take care of your gear (including wetsuits). Everything is rinsed and dried and waiting for you on the boat the next day.
Living Underwater uses steel 95s and 120s. I find that they are more comfortable for me then aluminum 80s, which usually have my lower back aching by the end of day two. The extra air is a bonus, but I would be just as happy using 80s.
Jeremy has a special knack for finding the smallest things like pipefish, juvenile shrimp, painted elysia, etc. If you think there is nothing new to see, or are into macro photography then he is the DM you want!
Our first day we had 5 divers on the boat, and the remaining 3 days there were 3 of us. Our shortest dive was 50 min with a max depth of 100 ft, and the longest was 1hr 48 min with a max depth of 77 ft.
The Dives
Day 1 Las Tortugas (Playa del Carmen)
I love turtles. We visit Akumal once or twice a year and really enjoy seeing 4+ on almost every dive there. On this site there were huge turtles or all varieties and many of them. We also saw a bat fish and queen triggers. I might try this dive again if its not the first one of the trip. Its a long boat ride there and back and wasnt a great first dive to shake the cobwebs.
Paradise Reef
There is quite a bit of sand on Paradise Reef but marine life around the coral is abundant. There were 5 lobsters in one hole, another massive one walking around, a pair of lizard fish, eels and a splendid toad fish. Also the usual suspects angels, butterfly fish, tangs, squirrel fish, etc.
Day 2 Palancar Caves
This is one of my favorite Cozumel dive sites. I love the coral formations here as well as the swimthroughs and cuts. We had a couple turtles on this dive and a cute spotted ray and sting rays.
Santa Rosa Wall
Lots to see here nurse shark, a school of juvenile blue tangs, pairs of trumpet fish, many pairs of angels, some that came right up to us. I prefer the dives Ive done here when we take the swimthroughs and go a bit deeper on the wall. As we were getting back on the boat an eagle ray and a sting ray showed up. A 90-minute dive and the eagle ray waits until there are only 2 divers still in the water! Urgh.
Day 3 Columbia Deep
This is another of my favorites. I love the swim throughs and formations on this site. It was in good shape in December and seems to have even improved a bit. Lots of marine life.
Tunich Wall
We didnt dive here in December so I dont know if its improving or not. There is a fair bit of sand and no soft stuff. The barrel sponges seem to have done well though. We had a nice current and clipped right along. There was an abundance of every kind of angel and trigger fish as well as lots of squirrel fish. About mid-dive we had a southern sting ray that was being shadowed by 3 permits. This was a fun dive.
Day 4 This was our last dive day and a real treat!
El Islote
We had decided to do 3 tanks for our last day and could not have asked for better conditions. We had tried to go the east side the previous day but it was too rough so we turned back and went to Columbia. Today all looked good so we were in for a treat! Our first dive we had a max depth of 100 ft and spend about 20 minutes around 90 ft. The total dive was 51 minutes. The reef here was beautiful with lots of fans and soft coral all swaying with the surge. There was not that many smaller fish but the topography more then held our attention. This site reminded me of some of the reef dives that I always enjoy on the East End of Grand Cayman. I hope I get a chance to come here again!
We hung out on the boat with fruit, water and cookies while the Jeremy and our captain looked for our next site. About 20 minutes into our SI, there was a spot that looked good so Jeremy jumped in to take a look. Once we completed our SI, this was going to be our second dive site.
Islote Shallows (is what we called this site that was SW of El Islote but still on the east side. If you continued along this section around the point you would be at Maracaibo shallows)
Finger and groove reef well stocked with fans, whips and soft coral. Lots of ledges to look under and a good amount of smaller tropicals around the tops. A huge grouper and snapper. This site also reminded me of East End Grand Cayman reefs.
Palancar Gardens
This is the only Palancar site that I hadnt previously been to and its now taken over my previous Palancar favorite which was Palancar Caves. I could spend hours here just admiring the pinnacles and buttresses. This site is in great condition. We found some new (or maybe remodeled) swimthroughs, and others that are now dead ends. This was a perfect dive to end our trip. A juvenile spotted drum was very calmly hanging out in a nook and didnt get at all skittish when we hung out to watch it and got pretty close. This site was also great for the safety stop because we were over reef the whole time and there was a lot to watch. Our dive ended with a big ray gliding across the sand flats beside us.
I would love to end every Cozumel trip with a day like this!
Food & Drink
If you stay at Villablanca, Hogtown Café is great for post-dive snacks and drinks. Margaritas are good, beer is cold, and the chicken nachos and hogtown style quesadilla are yummy. It opens at 6:30am so its also a good breakfast option if you like a hardy breakfast.
In town, we ate at two of our favorites, La Choza and Casa Denis. We also enjoyed the Ice Mocha Mint espresso drinks, banana bread and blueberry bread at The Coffee Bean. (Everyone's heard alot about these places, so no need to bore you with the details.)
Our new spot and splurge this trip was Panchos Backyard. A pleasant surprise! I knew the atmosphere was nice but didnt have high expectations for the food. It ended up being a very nice evening with good service, nice relaxing atmosphere and the dishes we had were actually very good. I had a fish special and my husband had shrimp with an orange liqueur and tequila sauce. We both had drinks, guacamole, salsas and chips, seafood entrees, dessert and coffees. Considering what we had and also the enjoyable surroundings, the $65 bill did not seem outrageous. I would go again.
Once again, both above and below the water, Cozumel did not disappoint!
