Cayman Brac Day 10-11 - Rinse, Pack, Relax

Last couple days were spent taking in the views from the deck, the pool and the hammocks. While sitting by the pool, V spotted some action out front, a pod of dolphins breached the surface with several spectacular jumps and multiple small rises giving us a great show. Amazing to see in the wild. Ended the week with our last tropical sunset and Friday night barbecue at the Brac Reef Resort where we enjoyed steak, a selection of sides and most importantly the dessert buffet :).

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Cayman Brac Day 09 - Octopi and Calm Seas

We woke to sunny skies and calm seas. Started the day with some coconut bread French toast (thanks to the previous tenants who left the syrup). The water looked so inviting that we headed up the beach to a couple close by snorkeling spots before lunch. Spent the afternoon reading, relaxing and enjoying the hammocks. As the sun was setting we geared up for a twilight dive at Suez Canal. What turned out to be one of our best night dives ever, started with G spotting an octopus, then a nurse shark feeding amongst the rubble of an old peer. Moving on from the peer, we headed out a little deeper and saw plenty of lobster wondering about, a couple sting rays, and the creepy barracuda that was lurking in the shadows for our whole dive. The highlight of the dive was on our way back when G spotted another octopus out hunting. We spent 15 minutes watching him move between the coral heads and fully encompass the smaller ones looking for food. Picked up pizza on the way home for a late dinner to complete a great day and a fantastic last dive for the trip.

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Cayman Brac Day 08 - Rainy Days

Intermittent rain kept us inside most of the day. We played Yahtzee with actual dice and watched the weekly supply barge go by (yay - fresh produce tomorrow). Enjoyed the lazy day that ended with Taco Tuesday's at the Captains Table and a spectacular sunset.....

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Cayman Brac Day 06-07 - Dive days

The afternoon of Day 4 we performed a highly scientific ice cream test and determined that the cold sensitivity was gone and we were good to dive. The North shore was still really rough so we headed to Public Beach on the south side. With the help of Google earth we made our way out to the reef (there's no way we could have done it otherwise). Saw a southern stingray early on and another once we made it out through the surf to the outer wall. On the way back V felt like she was being watched and sure enough, a conch had its eye on us. An exciting start to Day 6 when V saw a shark fin in the waves off the deck while enjoying her morning coffee. A few more sightings and G was headed down the beach in pursuit. This culminated in a final feeding in the shallows with a partial body show a few houses down but unfortunately there is no photographic evidence. Back to the house to finish up breakfast and headed out for our day of Boat diving with Brac Scuba Shack. Two boat dives with the usual reef fish, a large lobster and a pretty chill barracuda. Shark sighting was definitely the highlight of the day. Hammock time in the afternoon, fruity girl drinks on the deck, and leftovers for dinner.

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Cayman Brac Day 05: Annual Agriculture Fair

Today was a busier day, had to move to our new rental so spent a couple hours packing and tidying in the morning. Moved around noon, then headed to the Brac Scuba Shack to check their boat schedule and grab some tanks. We drove up to the Annual Agriculture Show, a full on island event. There were several booths serving food, a live band and many displays with everything from locally grown produce to handmade crafts and preserves (we hoped to score a jar of mango but they were not for sale). Prizes were awarded in all categories including best animals from pigeons to pigs with the prize rooster taking best in show from us. Afterward we drove up the coast to scope out a shore diving option but strong winds are making it difficult to get in on the North Side of the island.  Ended the day with Barry's Golden Jerk for dinner and another sunset (from Gary's new hangout).

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Cayman Brac Day 03-04 - Wonderful Wildlife

The last couple days have been days of relaxation and wildlife watching. Yesterday it was the hermit crabs with the morning coffee followed by the lizards on the pool deck in the afternoon. Today we ventured out and took a picnic lunch to the lighthouse to see the fluffy white boobies again.  Stopped at Pioneer Bakery for Coconut bread, had wood fired pizza from Barracuda for dinner and watched a movie....it is Friday night after all....

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Cayman Brac Day 02 - Hammock and Hermit crabs

Best clock ever, we need one of these at the lake...

This place is perfect, the sound of the ocean and the view from the private deck. There are paths into the seagrape to explore and the best one ends at the beachfront cabana which is decorated with treasure from the sea. Gary enjoyed some hammock time while Vicky combed the deserted beach. A few grocery stops to stock up on supplies (a few because you can't find everything you need at one store), another beautiful sunset and Barry's Golden Jerk Chicken and Pork for dinner. A great relaxing day.

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Cayman Brac Day 01 - Arrival

Day 01 was actually two days with an overnight flight from LA to Atlanta, with the final leg on the island jumper from Grand Cayman getting us into Cayman Brac at 5:30 pm. Picked up the rental car waiting for us and made it to Hawksbill House just in time for sunset. Our 1 bedroom beach bungalow is part of a larger property that is called the Tropical Runaway. A great property for a larger group in the future. ;). After sunset we headed to the Captain's Table for Taco Tuesday and then to bed for some much needed sleep.

Cozumel Day 12 - Last Day

Woke to sunny skies and strong winds, so strong that the port was closed.  It wasn't hard to choose how to spend our last hundred pesos - an apple cinnamon burrito, Americanos at our favorite coffee shop and a couple coconut cookies for the road. Back to the hotel for our last morning on the balcony where we enjoyed watching the 3 resident pelicans playing in the wind. Packed up the last of our gear and checked out of our wonderful sea view room around 11. We headed to the airport early to drop off our bags  and planned to spend our last few hours having a leisurely lunch and tour south. On a typical day, the tourists are spread between land and sea but with the port closed, it seemed everyone had a rental car for the day. The added traffic turned our last tour into a bit of a scramble, with our departure time approaching, we had to opt out of lunch for a gas station search and leave enough time to return the rental car. Quick snack at the airport and an uneventful journey back to Vancouver with one last sunset in Dallas.

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Cozumel Day 11 - Breathing Blowholes

First stop today was Gordito's Burritos for breakfast, the apple cinnamon burrito is listed as dessert but V called it breakfast. G grabbed a couple snacks at Zermatt Bakery and we headed out for our island tour. We made several scenic stops and one wildlife stop along the way. The most interesting stop what we called the 'breathing blowholes'. We've seen several blowholes in all our coastal explorations but never actually heard them breathe quite like this (check out the video). We arrived at El Mirador at the same time as a couple tour buses but waited them out and got some nice pics of the natural arch. Made our way back to San Miguel for lunch at Diego's. Earlier in the week, a local recommended we go there and try the fish tacos, they were delicious. G spent a couple hours putting the dive gear back together and packing up while V hit the streets. Back to Rock n Java for dinner and this time we saved room for dessert.:)

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Cozumel Day 10 - King Crab (on a plate)

We headed down to the Secrets Aura / Sunscape Sabor resort this morning for our breakfast and presentation. It was your standard all-inclusive spread with eggs made to order, plus all the breakfast foods you could think of. The resort offered both an adults only (Secrets) and a family (Sunscape) option. Its one of the few resorts with a sandy beach and has fantastic snorkeling right out front (M this is your Cozumel destination). We picked up the rental car in the afternoon to do some touring for the remainder of the trip. Fair amount of rain today so didn't explore much more than new food options. Highlight of the day was a great king crab dinner. Slightly different picture of the crab this week from last. Hoping for better weather for an island tour tomorrow.

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Cozumel Day 09 - Vista del Mar

The Disney Wonder pulled into port around 6:45 followed by another two cruise ships. We had our breakfast delivered at 7:00 and enjoyed watching the town wake up. People started to trickle off the ships around 8:00. After logging a couple hours of people watching, it was time for V to venture out, funny how you can just happen upon the local bakery :). We had lunch at Burritos Gorditos, #1 on Trip Advisor and justifiably so, the burritos were huge and delicious.Wandered through a few shops on the way back to the hotel, then more time on the balcony. Nice dinner out at Ohana Cafe, which had the best Coconut shrimp G has every had. Leisurely walk back along the ocean front and a relaxing evening on out balcony to complete the day.

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Cozumel Day 08 - Last Dive Day

Julio - Our amazing guide

Mid afternoon yesterday we realized that 4 days of no activity was waaaaay too long and signed up for another day with Julio. For our second dive he suggested Chankanaab Shallows to look for the seahorse. We were not disappointed, two seahorses - a great way to finish our diving! We arrived back at SCC just in time to shower and bundle all the soggy, salty gear for our 1:30 checkout. Short taxi ride and we checked into our purple accented room at the Vista Del Mar, which has a fantastic view to enjoy for the rest of our holiday. G spent a couple hours taking apart the gear and giving it a good rinse and V went out to scope the local eats (priorities). After enjoying a week of mainly Mexican fare we Googled 'best burger Cozumel' and discovered Rock n Java for dinner. Seriously awesome burgers!!! Unfortunately, we were so full the amazing selection of desserts will have to wait until the next visit. Even Vicky could not find room for the chocolate cheesecake!

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Cozumel Day 07 - Flying Gurnard and Remora

Woke to the dark today, we set the clocks back an hour last night so it was hard to get motivated this morning. We were on the smaller boat again with Julio and another great crew. Two more fantastic boat dives, Paso de Cedral and one of our favorites from last time, Paradise Reef. G spotted his own Splendid toadfish during the first and we saw the resident on the second. Several turtles, a tucked away nurse shark and large Green Moray at Cedral. Cruising the sand between reefs at Paradise we saw a Remora fish and our first Flying Gurnard walking on the sandy bottom . The Gurnard is extremely rare, Julio has only seen 2 in ten years of diving in Cozumel. Right at the end of the dive, Julio challenged G to push the limits of his macro skill and capture what was maybe a centimeter long Sea Slug in the sand. Good thing V did well on air today because he was able to accept the challenge but did have to push the limits on available air (good to keep that buddy breathing skill fresh).
Spent the afternoon taking a few photos around Scuba Club and lounging in the hammocks. Enjoyed an amazing sunset over dinner and headed out for a later night dive. We saw the tiniest octopus, a juvenile drum and a good variety of the typical night life. Amazing day of diving.

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Cozumel Day 06 - Toadfish and Calm Seas

Woke to calm seas and a quiet dining area. Saturday is the main turnover day at Scuba Club so the larger groups were sleeping in and checking out. We enjoyed a longer ride out to the first site on the bow of the Reef Star (same big boat as yesterday). Two wall dives with beautiful coral formations on the first and good current and coral variety on the second. Not many fish today, but the dive master was able to find a Splendid toadfish for us on both. Lots more action out front tonight, we dove a little later and were the only ones in the water. One structure contained a moray, a king crab, a lobster (just out of frame) a fireworm and two shrimp.

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Cozumel Day 05 - Sharks, Octopus and Moray

A last minute change up had us on a different, larger boat today. We had the same great group of people and Julio (our guide). It was easier to get ready and everyone commented on the luxurious size of the head. Two spectacular dives today due to the sea life.
The first site had nurse sharks at the beginning and end, a slight current to play in, and loads of very curious photogenic fish. The second had less current and a spectacular middle and end with an octopus that was just sitting out (typically you just get a blob in the coral with eyes - Day 4 photos) and a huge Green Moray that was swimming freely. Gary went out for one last round of photos and video and Vicky shared a little of her extra air during the safety stop. 1st in focus macro shot for V, a Brittle star in a vase coral - YAY! If only she could have got that little purple cleaner shrimp...thanks to the backup photographer who captured it. Another lazy afternoon followed by Mexican Fiesta night where they grill and serve on the beach. We both loaded our plates with one of everything (except for the churros, we had two).

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Cozumel Day 04 - Lobster Condos

We surfed the waves of the 1,005 ft  Carnival Breeze on the way out this morning, it was really something to watch those waves rolling up then feel the force as they carried us forward. Two great boat dives, Santa Rosa and Yucab. There was a bit of a current on the second dive so we enjoyed cruising around at 50 ft and hiding behind the coral heads to take pictures.The sun was out so the light in the shallow depth was great! Lots of life on both reefs, large groupers, 'coral condos' of lobster, southern and yellow stingrays, school of barracuda and a very photogenic single with groupies.  After a warm, leisurely afternoon, we were ready to go down again. Spent just over an hour combing the bottom sand, vegetation and rubble looking for night life. Amazing what you can find when focused on a single beam of light.

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Cozumel Day 03

The weather was with us today, still windy but not rough enough to keep us in and no intermittent clouds to cover the heat of the sun. It's surprising how cold it is between dives with the wind, so having the sun shine really helps. Two great dives today, sites we dove before and remembered - Palancar Caves and Tomenos.
Highlights include a turtle photo bomb, a large lobster on the move and a very small, very pretty seaslug (the picture is actual size). We were back for lunch at 2, had a siesta, and lounged away the afternoon.
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Cozumel Day 02

Woke to a clear skies and lighter winds. We fueled up at the breakfast buffet and after watching the 5 boats load up and cruise off we decided it was time to organize our own adventure. Spent an hour kicking around the house reef taking photos of the various subjects  - rays, eels and a good variety of fish including several juveniles (Vicky's favorite). We both came up with big smiles on our faces, enjoying an easy dive that we will be doing again. After lunch we ventured out to buy drinks to stock the fridge and checked out the local dive shop across the way. A late siesta followed by another big meal finished the day. We start our boat diving days tomorrow so fingers crossed for good weather.

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Cozumel Day 01

Day 01 is actually two days with a layover in Dallas. Started the final leg with Starbucks and some good advice (see picture). A short 2 hour flight from Dallas and we've arrived! While sorting out the taxi from the airport we were approached by the typical come see our resort "spiel". This one actually looked interesting, so we spent a little time getting the real deets and managed to haggle a great deal. Free transportation to and from the airport, 3 Day rental car, a day at the all inclusive and a tequila tour for only $60.  Of course it requires 90 min of our time to listen over a free breakfast, but we have to eat anyway.  That's for next week so more details then. A short taxi ride later, we checked in at Scuba Club and ended up in room 9 (same as last time). Arrived just in time for lunch that was followed by coconut ice cream and an afternoon relax around the pool. Chatted up some other divers at dinner and found out the port has been closed the last 2 of 3 days due to wind which means the dive boats can't go out either. Seasonal wind is typical this time of year, so we'll see how the weather gods treat us. Tomorrow is organization day with an afternoon checkout dive on the house reef.

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