We went to Cozumel for a week. We made 12 dives in 6 days. The Carnivale was taking place during the first few days of the trip. Fellow rec.scuban Bob Ling (Reef Fish, Large Nassau Grouper) was there with his wife Sue for most of the trip. A wonderful time was had by all.
SkyService, La Bahia, Caballito des Caribe
We arrived on Saturday evening, first night of the Carnivale. A parade was taking place downtown. Our hotel was downtown. The van taking us in from the airport could not get to the hotel because of the parade, so the driver let us off at a corner, pointed down the street, and said the hotel was a couple of blocks away. We had never been to this hotel before, so we didn't know what it looked like. Also, there was no sign on the entrance to the hotel. So we walked right by it, luggage and all. We got to the main street, where the parade was taking place, turned right, and started walking. After a block or so, we asked someone for directions, who told us to keep going in the same direction. After another block, we asked someone else, who told us where it was. So we turned around, found the hotel, checked in, unpacked, and went out to watch the parade.
La Bahia turned out to be an excellent choice for a place to stay. You can't beat the location with a stick. We could watch the Carnivale parades from our balcony, getting to the dive boat was a simple matter of crossing the street and walking half a block, (we've had longer walks when the dock was at the resort), and the price was right. We did a bit of comparison shopping before booking, and La Bahia was considerably less expensive than some of the other resorts in Cozumel. As a bonus, we were upgraded to a suite, so we had a jacuzzi, which we used every day to rinse out our gear, and then ourselves.
One thing that was peculiar, was that the hotel is locked up at night. I discovered this a couple of times when I woke up early and wanted to go for a walk. Not being a night owl, I don't know exactly when they lock up, but the party animals should take note.
The Carnivale was absolutely wonderful. There was dancing in the square during the afternoons, and parades on Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday nights. The costumes were colourful as were the floats, and the music was lively. One question I asked myself was, "Where do all these people come from?" There were at least 50 floats, with an average of least a dozen people per float. That's 600 people right there, and all the downtown shops and restaurants were open. There were a lot of teenagers in the parade, but still, it sure took up a significant portion of the population.
We selected Caballito des Caribes because they had mid morning departures - Patti likes to sleep in. This turned out to be an excellent choice for a variety of reasons. Their boats were small, fast, and uncrowded. The most divers we had on any trip was seven. Also, once the divemasters had assessed us as being unlikely to kill ourselves, they left us on our own. After the first days, our dives were more or less unguided. On one occasion we ended the dive because Patti was out of bottom time, but the rest of the time, it was because I was out of air. Our shortest dive was 43 minutes.
Every once in awhile you hear a story about the entire group having to surface when one diver runs out of air. These guys do just the opposite. There was an occasion where a diver did get low on air, so the divemaster signalled to us that he was bringing the guy up, and waved goodby.
Photographers should note that while the boats are fast, they also get a lot of spray over the gunwhales. This makes changing film or batteries between dives a risky proposition.
The diving was fantastic. Visibility was good, and the temperature was around 80 F. The reefs were beautiful and there were tons of fish.
One of the highlights was that I saw my first ever toadfish. Also, there was a bright orange seahorse at the same site, and at some sites, ocean triggerfishes were everywhere. Black durgeons were also abundant, but it was hard to get close enough for a reasonable photo. On the negative side, I got fire coraled for the first time in my life. Wasn't that bad.
Having Bob and Sue Ling there was a bonus. Bob is generous to a fault and they are both very nice people. It was Bob who suggested La Bahia and Caballito des Caribes, both excellent recommendations. Also, because they have been to Cozumel so often, they introduced us to some very nice restaurants and showed us good places to get rations and snacks. Sue has the same type of camera as I do, so we were able to compare photos, and give each other tips.
| Trip Dates2003-03-01 to 2003-03-07 | Trip Report Index |