Cozumel 2011 Spotted Eagle Ray

We were lucky enough to see a Spotted Eagle Ray 4 out of 5 days that we were diving. I managed to capture 3 Videos of the amazing majestic creature. The forth one was another loss to the No! battery in the Camera Day...Argh!

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Cozumel 2011 Spotted Moray Stand-off

An amazing encounter with a Spotted Moray Eel. The Eel ran into me while taking a picture. Vicky had to wrap me on the head to move before it hit the camera. I started back peddling with the current and to our amazement the Eel just kept following me. Enjoy!

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Day 14: Last Day to Relax

We found a couple books at the hotel's activity center and read by the pool for the afternoon. More chips, guac and salsa.....

Day 13: Counting Down the Days

The isolated showers that have been in the forcast have arrived (downpour right now). Last night we cleared the deck around midnight because of the howling wind and this morning we woke to find one of Gary's dive boot in a pool of water below. After drying off the rental car we headed to town and did a little shopping. The day was overcast and humid, we both finished our books this afternoon and are hoping that Chedraui (local Walmart like store) has some english books or magazines for tomorrow and the trip home.

Day 12: Mexican Ferrari SGT

Today we had the luxury of renting a Mexican Ferrari and enjoyed our Self guided tour (SGT) of the island.

Andyman, I brought the pliers and zapstraps with me this time. Funny enough, we had an Ambulance following us just in case :). For those that are wondering, last time we were in Cozumel with A&N, our Mexican Ferrari broke down, an ambulance happened to be following us and the two paramedics stopped and provided us with the needed supplies to repair the throttle cable.

We headed south from our hotel to check out some of the beach clubs further south along the coast that offer free admission hoping that you'll spend the day eating and drinking. Some of them have inflatables out front that they charge to use (tampolines, climbing wall, etc.). We had seen a few of these enroute to our dive sites but today we thought we'd check one out in person. Only stopped for a brief time to take in the scene then jumped back in the Ferrari and headed to our main destination of the day, Parque Punta Sur (ecological park on the southern tip). Along the way we ran into the self-drive: jeep tour, dune buggy tour, ATV tour, Harley tour and the larger open bus tour.

We were fortunate enough to be ahead of them through most of the stops in Punta Sur. We visited the crocodile lagoon, signed the waiver form and climbed to the top of the lighthouse (hung out for awhile because the breeze and view was amazing) and carried on to the super fine sand beach. After relaxing in the seaside hammocks awhile we drove along the coastline, stopped at "Coconuts" for a beverage, then took the inland road back to the hotel. Enjoyed some nachos from the snack bar, swam in the pool to cool off then lounged around the pool and read for awhile.

Day 11: Triple Header

Our last day of boat diving today and the sunniest day so far. Two dives in the morning (Exectamente and Tormentos Reef), a quick lunch break back at the resort and then off to Paradise reef for the afternoon.

We had one request for today, a Splendid Toadfish so we could get a good picture this time (battery is in the camera), our Divemaster delivered.

No new sightings today, but all the usual suspects made an appearance. Last dive at Paradise reef definitely one of our favorites, like swimming in an aquarium.

Day 10: Nothin'

Lazy day today, spent time reading in the room then by the pool. Sun didn't come out till mid afternoon so it was a little cooler today. A whole lot of sitting and eating (unlimited tortilla chips, guacamole and fresh salsa is a bit dangerous).

Day 9: Land and Sea

Happy Birthday Dave!

Started the day with a fabulous breakfast buffet, one of the best we've ever had.

Then went for a walk south to the cruiseship pier. We walked along the ocean where we could and on the sidewalk elsewhere. There were lots of little pools to check out with small urchins, fish and colorful algae as well as fossils in the limestone. We saw a few large lizards and a group of pelicans that were sitting on pylons around the stingray encounter attraction. It was crazy hot today and on the way back we decided that we should do a shore dive to cool off.

Spent an hour underwater taking photos and swimming around. I quickly passed the camera back to Gary today when we saw the largest arrow crab yet. They remind me of spiders and there was no way I was getting that close to the biggest one ever. We had a small eel swim up on us which is pretty unusual, Gary spent some time getting video.

Day 8: Shore Dive Scuba Club

Mission accomplished - finally found the seahorses. We spent time searching for them last night with no luck and were close to giving up today when G spotted them. This was my 75th dive and I also earned my photography badge. For those that don't dive, it takes quite a few dives to get your buoyancy so that you can stay in one position to capture a good photo.

Today G handed me the camera and I knew

I was ready. I felt so proud, until I realized the housing was all fogged up. Seriously though, I did get a couple photos before it happened and realized how tricky it can be to get the shots he does. We had to check out today and chose to move across the street to Hotel Cozumel. Spent the afternoon checking the place out and reading on the beach.

Day 7: Santa Rosa Wall, Villa Blanca Wall and Night

First dive was a wall dive with many swim-throughs to explore. Saw an eagle ray just as we came out of one of the swim-throughs. The second dive at Villa Blanca was very different then any of the dives so far. There were no coral heads but more of a forest of coral coming up from the sand and we just used the light current to glide over it, near the end of the dive we saw a large turtle.

Logged another night dive, many crabs, small rays, shrimp and a couple little eels. The hightlight was a school of small squid as we were heading in. We leave Scuba Club tomorrow, it will be nice not to have jump on a boat first thing in the morning but wondering what we will do with all the free time.....

Day 6: Palancar Caves, Yucab, Twilight and Night

It was a four dive day for one of us. Don't think I'm ready to jump into the dark water yet so sat the last two out and spent the afternoon doing a little online shopping and reading. The first dive started with an eagle ray and ended with a southern stingray and the second dive started with a southern stingray and ended with an eagle ray - awesome day! Lots of swim-throughs at the first site and at the second site I couldn't help but think of Crush and Nemo riding the southern current. It's great to just cruise along and check things out.

We got to see our first Splendid toadfish today. Unfortunatley, we don't have a picture because G forgot to put the battery back in the camera. On the upside we did get to stay closer together during the dive, typically my time is spent doing a little exploring and a little searching for G who is always hunkered down somewhere trying to get the perfect photo. Next year I'll have my own underwater housing to attempt to capture the action (Happy Birthday to me).