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Cozumel Trip Report
Posted by Mark on 06/29/01

We just returned from a great trip to Coz.  We have been going for some 20 years, and it's interesting to see how the island has changed.  It's busier now, esp with the cruise ships, but still a great place.  We stayed at the Hacienda San Miguel, a very nice place just 4 blocks north of the square.  Beautiful gardens and nice folks.  A little mis-understanding when we first arrived (the rate we were quoted was usually for 2 people, we had our son with us so we had 3) but when I explained we had told them we had 3 and they quoted the rate by e-mail, they agreed and no problem.  The staff was very helpful and gave us good leads.  Hacienda has a grocery store close by and kitchens, so you can save by eating lunch there.  They supply breakfast (coffee, good pastries, OJ), so dinner was the only meal we splurged on.  You can easily walk to the square, good restaurants nearby, the downtown diving pick-up piers are 5 blocks away.
My son and I dove with Aldora.  I liked this company.  They use special steel tanks and require computers (if you don't have one, they supply at no extra cost).  This extends BT - typical 50 to 65 minutes per dive, even with maximum depths of 120 - 130.  The dive masters were good, and my 15 yr old son enjoyed all of them, esp Roberto.  I think the reefs are in good
shapre, better than in the early 90's after the hurricane and before they stopped the fishing.  We saw lots of nurse sharks, turtles, lobster, big goupers, crabs, etc, etc, etc.  The current was strong, almost too strong, so may dives were FAST.  One day, with the extended BT and strong current, we FLEW Deep Columbia and all of Columbia.  The first time I ever ran out of reef. Aldora spends the SI at Playa del Sol.  This is real nice, the prices are a liitle high but great quac and nachos.  Aldora does have a problem getting their tanks filled to 3500, I had two that were only up to 3000, while others were at 3500.  I heard them discussing this and that they needed to fix this problem.  It turned out not to affect our dives, but could some.  If you use Aldora, I suggest you get a clear committment on this if it's important to you.  We also had a boat problem the last day that could have been a disaster, but it got worked out.  Considering that the engines were seen being worked on 2 days earlier, I wonder if Aldora could have prevented this problem.  However, all in all, I plan to dive with them again and give them and enthusiastic 2 thumbs up!
The east side of the island was great, and I recommend a trip one day.  We liked Chen Rio for playing in the waves and Paradise Grill for drinking beer, munchies and generally being lazy to Bob Marley music.
We ate at several places, La Choza, La Parroquio (sp?), El Mora, Captain Navigante (something like that).  verything wa good and I don;t think you can go wrong with Coz food.
The last day we went to the Cinema by the big grocery store near Calle 11 Sur.  It's better than ANY theatre in Austin - amazing.  We saw Pearl Harbor, we just wanted to get out of the sun the last day and our son wanted to relax and see a movie.  $2 each and the best sound/screen I've seen.
My wife loved Chancanab, she snorkeled while we dove one day.  I was afraid it was too crowded but she went in the afternoon and said she saw more fish there than at Dzul-Ha and off the El Presidente.  It does cost to get in, Dzul-Ha is free and lots of fun.
My wife also took Spanish classes each day with the Instituto del Caribe on Avenida Benito Juarez.  They have a web site, just do a search for their name.  Great people, good teachers, reasonable rates and she really improved her conversational Spanish.  Highly recommended.
Hope this all helps and have many great trips to Mexico.

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