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Cozumel Trip Report
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Posted by Angie D on 06/11/03

Hotel Brisas
(formerly Costa Club)
Onsite dives hop: Dive Paradise


click for more photos & availability

As promised, Coz June 2003 Trip Report--Day 1, LONG

Sorry guys, I've got a lot to say so I'm doing this by day.

DAY ONE
Flew Worry Free Champion Air from DFW to Coz on a painful 7am flight but worth it as we got into Coz at 9:30am and had the WHOLE day to play! Note about DFW: They have a system now where the computer generates a random search tag when you check in, so you know in advance if your bag will be searched. We know this because it happened to my friend Bill, who was travelling with me. heh heh

We arrived in Coz before the other charters so we were lucky enough to get to the Brisas and actually get a room at that early hour, which was good because we had a 2-tank dive booked that afternoon at 1:30. Got situated in our oceanview room (#1221--almost got your room Di! :) and walked to town to find Deep Blue so we could make arrangements. I hadn’t been to Coz since Oct 2001, and boy was it good to be back on the island! I loved smelling the fresh, salty air, feeling the ocean breezes lift my hair off my neck and seeing the bright sun shining down from the sky with no gray haze of pollution to be seen. It was hard to pull my gaze away from those gorgeous turquoise waters so I could watch where I was going--I tripped more than once on the cracks in the sidewalk. As we walked, I felt this sense of unreality--I just couldn’t believe I was just walking along in paradise like it was perfectly normal instead of sitting in a cube at work.

Anyway, we got to Deep Blue and what a cool place! There was this beautiful mural on the wall of an underwater scene and Matt has a great location right on the corner of Ave 10 and Salas across from La Choza. We told Vicki who we were and unbelievably, she knew who we were and had been expecting us--our names were in the book and everything! We filled out the paperwork and discussed our schedule and she wrote down some of the dive sites I mentioned that I had enjoyed in the past. It’s a very laid back shop--we’d just call or run by the shop every evening to find out our pick up time for the next day. Matt does the schedules at 10pm every night since he has so many walk-ins, and he groups people according to skill level and where they want to go--not an easy task. The only problem is that we didn’t have the same DM every day so each day was like starting over, but it worked out fine--you just have to remember to tip every day instead of at the end!

We walked around town for a bit and stopped in a few shops, including the ice cream store (2-3 blocks back from the square?) where we had some incredible locally-made coconut and mango ice cream--MMMMMM! Then we headed back to the hotel so we could eat lunch. Then came the fun part--trying to FIND lunch. I felt like we were part of a Fool the Tourist scavenger hunt on how to find the restaurant where lunch was being served. That would be my only complaint about the hotel--our welcome orientation only talked about the island and all the tours we could take, etc. There was no orientation on the hotel itself. Eventually we found the lobby and thus, the manager, who told us that lunch was over at the beach club restaurant across the street. AHA! A quick walk under the tunnel (they showed us where it was) and Ahhhhh....food, the beach and the ocean at last.

A quick note about food at the hotel: We did the all-inclusive plan so we could have breakfast and lunch there and planned to go to town for dinner every night. I’m glad we did go to town because we heard from several people that the dinners weren’t great at all. The breakfast was the usual all-inclusive buffet, but there was quite a selection of fresh fruits, juices, dry cereal, made-to-order omelets and fruit smoothies, pancakes, sausage and other various American and Mexican choices, assorted sweetbreads and toast, etc. At lunch, I had the fish fingers that first day and they were disgusting, but the chicken fajitas and club sandwich I tried the next 2 days were quite tasty and of course the avocado dip was great!

After lunch, we relaxed for a bit with a quick dip in the ocean, then got our gear together and waited on the dock for the boat, which arrived right on time. The boat had twin outboards and that boat hauled, despite the chop. The chop made it REAL fun to get geared up en route--note to self: put wetsuit on BEFORE getting on the boat next time! Sandro was our DM and our first dive, we did Paso de Cedral and ended on Santa Rosa--the current was kicking! I had all kinds of ear problems and the current, as usual, just had all kinds of fun with me so I almost immediately got separated from the group. I had no control over where I could go with the current, so I basically did the entire dive flying backwards at about 5mph. I don’t recall what I saw--viz wasn’t great, but I remember a bunch of fuzzy fish and some blurry coral and sponges that probably were pretty cool. I wished I had had a video camera to get footage of the reef flying by--now THAT would have been something! I couldn’t see the others but kept an eye on their bubbles in the distance--there was no way the current was letting me get back over there. At one point toward the end, the current was about to take me over the Santa Rosa wall, so I dug down in the sand until I could see Sandro and the others--at that point they finally caught up to me. I let go and flew off again but this time at least we were all going the same general direction and thank goodness the current switched again to put me back over the reef instead of into the deep blue. I felt bad for Sandro on this dive--with the current he had a hard time managing everyone but he handled it very well and we ended with everyone back on the boat. Good sign.

We did our surface interval at Playa Corona so that was a nice break--Deep Blue provided bottled water, sodas and fresh fruit. Of COURSE the sun went down about that time so it was hard to get warmed up. I told Sandro I had never seen a Splendid Toadfish in 4 previous trips to Coz, so he promised to find one for me. Our second dive went better--we did Las Palmas and the current wasn’t as bad. True to his word, Sandro found me TWO splendid toadfish, along with some seahorses, an arrow crab and a peacock flounder. I was pretty proud because I found a featherworm all by myself but it sucked back into the coral before I could show anyone. I also found 2 lobsters hanging out on opposite ends of a coral head, which was funny--almost like they were defending their coral fort. We were also stalked by a great barracuda but he didn’t come too close and we didn’t want to push the issue. The reef was patchy but beautiful...I had to abort the dive after about 35min because I wasn’t feeling too good (thank you Dallas pollution) but everyone else was ready to come up anyway. All in all, the first 2 dives of the trip weren’t the greatest for me, but they left me with plenty to look forward to the next 2 days!

They dropped us off at the Brisas dock...by the way, the dock is HIGH so you have quite a step down to the boat. I guess they designed the dock for bigger boats or something, but since the water is so rough because of all the boat traffic, be extra careful when stepping onto a boat from the dock. Another note about the dock area--there are 2 showers and 2 gear rinse tanks and tons of lockers. We didn’t use the lockers because we weren’t diving with DP, and I wasn’t impressed by the fact that they were just large metal mail boxes with no ventilation whatsoever. I was imagining the foul odor and science-experiment quality mold that would be growing on my gear when I went to open the locker/box each day, so we opted to just carry our gear to the room after each day’s dives--no big deal.

Anyway, we were walking over to the showers and gear rinse tanks and all of the sudden, this guy in a Sooner’s cap walks up and says “Hey is your name Angie?” Well I’ll be darned, my first meeting with a fellow Travelnoter--it was OkieMike! I had registered my trip with the Travelnotes trip section and he had emailed me a few weeks prior and said he and a student would be down at the same time we were and staying at the Brisas. We exchanged a few emails, made some plans and I figured I’d run into him eventually...considering I had no idea what he looked like, what his full name was or where he’d be at any given moment. LOL He was a great guy and we all stood there and talked for quite a while as Bill and I washed our gear. Then Chuck, Mike’s student and fellow hockey fanatic, came down to join us and we talked some more. We all hit it off great and compared dinner plans--darn they were eating at the hotel that night. We agreed to meet up the next day after the morning dives and go from there.

We walked to town later that night--Vicki at Deep Blue had told us to stop by to get our departure time for the next morning and we were wanting some good food so we headed to La Choza since it was conveniently right across the street from the dive shop and I was craving their avocado dip and whatever that other sauce is. We sat down for a nice leisurely meal and all of the sudden it was POURING rain! I never can get used to how quickly the rain comes and goes down there but it tapered off to a tropical shower. It was so nice to eat our mahi mahi and fresh veggies (and drink my fishbowl sangria heh heh) with the soothing sound of the raindrops falling from the sky and hitting the pavement outside. By the time we finished eating the rain had stopped and we walked across to Deep Blue and had the pleasure of meeting Matt himself. He was just as laid back as the rest of his operation and we sat and talked for a while about the dive sites we’d like to see, what kind of diving we wanted to do and how the diving had gone that day. He had 2 groups going out the next morning, so he put us on the 9am Palancar boat for the next day, and we headed “home” for bed in a state of exhausted exhilaration.

June 2003--Day 2

DAY TWO

*glug* Is it 7am already? I groggily got up, got dressed (or as much as you can in a swimsuit and board shorts) and decided to get my gear together for that morning’s dives. As I shuffled onto the balcony, I was immediately dive-bombed by about 100,000 mosquitoes and their bug friends. I’m from TX and also go to OK frequently so I am well accustomed to mosquitoes feasting on my insect-attracting flesh, but I have never seen that many bloodsuckers gathered in one location (insert lawyer or timeshare saleman joke here). I hastily gathered my gear and threw it and myself into the room as I slammed the balcony door shut behind me. A few of the little buggers made it in anyway--they were still having breakfast--so I danced around, slapped and squashed until none were left alive. After that kind of a wakeup call, who needs coffee?

We went down for our first breakfast and ran into Mike and Chuck so we joined them. They had morning dives to do for Chuck’s certification, so we arranged to meet up in the afternoon for shore diving or something. The Deep Blue boat arrived on time and our DM was Pepe. This time I was smart and put my wetsuit on BEFORE getting on the boat--made things much easier. The chop was bad again and Pepe said the currents were still bad at the south end so we took a nice long boat ride to try to find a dive site. Pepe went in at one spot, said “No way” and told everyone to wait so we could move to another spot, but Bill had already backrolled in. lol In the end, we ended up at Palancar Horseshoe. The current was bad but not as bad as Cedral had been, and this time everyone was able to stay together. Pepe had this cool little magnifying glass and was great at spotting the little stuff--he showed us 3 little pipehorses, which I had never seen before probably because they look like a piece of broken off coral. He also pointed out 2 or 3 splendid toadfish, juvenile spotted drum and some razorfish. He showed us several tiny white things on the coral but I never figured out what they were. LOL Pepe put out his magnifying glass and showed us a group of tiny little hatchlings--they were probably only a few days old--how cute! We saw LOTS of hatchlings on this and all the other dives, which was a great sign--the reef fish in Cozumel are definitely prolific! :)

The highlight of this dive, and of all the dives, was when the HUGE male loggerhead came swimming by toward the end of the dive. I had been wondering why we saw absolutely NO turtles on any of the dives (before I finally realized it’s nesting season and they’re all on the east side), but seeing this big guy again more than made up for the lack of hawkbills. I had seen him before on my Oct 2001 visit--toward the end of one dive, he was resting on the reef and rose to his feet as we approached and turned his head at the perfect angle toward me so he could eyeball me. ARGH! NO FILM! This time, he was swimming along, slowly but surely. Pepe motioned to me and we took off after him, Pepe dragging the safety line and the other divers behind him. lol Luckily I had enough air to give chase (Pepe was making me surface with the others, despite me still having about 1200 PSI) and I sort of caught up to him, but he was swimming fast enough to get away before I could get more than 2 pics, which I doubt will come out. Still, it was worth it just to see him again--he has to be over 100 because his shell is at least 4-5 feet long and his head is the size of a volleyball. At any rate, it’s good to know he’s still alive--maybe I’ll see him again on a future visit.

Surface interval again at Playa Corona and the second dive was at Chankanaab reef. I wasn’t excited when I heard about this but I had only snorkeled at the park and had no idea what was in store for me on the reef. It turned out to be my 2nd favorite dive of the trip! What a great time--there was hardly any current and the coral was just beautiful with tons of nooks and crannies to look in. I saw so many monstrous lobsters and king crabs that I got tired of taking pics of them! I also saw a sea cucumber, a sea anemone, and tons of the usual suspects: squirrelfish, blue tang, parrots and massive triggerfish and angels of every variety. This is definitely a must-do shallow dive.

After the dives, we washed our gear and took turns taking our stuff to the room so we could save our chairs under a palapa on the beach. I was bound and determined to get some beach time after lunch! We sat and relaxed and sure enough, Mike and Chuck showed up with their dive gear--they were going in for a shore dive. By then I was all lazy and didn’t feel like gearing up again so they prepared for their dive as we chatted. They went in and I dozed in a comfy lounge chair--after what seemed like a LONG time, I realized they hadn’t come up yet. By the time I managed to get the energy to open one eye, roll over and look toward the ocean, Mike’s head popped up by the stairs. Thank goodness--I’m on vacation and really didn’t want to use my rescue diver certification! lol They got out and we sat, talked and drank all afternoon--lemme tell ya, those drinks at the beach bar will knock you for a loop! Either that or the bartender, Daniel, was deliberately trying to get me wasted. Well he succeeded to the point where I made the horrendous gaffe of confusing the World Cup (soccer) with the Stanley Cup (hockey)--my deepest apologies to my new friends Mike and Chuck. :)

The guys were heading for the Sports Page to see Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals, so Bill and I cleaned up and went to Mexico en los Siglos because it was close enough to walk and I had read so many good reviews. I wasn’t disappointed--it was a very quaint place and very quiet--there was only us and one other table. I had the tamarind margarita and Bill had the tangerine--both good but the tangerine was too sweet for my taste. The homemade tortillas they serve with the 4 sauces (don’t remember what they all were because the margarita was kicking in) were incredible--we went through 2 baskets of those. I had the Mexican Carribbean which was shrimp prepared 3 different ways and it was AWESOME. The only one I remember was the coconut shrimp in the mango and something sauce and it was the best coconut shrimp I’ve ever had. My favorite sauce was the green one--I think he said it was poblano pepper. Yes, the meal was pricey--with meal, marg and tip I gave $30 but it was worth it to get such a fabulous meal. If I were staying in Coz for a week, I wouldn’t eat there every night because that would add up, but on a 3 night trip I figure I can afford to be extravagent.

We continued into town to Deep Blue to arrange the next day’s dives. Matt asked us about that day’s dives and if they had gone better, which they had. Then we went to meet Chuck and Mike at the Sports Page (took us a while to find it) to watch the game--the Ducks lost. Mike had apparently cleared the place out before we got there--he’s such a troublemaker. :) The guys working there got a real kick out of watching Mike and Chuck pace the floor and scream at the TV. After the game, we walked down the street and decided to see if we could meet the infamous Tony Rome so we popped in and dragged him out of his office where some tech guy was trying to fix his computer. And there he was--in the flesh! What an absolute sweetheart of a man--as soon as you meet him, you just want to give him a big hug! We all sat and talked for quite a while and promised to come back the following night for dinner so we could have a nice visit. I also asked if Jim Wilson could make it Friday so we could meet him too--Tony said he’d call him so we could have a nice little party. When we left, we caught a cab back to the hotel so we could all get some sleep and be prepared for our Day of Fun on the East Side--PARTY PARTY PARTY!

June 2003--Day 3

DAY THREE

Man these 7am wakeups are really dragging me down. Sleepily I walked out on the balcony to get my gear, having completely forgotten about the Festival of Mosquitos that apparently took place on our balcony every night. AUGH!. Anybody ever see the movie “Hairspray” where Ricki Lake does a dance called The Bug? ‘Nuff said. After my aerobic workout and now wide awake, we went down to breakfast and joined Mike and Chuck again. They were off for some boat dives with Papa Hogs and we told them we were going out at a later time, so we’d be back later than they were. Mike said he’d go get the car for our Day of Fun when they got back and they’d wait for us on the beach.

Deep Blue’s boat was a little late today--we stood up and got ready when we finally saw the boat approach the Brisas dock, then continued to watch as the boat sped right past the us and continued south. We stood there in shock for a minute or two, then wondered out loud what we should do. After a few minutes, I guess the captain got tired of his little joke and we saw the boat turn around and come speeding back toward us. ha ha Good one guys! Our DM today was Gabriel and he was by far the best of the 3 DM’s we had. We went to Palancar Caves for the first dive--great dive! Tons of canyons and swimthroughs with beautiful coral and sponges. There was a little bit of current but after the last 2 days, it was nothing in comparison. Gabriel would point out things and write them on his slate so we would understand. We saw massive french, gray and queen angels and HUGE triggerfish and parrotfish--do they feed these things steroids?! Toward the end of the dive, we saw 2 great barracuda about 40 feet away--one of them had to be at least 5 feet long. I couldn’t get close enough to get a picture, but that was probably a good thing.

Surface interval at some random dock (I guess Playa Corona was full) then our second dive was at Tormentos. This was the best dive of the trip--Gabriel has eagle eyes and somehow found a baby nudibranch that wasn’t even an inch long. When he put it back down, I couldn’t find it again. He also found us another flounder and then a little baby flounder that was only about 2” long--it was so adorable! He found a spotted moray trying to hide, a juvenile spotted drum, and we saw a massive grouper. He also managed to coax a splendid toadfish out of its hidey hole, so I got to see the whole fish for the first time--it truly was a sight. We came across a scorpionfish just sitting on the sand in the open, and Gabriel picked it up and held it as they stared at each other. The fish seemed perfectly content to sit on his hand, almost like it was hypnotized. He seems to be in sync with the animals down there--he’s very at one with the environment and knows exactly how to interact with the marine life. I think he’s part fish himself because they seem to all think he’s one of them! This was even more obvious when we surfaced--we were laughing because this lady had a 2” baby grunt hanging around her tank. It kept swimming all up and down the tank, then would duck down under it, almost like it was seeking protection or a mommy. When we surfaced, the baby went over to Gabriel and “adopted” him--it was so cute! :) The dive ended with a huge school of blue tang swimming right by us. I had seen 1 or 2 before but never a whole school. The number and variety of marine life in Coz never ceases to amaze me--I guess that’s what keep bringing divers back over and over again.

When we got back from the dives, Mike and Chuck were waiting at the beach restaurant--they had already gotten the car, so we ran up to change and then came down to eat real quick so we could commence with the partying! We started driving around the island and about halfway to Bob’s Marley bar, the car died. Hmmmm....I wonder if Mike checked the gas gauge? Nope, out of gas. Now what? Well you wouldn’t believe how many idiotic drunken tourists passed us, waving and smiling--did they think we were standing on the road for our health? Finally, an ambulance came along--we weren’t sure if that was a good thing or not, and said they’d run up to Bob’s to radio the cops. Before they came back, this nice couple stopped and offered us a ride to town--they had also rented from the same place except they had had gas in THEIR car (I won’t reveal the rental place here--I’ll leave that to Mike if he wants to tell). Mike and I got in their backseat (not an easy task since it was a hardtop Bug), leaving Chuck and Bill to see if the cops showed up. Well by the time we found a place to turn around on the narrow road, the cops had arrived, so we got back out to talk to them. The couple left and said they’d let the rental agency know where we’d be and that they needed to come out with some gas. The ambulance also came back and they all stood there and talked, probably about how stupid the gringos are getting these days. lol Then I guess our friend Mike managed to piss them off enough so they frisked him and were threatening to take him downtown--we have photographic evidence but I’ll let Mike tell the story. ;) Another pair of cops showed up on a motorcycle and one of them spoke English. They managed to figure out that we needed gas and flagged down a passing truck. The owner of the truck offered to syphon his gas for us so we could get to where we were going. Hurray--the day is saved! He literally did syphon 2 jugs of gas into a non-approved plastic juice jug and put it into our tank, which in a Bug is about 1/4 tank. Great--we happily paid him for his gas and his trouble and we were on our way!

Bob’s Marley bar was great as always but their beer prices have gone up--it figures. We grabbed a table under a palapa and proceeded to loiter away several pleasant hours. Of course the waiter brought me the marker so I could emblazon our names on a palapa pole for all to see...at least until they wear off (Chuck if you post that picture, I will KILL you! :) I found a little “hot tub” and sat in it for a while--the water was warm and it was close enough so I could feel the salt spray from the crashing waves. Panchita we took a picture here just for you--Mike will have to post it. :) In the meantime, the rental guys showed up with gas for our car and filled us up, so we were good to go! We were so lazy that we didn’t want to leave but I insisted that we get to Coconuts so we could see the sun set over the jungle. Well that was enough to get the guys moving so off we went. Wow were we in heaven! I ordered my usual fishbowl sangria and we had some of their yummy nachos, then I showed the guys where all the prime photo ops were. We all took up our own places on the rocks and each of us contemplated the ocean in contented silence for quite a while. There’s something so primitive and yet serene about watching the wildly crashing waves smash into the rocks with such raw power, and the perfect beauty of the moment makes the soul yearn for a simpler, more peaceful and happy existence.  Siiiiiiiigh....

Anyway where was I? The guys at Coconuts were nice enough to let us stay as long as we wanted. We saw our sunset except it got real cloudy right around then so it wasn’t quite as colorful and bright as usual, but still beautiful. I guess it was about 8:30 when we finally managed to tear ourselves away from the view and head toward home. We went back and got cleaned up and Bill and I went to meet Mike at Tony Rome’s. There they all were, sitting at the very first table by the door! I just HAD to try one of the margaritas everyone kept raving about--lemme tell ya, those things could be considered an illegal weapon! They were so strong I could have lit flames with one breath, but at the same time, they were still tasty. Those who have had strong, bad margaritas will appreciate this distinction. Tony called Jim Wilson who said he’d be along to join us. He showed up shortly afterward and we had the pleasure of meeting Jim “The Dude” Wilson in person. He just couldn’t have been nicer--I was so glad he was able to come and meet us. We really enjoyed talking with him and Tony about the goings-on on the island and that’s about the time the ideas started clicking. Mike you and I really need to go into business together! lol

Back to dinner: Mike and Chuck ordered steaks, Bill had the ribs and I tried the chicken parmesan. One word: Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Juicy, tenderized chicken breast coated in breading and smothered in Tony’s tangy homemade sauce, served with a side of al dente homemade pasta with more sauce and fresh-grated parmesan, along with fresh garlic bread. If everyone’s not drooling yet, then I’m not doing my job--Tony you want your menu re-written? heh heh Then to top it off, Tony had 2 pieces of his pie--key lime and avocado--brought out because I couldn’t decide. We agreed I’d eat whichever I liked better, Tony would eat the other. Of course, no one else wanted any--until it got to the table! At one point, I’m holding both plates up for Mike so he could try both...a few times. lol But they were both just excellent and I honestly can’t say which I liked better--I guess I’ll just have to try them again...darn. Hopefully mangos will still be in season so I’ll have yet another choice! :) Since we arrived late, we had missed Tony’s 2-hour show--he used to sing in Vegas--but he did put in one of the cd’s he recorded of himself singing some oldies but goodies--what a treat and very pleasant background for a fantastic dinner.

After we ate, Tony showed us where all his new techno-gadgets were going to go, including the new web cam, which should be up and running by now. He also let us borrow his computer so we could get on and say Hi to the travelnotes board (ie. rub it in heh heh), and so Mike could check his hockey forum. It was unreal to think I was sitting in Cozumel emailing home instead of the other way around! lol I’m sure we kept Tony and Jim up way past their bedtime, but we sure did enjoy our visit there and promised to return again very soon. We took a cab home and decided along the way that we just HAD to try out the hot tub at the Brisas so we ran up to change. Well by this time, it was about midnight and the hot tub had been turned off and was now a lukewarm tub but that didn’t matter. I went downstairs first, or so I thought, and Mike popped up out of the water as I got there and scared the $!%^$@^$# out of me....I’ll get you back, you prankster! ;) We sat out there for quite a while and talked and talked and talked...I guess there’s just something so sad about realizing it’s the last night you’ll be spending in paradise and it makes you want to milk every last second for all it’s worth. We finally left the hot tub when we were so wrinkled it hurt, and my last thought as I finally went to bed was: “Oh crap, I forgot to pack!!!”

June 2003--Day 4

DAY FOUR

Well it’s the day everyone dreads--you have to LEAVE. Dragged my rear out of bed and found my suitcases where I had left them 3 long days before. I was smart this time (too bad it was on the last day) and would open the balcony door, grab one piece of gear, slam the door, throw the gear in the suitcase, repeat. I got halfway packed then realized we should go eat before it got too late. I grabbed the camera for last-minute shots of the hotel that I never took the 3 previous days--and headed downstairs, snapping shots along the way. It had rained that morning so it was really humid--ha ha it rained on the day we were LEAVING for a change!--and my camera lens kept fogging up. After we ate, Bill and I went across to the beach club to get some last shots of that beautiful water to tide us over until next time. I looked with envy upon those lucky divers on the dock with their gear bags and wished fervently that I were one of them. Someday, I kept telling myself, someday I’ll be able to live in paradise...that seems to be the only way I can tear myself away to get on the plane.

I got the rest of my stuff packed in record time and we headed downstairs to check out. Quick taxi to the airport and oh my GOD, what happened to the airport?! I hadn’t been since 2001 and boy did they re-model that place! It was really nice (except for the unfinished part) and was actually pleasant to spend time in. I actually wished that we had arrived earlier so I could poke around all the shops--we never did spend much time shopping in town. I had noticed when we arrived Wed that there was AC at the airport, but didn’t look around much, so this was a nice surprise. I should note here that the security people searching our luggage were VERY strict and thorough, despite having to deal with my still wet, very stinky dive gear. The lady who looked through my bag took out my razor, nail kit and shave gel and put them on the table. She said I could put them in my checked luggage, I just couldn’t have them on the plane. Odd, since I had flown from DFW with them in my carry-on. lol We sat and visited with Mike and Chuck until they had to leave--we sadly hugged and swore we’d all return in Aug for a longer time. 3 days just wasn’t enough! The flight home was uneventful--since it was half full (I guess most people stayed over until Sunday), we stretched out in the back and reclined our seats and made full use of all the extra room in the last 6 rows! lol

Some notes: This was the first time I’ve ever dove with Deep Blue and I’m happy to say that I would dive with them again. They have some of the best DM’s I’ve ever been diving with, and that includes dive trips to other locales like Belize and Roatan. I enjoyed the faster trips--get 2 dives in and back by lunchtime--because I felt like I got more vacation time to lounge on the beach, go to the East Side, go to town, etc.  I also enjoyed doing backrolls more than giant strides--makes it easier when the water is rough. I think it would take 100 trips to be able to sample all the food the island has to offer, but I’m happy with the restaurants I chose this time and look forward to trying even more new places next time. I really enjoyed staying at the Brisas--I liked being able to walk to town or have a cheap cab ride (30 pesos one way--2 people), the rooms were clean, the food at breakfast and lunch was pretty good, the drinks were strong, the pool and hot tub were FANTASTIC, the beach club was very nice...my only question is: What the heck is that gazebo for? I did miss my mini-fridge at the PLG, but I would definitely stay at the Brisas again.

In summary: This was by far the best trip I’ve ever had to Cozumel and I attribute most of that to meeting OkieMike, Chuck, Tony Rome and Jim Wilson. It made it so much harder to leave since I felt like I was leaving family, but I can take comfort in the fact that I’ll be back and hopefully we’ll all be there at the same time. Guys, it was truly a pleasure--you made this trip very special and I’ll never forget it...here’s to seeing all of you again in August!

Trip Reports

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