Trip Report Day 1
Left beautiful Eastern Shore of Maryland in a driving rain/thunderstorm. Using Reagan DCA for only the second time. Easy check in but delays despite fierce thunderstorms. All in all traveling on a Wednesday beats a Saturday. Arrived in Cozumel 2:15, twenty minutes late. Check in at Coz Palace the same gourmet treatment, but you could tell they were tired from the busy season. It was not the same grand reception we had in November. When my wife went to get the tours she was bothered with a Palace membership push. Its cool, but back off when we say no thanks.

An awesome sunset and a quick snorkel chilled us out. The girls, 11 and 15, initial reaction was It is still too early to tell if the hotel is special in its own way, because it seems a lot like the other hotels we have been to. The younger one was more enthusiastic It is wicked awesome.

Off to dinner and they say its a 45-minute wait. Too many people. We grab a cab to El Pique for snacks then stop by to see Tony Rome. Along the way we come upon a symphony playing Mexican classics on the plaza. Really nice. It must have had 75 musicians with giant video screens. Someone ponied up big bucks and the community really turned out. Mr. Tony Romes restaurant looks outstanding. Good job man. We roll into Coz Palace at 9:30 and have a light supper.

Diving in the morning and Tammy and kids are going to Coba. Seven oclock and we are out the door to breakfast. The hotel really has an outstanding breakfast buffet. Fresh juices, hot coffee and tea and ALL kinds of food and fruits. Plus, outstanding service. The girls tour leaves at 7:30 and I head to the dock to wait for the Alfa.

The boat arrives and we head to Palancar caves on a simply outstanding morning. 80 minutes to 84 fsw. Arrow crab, pipe fish, 2 turtles and lots of beautiful views. Jeremy Anschel, a displaced Minnesotan, runs a good operation. His customers continue to return and dive with him. A 90-minute surface interval at Nachi Cochom. A nice place, mellow and clean. Second dive at Chankanaab Bolones. Lots of little stuff plus my favorite drum fish. 66 minutes at 80 fsw. Oh, by the way we also saw a SUBMARINE! The Atlantis cruised by us at about 70 feet. At the hotel showering at 1:30, then a great luncheon buffet with a huge variety of hot and cold and an ice cream sundae bar!! Time for a siesta.

Day Two
The girls arrived back from Coba hot and dusty. The resort provides an included tour to Coba via the ferry and a very nice A/C bus. It had on board a Mayan historian and a tour guide. They said it was interesting. They do stop at a tourist trap for a half hour before arrival at Coba, be warned. Lunch buffet at Coba included, and the girls said it was good. We all tidied up and went to the Japanese restaurant here at the hotel. No wait tonight but there was when we left. Good sushi rolls with lots of ginger and wasabi. We all had different stir-fries, which were good. Great service again. They have stone crab claws on the steak buffet. It will be an early night tonight.

It is a little windy Friday morning but doesnt look too bad, from the west at 10-15 kts. A night of strong thunder squalls preceded it. It is, however, sunny and warm. We beat down the shore to Las Palmas. Living Underwaters new boat should provide a much nicer dive platform in only a few short weeks. I must admit I entered into this dive with a bit of skepticism. It seems to me Las Palmas currents are quite contrary. With LU you make a slow decent and gather at the bottom. Jeremy reasons that if you take time to chill you will be relaxed during the dive. It works great.

We start out each dive with a two-minute meeting of the minds. We also spotted a baby pipe seahorse while waiting. Cool. We made our way to the wall. It is very steep where we began. Two turtles and a giant green moray to start. It was then the splendid toadfish tour. Everyone saw at least 3, some saw 5 or 6. Lots of other fish. It started as a perceived lousy first dive but turned out excellent. 108 fsw for 61 minutes. Jeremy apologized for coming up with so much air left, but said the Captain was taking a beating on the surface. Since it was so rough we head in caleta for the SI. Caleta is a busy scene. Lots of hustle and bustle to provide the boats necessary for diving so many divers.

Second dive to Paradise reef. It is my second trip to Paradise, the first being my first boat dive on certification in 2004. Today was a day to appreciate diving no matter the circumstance. We could have bitched about being on Paradise with steel 120s filled with nitrox but Jeremy made the best of it. A cool thing about nitrox, my no deco time ever got below 195 that I saw. A nice gentle decent and we begin our search of every nook and cranny. A beautiful spotted eel, another baby pipe seahorse, blennies, so much little stuff-relaxing. Dive buddies today was Joe from Colorado and Jim and Donna Baldwin from Louisiana. They also own a beautiful home here. Awesome divers and good folk. Jim was nice enough to give me a lift from caleta to save a rough boat trip. Todays dives show outstanding diving can be had on reefs not perceived as outstanding.

It is not as crowded at the hotel on Good Friday. Great breakfast and lunch. Shrimp many ways, and as always outstanding service. They are trying to spoil me. A quick squall has me writing this and a norte is blowing in. Hope it doesnt hang around. More later.

Day Three
Dawn arrives and it is still blowing. With a previous call we agreed to call in to check conditions. LU gives us the green light. My new dive friends Jim and Donna graciously pick me up to save a rough boat ride to and from the hotel. It was actually a nicer ride than yesterday to the reef. It was also much drier. We roll back onto Santa Rosa wall at 8:23 a.m. It is nice to be first in line. Parts of the wall want to reach the surface. A classic wall dive, It seems we caught the locals sleeping as there was not as much life as usual. However, we did find a beautiful juvenile drum, also a menacing spotted eel, and some big, bad cudas. 90 fsw for 77 minutes. Water temp 81 degrees.

We kick back at Nachi Cocom for an hour and a half. I am chatting with Jeremy and the other fine folks on the boat. A nice place to spend our SI. Second dive to San Francisco. More pipe seahorses. 5 in two days. We also have an octopus chomping conch, a giant king crab, and more eels. I missed it, but a big grouper had its teeth flossed by a fish in its mouth. My bad. 56 fsw for 85 minutes. Jeremys low pressure steel tanks last a long time. We could have done two hours. I settle up with Jeremy and plan a off day for Easter. I am back with Aldora on Monday.

We spent Friday night around town. 3 years in a row I caught the Jesus procession through the plaza. These folks are alright. I chat with Tony Rome and his family and then its back to CP to enjoy a nice meal. We choose Italian, again. There is a wait at night with a full hotel.

Weather Saturday afternoon is perfect. 85, sunny, and low humidity. Not a cloud in the sky. It is the best day in my six trips to Cozumel. It made me feel bad to call home and find out about snow, not! Another bit of good news. My fifteen year old is taking a refresher course Sunday. It includes a boat trip, which I purchased a ticket for. Cool!

Service is non-existent at the pool Saturday afternoon. Its really no problem to get up to get food and drink. Its good for the employees to be off. However, if holidays create staff shortage perhaps off-season rates should apply. Its a fine line between being pampered, for a price of course, and just being a bitch. They charge more, so the service should be provided. While I am bitching, Don Julio and Eduardo are on vacation. Senor Jose Cuervo, (barf) has a reservation at the bar. Don Julio Y Eduardo were front and center in November. Happy Easter. More later.

Day Four
Easter Sunday is bright and sunny. If not for a little wind, the weather this week has been awesome. A leisurely breakfast is followed by a snooze on the waterfront watching the morning dive boats fly by. A Easter egg hunt provided by the Coz Palace provides entertainment for my 11 year old. My fifteen year old proceeds to the dive shop for a noon refresher course. The instructor tells me to get lost. Alright, I agree she needs to do it herself to be independent. She should be responsible for herself.

After her course we wait for the 2:30 Aqua Safari one tank dive boat. A very enthusiastic dm whose name I must get. He and the refresher course instructor were both very good. A five minute ride and we giant stride onto Villa Blanca wall. My first dive here and I must say I enjoyed it. 60 fsw for 52 minutes. A spotted eel, an octopus and many, many queen angels. I am back with Aldora in the morning.

I tote my gear to the shop and chat with Memo. He is a great guy. We check out the plaza and find it shut down. Must be 90 % closed. I have never seen so many stores closed. The Palace is also quieter. We have the NY Steak and salad buffet but the steak is tough! The girls have fun at karaoke. I am off to bed, Aldora sails early. More later.

Day five
7:30 departure for Palancar caves. I have yet to go further south than Palancar in four days. The caves is a spectacular coral formation dive. It is piled on top of itself and appears healthy. Half way through the dive we encounter our first Eagle ray of the week. He was cool as cucumber and obviously a young juvenile. They are beautiful and majestic. We also see a couple turtles as we cruise into the horseshoe. Doing a safety stop here is awesome. As you explore the reef for blennies, nudibranch, etc you complete a safety stop with out even trying. DM Mario seems to enjoy his work. 98 fsw for 68 minutes.

We do our 90 minute SI at Sr. Sanchos, new for Aldora. After a short ride we roll back onto Punta Tunich. I have had some rough dives here as the current can be quite strong. However, today was perfect. Mario finds two spotted drums, boom-boom. We also have a great turtle encounter and this crazy remoula(sp), a sucking fish usually holding on to a ray or shark. He must of swam with us for 10 minutes. 68 fsw for 64 minutes. 1300 psi left, 2300 for two dives; could be an issue if it continues. No diving tomorrow, off to Tulum.

Day six
Included in your room at Coz Palace is several tours. Tuesday is Tulum, the walled city. CP provides breakfast buffet or carry out at 7 a.m. The taxi to the ferry and ferry is included. We arrive in PDC and depart on an air conditioned bus to Tulum at 9.am. The tour is guided throughout and the guide gives you lots of information on the Maya. My wife and kids had done Coba on Thursday. They said it was in better shape than Tulum. However, Tulum is a more complete site. We saw the palaces, art room, sacrifice stone, etc. After two hours, we are off to Xpu-Ha Palace for lunch. This place has the most magnificent lobby which includes a mini zoo of spider monkeys, wild cats, and other animals. It is too spread out but they provide bikes and a trolley if you prefer not to walk.

We have lunch and spend three hours by the pool- much bigger than Cozumel Palace and includes a great kids pool. The beach area is spartan- but service all over is great. I think it cost twice as much as Cozumel Palace to stay but I prefer the quaintness of Cozumel Palace. We caught the five o'clock ferry home and back to the hotel by six p.m. The Palace does things first class. It was another bright, sunny day in Cozumel. Later that night, fire dancers came to perform. My kids enjoyed the music selections and the most exciting show of the week.

Day 7
Diving with Bill Memo LaRosa today. He is a twenty year expat living in Cozumel. He is way laid back. We roll back off the Bellena at 8:30 onto Columbia Regular. Lots and lots of grouper, a porcupine puffer and a sleeping turtle. 87 fsw for 75 min. Water temp up two degrees to 81. Second dive to SanFrancisco for a casual second dive. Nice father/son dive team from Ohio and we cruise 78 minutes to 68 fsw.

Day 8
We say good-bye to our new found friends from Ohio. Patrick and Carol Calahan. Nice folks. It is always easy to make friends on vacation-dive boats and poolside lounge chairs are relaxing environments conducive to making friends, some for a life time.

A 7:40 departure on Aldora 4 on a calm morning heads for Punta Sur, and the world famous Devils Throat. Aldora always takes advantage of good weather to go to the farther reaches, such as Punta Sur and Maraicaibo. My first time through the Devils Throat leaves me with a slight tingle. You are in the tunnel so fast you do not have time to be nervous. Smooth sailing to the beautiful blue hole at the end. A quick u-turn and we head up the cathedral. This used to hold the cross sponge but Wilma removed it. I am glad I did it but the profile for the rest of the one hour dive was spent cruising over some impressive coral heads. I prefer Columbia deep. We do see three turtles and the largest lobster I have seen, scurrying along at about 120 feet. Viz was at least 130 this morning. Now, I can say I have done it. 1:45 SI at Sr. Sanchos. I cant comment on the food but drink service is excellent.

Our second dive is to Dalila. What a fun dive. Shallow profile with lots of knooks and crannies. Tons of tropical fish. This cool retracting soft coral, some one help with the name. It was so relaxing. 78 minutes and still 1200 psi, some of the group got tired, I believe. Diving with eanx 36 so not even a chance for no deco time. As the boat arrived back at the hotel the girls were swimming in the sea hollering and waving and my wife, Tammy, was on the deck waving too. Back for a late lunch at Cozumel Palace. Seafood tacos, nice salad and homemade ice cream.

Life is good today, April 12, 2007. One dive day left and back home Saturday to cold Maryland. Drat!! The girls are in town getting their hair braided. I need to SSS and head up the to meet them. More later.

Day Nine
Our last full day. Another great breakfast. The lovely lady at the grill station fixes your choice of pancakes, French toast, empanadas, tacos, etc. She always smiles. There are tons of fruit, juices, and yogurts. Aldora is running late and has a 7:50 pick up. We are off to Colombia deep. Columbia deep had the Mayan gate at the start. We check it out but pass on Daves Throat a tunnel that opens to the Wall below 120 feet. We do several long swim through. It is apparent here the power of Wilma. I think I will take Colombia deep off my wish list for awhile. Several turtles but really not much else- too bad.

Another warm sunny day at the surface. Later, my family informed me that it had drizzle at the shore. This was the best weather we have ever had on our trips to Cozumel. Sunny and warm almost the whole time. Low humidity until the last two days.

One last dive til who knows when, hopefully we get back in November. Second dive to Cedral. This turned out to be my best dive of the ten days. It started out fairly mundane- lots of sand. Then, a reef seahorse shows up and later, a splendid toad fish. Its followed by a nurse shark, a giant moray, another nurse shark, tons of schooling fish, a beautiful swim through, and a juvenile drum. Unbelievable, prefect slow current. In fact, for whatever reason, the currents were much slower than January and November. What a way to end the trip. 81 minutes at 55 fsw. When we surfaced, I yelled to Mario, You're on fire! No comprende, Senor, why am I fired? I laughed and said, No, you're on fire for finding all that stuff.

Basking in the glow of our final dive we join some new found friends from Maryland for dinner. We choose the Mexican restaurant for our final dinner. The food was good and service excellent. The Palace really delivered, for the most part, on food, service and beverages. After dessert the girls, two mid forties, 2 fifteen year olds, and my 11 year old head for Carlos and Charlies to dance. They lasted about twenty minutes before the mothers rushed them out with there eyes covered. Too funny! I spend some time with Tony Rome and return to the hotel.

Early Saturday morning I walk to the Aldora dock. My friend from January is busy selling his ham and egg tacos at the malceon at 3 rd. He does a good job. Julian, an operation manager for Aldora, is busy loading four boats of six divers with BCs, tanks, ice, etc. Its a well oiled machine. All the boats are off at 7:30 a.m., right on time. We return to the office and I settle up. I receive a nice surprise when he deducts 10 % for paying cash. No more credit cards for dive payments! Julian is a great guy and does a super job.

We finish packing, have a nice lunch, and head for the airport. $ 25 for the four of us with all the gear in a van. It was $32 from the airport so $57 total, not much difference from the package price. The airport at 12:10 is PACKED! Scuba Tony is here delivering a client with two dogs, he is all about service. In all my trips to Cozumel I have never seen the airport so packed. 40 minutes to check bags and 15 minutes for security.