Day 04: The Fish Truck Found Us

Wow did it rain today! Fortunately you can always find a calm area to dive. We were not feeling too inspired this morning as it continued to rain with no blue sky in sight. A good day to be underwater. Gary and Andy got some great photos and video. We saw a turtle on both dives, loads of garden eels on the second dive, but no rays which would have been nice...maybe tomorrow (we signed up for the 8:30 and 10:30 again). Vicky learned a little trick today after coming up with a mask dent in her forehead from tightening it too tight because it was leaking, Andy shared the 'Ramlo spit and seal' trick he uses. So it's kinda gross, but if wiping spit around you face under your mask makes it seal better, so be it (no issue second dive).
This afternoon the sun continued to be elusive so we decided a trip to West End was in order. We jumped in a water taxi and arrived after a scenic 10 min boat ride. The West End has a few more amenities as we discovered wandering about the muddy street checking out several stores, enjoying a smoothie and cookie during the rain storm then the dive store...Ouch....Turned out to be a pretty expensive afternoon. After being cold on both morning dives, Vicky decided a warmer suit might be a good idea (not actually thinking there would be a place to buy one) but there was, so Gary will need to get creative with the packing to get us back to 50lbs per bag.
Before getting back on the taxi boat we decided to pick up some more fruit from the fruit truck and inquired about where we might find the fish truck.....We were told to look for a red truck down the way.

Taking the advice we continued back along the muddy street for another 5 min with no red truck in sight. After inquiring with some locals who told us that the road conditions would likely keep the fish truck away, we decided to turn around and head back to the taxi wharf leaving fish to find for another day. Then we all looked up...could that be the red truck coming our way? Sure enough, he heard from the fruit guys that there were 3 ladies and 2 men looking for him (Noha being x 2 (pregnant). He stopped right in front of us, some negotiating and we ended up with 7.5 lbs of fish and two nice lobster tails for $42. Mmmmmm dinner (for a few nights).

Day 03: Lazy Day

Slept in this morning, couple cups of coffee, late breakfast and some sun by the pool.  Went back to the local store hoping to catch the veggie truck and fish truck and we came back with a pineapple and bananas. Rain again today - seems to be sunny until noon, cloud and rain for a couple hours then sunny again. We're diving tomorrow, decided to try the onsite dive shop.  They offer a valet service where our gear is stored in a locker and we basically don't need to deal with it unless we choose to do so.  It will be on the boat when we arrive, they remove when we're done, rinse and make ready for the next day - sounds good to us. Found we are staying on the best reef on the island and have free shore diving when we book a multi-dive package so you can look forward to many more pictures and busier days ahead!

Day 01-02: Flights / Lay of the Land

17.5 hrs travel time with flights and layovers(layovers were greater than actual flight time). Arrival put us in 30 minutes after A and N when we should have been in an hour before.

The hotel had arranged separate pickup for us, so we were surprised to see them as we hopped into the van. We then learnt that there is only one van for three flights and they wait to 'pack' us all on for one trip. Slight re-shuffle of some precariously stacked bags and we ready to depart. After a short 20 minute ride, We arrived to a rum punch reception and were quickly checked into our condo. A little relax by the pool, great dinner out and much needed sleep, rounded out Day 01.

Out for breakfast this morning as we didn't feel like grocery shopping yesterday afternoon. The restaurant is right on the beach so we lounged a little longer then we would have normally. After breakfast we ventured out to the local store to pick up a few things only to find it closed on Sunday. On the way back we got our exercise running through a very short but intense downpour. A quick change of clothes and we caught a cab to the main center to do our shopping for the next week. Enjoyed the sun and a short snorkel when we got back, dinner in, and a movie with popcorn before bed.

Getting Ready for Honduras - Coco View Web Cam

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!

Click to check out all of our Video's.

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!

Click to check out all of our Video's.

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).

Day 5: Columbia, Chankanaab and Felipe Xicotencatl C-53

Day 5: Columbia, Chankanaab and Felipe Xicotencatl C-53

Three dive day today. The first was Columbia Gardens which had amazing coral formations with lots of swim throughs. We saw a nurse shark resting on the sandy bottom and good variety and abundance of fish. The second site was Chankanaab Balones which was a shallow drift dive with many coral heads to explore.

The highlight of the day was the Felipe Xicotencatl C-53,a minesweeper built in 1944 which was donated to the marine park and sunk in 1999 to form an artifical reef. The dive started on top of the ship then we went inside to explore the lower levels. There were many rooms to look in and the 4 of us hopped on the toilets in the lavatory for a photo op. We saw a large crab, a huge green moray and as we looked out one of the windows an eagle ray. When we finished the interior exploration we went outside and found the eagle ray again. Gary got some great still photos and a video. Once again we were fighting the current and had to surface shortly afterward (it's all about getting the good photos).

Day 4: Delilah and Paradise Reef

Day 4: Delilah and Paradise Reef

We woke up today to a completely calm ocean which continued all day. Our first dive was at Delilah Reef where we saw a very large eagle ray near the end of the dive. Gary must have burnt 200 psi trying to swim him down against the current to get the video. What appeared to be so effortless for the ray definitely was not for us. The second dive was at Paradise reef which has a great abundance and variety of fish. We saw many schools amung the coral heads and a couple large crabs.

A short time in the sun this afternoon, we're a little burnt from yesterday's boat trip (don't think the new sunscreen I bought for my face works). Finished the day with my first night dive off the shore. It sure was different at night, lots of crabs (arrow and hermit) running around, urchins, star fish and a really cool anenome which was loving eating all the baby fish that were attracted to our light :(

Day 3: Palancar and Tormentos Reef

Day 3: Palancar and Tormentos Reef
Started the day with breakfast at 7 to be ready for the dive boat at 8:15. Boarded the Reef Cat and we were on our way to the first dive at Palancar Reef. Highlights included a huge lobster walking along the sandy bottom between the pinnacle swimthroughs and two turtles. Unfortunatley, the bottom got churned up a bit and the photo didn't turn out but Gary did manage to get a great photo of another lobster hiding in the coral. We had a one hour surface interval and repositioned to Tormentos Reef. We were told the currecnt was stronger here and once we passed over the reef we'd be done so were advised to swim around and 'browse the reef'. The current was definitely stronger and it was fun just to ride along. We saw a large Midnight Parrotfish near the beginning, lobster, arrow crab and a Conch which we thought was really cool (never seen an occupied shell before).

Got back to Scuba Club around 1:30, had a huge lunch and spent some time in the sun. While we were lounging two pelicans came in for a sieta, perching on top of the pier lights and during the sunset a third joined them. A little time in the hammocks then it was time to eat again.

(A&N there is dessert for lunch and dinner - loving the coconut ice cream; I've started a really great hand tan again)

Day 2: Town and Shore Dive

Day 2: Town and Shore Dive

Went into San Miguel this morning to change money and buy a few drinks for the fridge. We started walking back to the hotel around 11:30 and by that time the cruise ships had unleased the passengers on the small town,thousands come through every day except Sunday. Just a few blocks away and the streets were quiet again. Shopped at Chedraui (similar to Walmart) on the way home and picked up our favorite beverages.

We did a shore dive this afternoon to check our weight and make sure all equipment good to go. Gary got a couple good shots of a small ray who couldn't seem to shake the fish swimming above it. Looking forward to the boat dives tomorrow.

(click picture to see album)

Day 1: Spokane to Cozumel

The day started with the alarm at 4:30 to get ready for our

5:00 shuttle to the 6:30 flight.

We were forced to rearrange the checked bags at the last minute due to an unforeseen addition of some Keen sandals which put us over by two pounds (redistribute or pay $75). After a little shuffling we were on our way (straight to Starbucks for coffee). Our first flight was on Lucy the Canadian Goose, all the Frontier planes have animals on the tails and wings.

Only one connection in Denver and we

arrived in Cozumel at 3:30 (1:30 our time).

We hopped a tourist shuttle to Scuba Club and were

greeted by the little bird to the right.

Wandered around the hotel, registered for diving and enjoyed a 3 course meal. Now time to hit the hay.