COZUMEL, A DIVER'S DREAMWORLD
Since I started diving I have often been told, "If you are a scuba diver, you MUST go to Cozumel!" Well I finally got there, and it is everything people say it is. The diving was terrific and the people of Cozumel were cheerful and accomodating. We stayed at the Fiesta Americana, which is a very nice hotel, with large rooms and all ocean views. The dive shop, Dive House, was conveniently located on the hotel property. The service was professional, courteous and friendly. Cozumel is a drift diver's dream. 99% of the dives were in current, running from barely noticeable to a couple of knots. One night dive we had, was an express train trip. The hardest part of diving in big currents in Cozumel, is that you are not allowed to touch anything, so you can't just grab on to something to stop yourself. You can duck behind a coral head and get out of the current, but sometimes that was difficult to do. However, don't misunderstand me, the diving was wonderful, even if we cruised the walls at jet speed. A dive master leads the dives, and another follows to take care of stragglers. Our group consisted of mainly very advanced divers, so some found this a little constraining, especially the photographers among us. When the current is running, it is frustrating to try and take macro or close-up shots. Most of my photography was confined to large fish and coral scenes, rather than the little critters I love to shoot. The dive boat follows behind the divers and picks you up as you surface. We did not have long waits in the water before we were spotted, still I advise you to have a safety sausage and some sound alarm with you. It never hurts to be cautious.
We were lucky to be in Cozumel the week of Cinco de Mayo, which is a big celebration in Mexico. There were fiestas all week, and we were able to be part of the celebration. We went to a large fiesta, which was like a county fair, and some of us went to the bullfights and some shopped. I watched a ceremonial dance and processional called La Baile de la Cabeza. It was colorful and beautiful. I enjoyed being part of the community and since I speak Spanish, I was able to learn alot about the traditional dancing they were doing.
I could go on and on about land attractions, but diving is what we came for. I have never seen such large angelfish in my life. The queen angels, French angels, and gray angels all were huge. There were so many queen angels, that they travelled in groups. Every species of fish seemed larger than I have seen anywhere else in the Caribbean. The groupers were immense. My jaw dropped at the size of a few of them. We found a nurse shark sleeping under some coral, one day, and she had to be all of 10 feet long. There were lots of varieties of fish, especially many types of triggerfish. The coral was beautiful and in pristine condition. I am sure the "no touching" rules are a large part of the excellent condition of the coral. There were not alot of soft corals or sponges however. Nor were there seafans. There was plenty of gorgonian fans though. There was a curious lack of trumpetfish, which are bountiful everywhere in the Caribbean, and we decided it was due to the lack of tall, reedlike corals and sponges, which they like to use to camoflage themselves. On night dives, we saw many octopi. The most exciting moment of the week for me, was when we came across the Splendid Toadfish, which can only be found in Cozumel. It was an incredible fish! We found quite a few of them, but between the currents and their shyness I didn't get many good shots of them.
That will be my reason to go back to Cozumel, as if I need one. Cozumel is truly a diver's dream destination.
COZUMEL 2001
Turtles,turtles, turtles!
Angels, angels everywhere
Nurse Sharks!
Huge Groupers!
Lots of Critters
Lots of Fish
Underwater Scenes
Triggerfish Galore
COZUMEL PHOTOS 2002
Cozumel is a drift diver's dream. 99% of the dives were in current, running from barely noticeable to a couple of knots. One night dive we had, was an express train trip. The hardest part of diving in big currents in Cozumel, is that you are not allowed to touch anything, so you can't just grab on to something to stop yourself. You can duck behind a coral head and get out of the current, but sometimes that was difficult to do. However, don't misunderstand me, the diving was wonderful, even if we cruised the walls at jet speed. A dive master leads the dives, and another follows to take care of stragglers. Our group consisted of mainly very advanced divers, so some found this a little constraining, especially the photographers among us. When the current is running, it is frustrating to try and take macro or close-up shots. Most of my photography was confined to large fish and coral scenes, rather than the little critters I love to shoot. The dive boat follows behind the divers and picks you up as you surface. We did not have long waits in the water before we were spotted, still I advise you to have a safety sausage and some sound alarm with you. It never hurts to be cautious.
We were lucky to be in Cozumel the week of Cinco de Mayo, which is a big celebration in Mexico. There were fiestas all week, and we were able to be part of the celebration. We went to a large fiesta, which was like a county fair, and some of us went to the bullfights and some shopped. I watched a ceremonial dance and processional called La Baile de la Cabeza. It was colorful and beautiful. I enjoyed being part of the community and since I speak Spanish, I was able to learn alot about the traditional dancing they were doing.
I could go on and on about land attractions, but diving is what we came for. I have never seen such large angelfish in my life. The queen angels, French angels, and gray angels all were huge. There were so many queen angels, that they travelled in groups. Every species of fish seemed larger than I have seen anywhere else in the Caribbean. The groupers were immense. My jaw dropped at the size of a few of them. We found a nurse shark sleeping under some coral, one day, and she had to be all of 10 feet long. There were lots of varieties of fish, especially many types of triggerfish. The coral was beautiful and in pristine condition. I am sure the "no touching" rules are a large part of the excellent condition of the coral. There were not alot of soft corals or sponges however. Nor were there seafans. There was plenty of gorgonian fans though. There was a curious lack of trumpetfish, which are bountiful everywhere in the Caribbean, and we decided it was due to the lack of tall, reedlike corals and sponges, which they like to use to camoflage themselves. On night dives, we saw many octopi. The most exciting moment of the week for me, was when we came across the Splendid Toadfish, which can only be found in Cozumel. It was an incredible fish! We found quite a few of them, but between the currents and their shyness I didn't get many good shots of them.
That will be my reason to go back to Cozumel, as if I need one. Cozumel is truly a diver's dream destination.
COZUMEL 2001 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Turtles,turtles, turtles! |
Angels, angels everywhere |
Nurse Sharks! |
Huge Groupers! |
Lots of Critters |
Lots of Fish |
Underwater Scenes |
Triggerfish Galore |
COZUMEL PHOTOS 2002