Travelers Info
Air Travelers
Cruise Passengers

Cozumel Island
About Cozumel
Holidays & Events
Getting There
Cancun to Cozumel
Weather
Exchange Rates

Accommodations
Hotels
Vacation Properties
Bed & Breakfast
Rentals Online
Dive/Hotel Packages

Water Activities
Scuba Diving
Scuba Dive Shops
Snorkeling
Deep Sea Fishing
Reefs
Beaches
Marine Park Rules

Adventure Tours
All Adventure Tours
Jungle Jeep Tours
Horseback Tours
Snorkel Tours
Scuba Diving Tours
Deep Sea Fishing
Jungle Bike Tours
Jungle Trek Tours
Tarzan Tours

Tours/Sight Seeing
Special Attractions
Tours/Excursions
Island Tours
Day Excursions  

Island Guides
Beaches
Nightlife
Restaurants
Shopping
Food

Mayan Ruins
Chichen Itza
Tulum
Coba

Ecological Parks
Chankanaab
Crococun Crocodile Park
Tres Rios
Xcaret
Xel-Ha
Cenotes
Xpu-Ha
Sian Ka'an Biosphere
Punta Laguna
Garrafon

More Services
Specialty Services
Car/Vehicle Rentals
Getting Married
Real Estate
Travel Agencies
Tour Operators
Emergency Info
Great Links

Travel Essentials
Travel Tips
Packing List
Taxi Fares
Ferry Schedule
Spanish Lessons
Photo Gallery
Consulates

About Travelnotes
Contact Us

Rentals

Online Hotels

Discount Car Rentals

Adventure Tours

Scuba Tours

Cozumel Trip Report
Submit a Trip Report

Posted by Tut on 03/11/03

working on trip report and pics, 1st up  +

this could take a while, Lol!!

.....what a great life, up early, breakfast at "Co-Co's" off to dive and then to "Mr. Sancho's" for some beach time and R&R........


on Wednesday, I stopped in at the "Hogs Café" to pay for Fridays BBQ and ran into Doug and Corki, they sure were looking Tan, Doug was just about done with his Instructors course and Corki had finished book # 20 something. We agreed to meet on Friday at BBQ and off we went.
Friday, John took the VW to pickup Ann and he dropped us off at "Mr Sancho's" back at 3PM, John picked us up and on the way back to the Hotel, as we turned a corner there he was, on his bike, looking good, the "Chas" I yelled, he looked up waved like, who the hell are you, and then he was gone, just as quick as he showed up, next time my man, we will???. Back at the Hotel, there she was, "SOL" girl #2...

..Bill, Deb & I got ready for the BBQ and off we went, and it was great, although we had to cut out early, the story is that 15 gallons of Margarita's were consumed that night, couldn't tell ya for sure, but I know they were mity good....

L to R; Bill, Mark, Barb,(friends of mine from home) Gregg, Terri,(SOL girl #3) Jean, Deb and me.  I did get to meet some people I chatted over the past few years, OkieMike, & Dave H. sorry you guys we had to run, but next time, I promise, the "SOL" is on me, I owe you both a bunch and it was great putting a face on a name, of course, me being much younger than the two of you, I may not be able to keep up with ya al!  Lol!!!

Sat. it was time for Ann to get her "Open Water Cert." so off to "Paradise Shallows" for her shore dive;

L to R seating, Ann, Alison, (Instructor, DM) can't remember, Da! On the sand, Jean, Deb & Gregg.

..well it's time to suit up and see how she does...


... and she is a born natural, the girl takes to diving like she'd been doing this for years,


...that a Girl Ann, CONGRATULATIONS!!!


...well this was a full day, tomorrow, it's off for Ann "Boat dive".

Oh! While I was waiting for Ann to get her final instruction from Alison, I happen up on this strange little thing along the shore, I asked one of the locals and they said it was a "Coconut Seal", one never knows what one mite see in OZ!!


more next time!!

...We all got up early on Sunday and had a great breakfast at "Co_Co's" then off to the Caltea to meet up with "Alison" at 8AM.
Off we go and we were all waiting for Ann to enter the water to see what her reaction would be and wouldn't you know it, the first thing she says, there's a Ray right below us, so down we go.

....to see the Ray as it guides across the bottom, I think Ann has the hang of this boat diving thing, she doesn't say, oh shoot or oh wow, no!...this Girl says there's a Ray, and this on her first boat dive.
Well it's off to the deep blue, and we see lots of great sights,

and...

and one more, this one I really liked...

then we got to see lots of these guys


after the dives, we headed back to Las Anclas and a much needed rest, a great day and a great dive.  Ann, she did great, I'd take you diving any time, cause this girl can fine more stuff than most season divers. Thanks for sharing your dives with me.

...next time "Carnival" and a bunch of us get together. Achu and Allan are in town, we have a large table at the "Havana Club" and the party is ready to start......

...Tuesday night seem to come way to fast, here we are into the second week.  Gregg and Jean reserved a big table for 12+ at the "Havana Club" so a bunch of us could watch the Carnival and what a great place to do just that..

L to R, John, Bill, ?, Sally, Allan, Alison & Dave (Wet Caver).
..it seemed that the parade was not as long as years past but it was still a great event. I love the way all the people come out and participate and the costumes are something else..


this guy danced I know for 2+ hours with this thing on his back and then there was float after float and everyone was having the time of their life.


....and not all the fun was out on the street, a few of us were able to set down and enjoy each others company and eat some mitty good food to boot.

..clock wise starting with the back of Bills head, Deb, Achu, Alison, Allan & Ann.

It was a great time, couldn't get everyone together for a photo, but I think I counted at one over 15, what a hoot!  This makes my 3rd Carnival and each one just keeps getting better. Thanks Gregg & Jean for lining up the Havana Club, what a neat place to see all the action.

...next, a bunch of us buy day passes to Allegro and take the "Big Blue Boat" to dive from, another great time.

...I was lucky enough to get in 2 night dives while on this trip.  The first one was a real ride, the currant at Paradise Shallows was kicking butt. We jump in just off the Caleta in about 30ft of water, and away we go. My bottom time was +/- 40 minutes when we had to come up because we had moved north even with the International pier about 100 yards off the ships nose and Alison wanted us to get out of the water and not get any closer, which seemed like a good idea to me. It was another new experience for this old diver and I enjoyed it Mucho.  We were able to see a lot of different critters but not good for Pics because we were hauling tail. I was able to get a few on this dive;


...this was one of the biggest Crabs I'd ever seen..

..and then this little guy, hanging under some Corel out of the currant.



....a few nights later, I was able to go out again with Alison and this time there was a very slow currant and was able to take our time and do a lot more looking around, saw some neat sights and was able to stay down for nearly an hour.



..this guy had to be 4ft long and he didn't like me hanging around his home.

..and this guy or girl changed colors 3 times for me, from red, to dark green to this awesome blue.



...again, one of the bigger Octo's I've ever seen...

All in all, I love the night dives, you see so much more and you never know what's over the next corral head.

Next, we have to say goodbye to Ann, some of us go to the forgotten beach and vacation Coz 2003 is coming to an end.

..Friday came and it was time to say goodbye to Ann, it was great being part of her first dives in Coz and all the fun she brought to the party, it was hard to say goodbye and knowing we would be next.
Sat. 6 of us piled into my VW, yes Martha, you can get 6 people in a VW, and off to Puna Sur, Deb and I found this very private beach on our trip to the east side earlier in the week, for fun in the sun.


...this beach runs for 2 miles back in a bay with no one around, truly paradise!

We got to Puna Sur just as they opened, +/- 9AM. We took the first ride to the light house and then another bus to the beach area, got to the beach about 9:45 and we had the whole place to ourselves for most of the day,



...only twice did anyone else show up and they were only there for about an hour each, most people come down there to ride the pontoon on the lake to see the birds, then leave.  There is a large shelter on the beach and porta pots with flush toilets and one attendant that brought in with us, on the first bus, a large cooler with pop and "SOL" for $2 each. He also had umbrellas that he brought out, dug a hole for them and placed them where ever you wanted.   We packed in a picnic lunch with fresh fruit, cheese, cold cuts and crackers, some of us walked the beach, I snorkeled, there is a great reef just 150 yards off the beach, +/- 5 to 8ft deep, the rest just laid in the sun and just enjoyed the quite with the only sound being the waves coming in. 6 people and 2 miles of unspoiled beach, life is good.  It was a great day, and I just hope this little part of Oz remains just as it is.  Can't believe we hadn't found this little jewel sooner or that others haven't spoke of it in their post.

Next, the end, a great dinner and breakfast and goodbyes.

..The last night most of us would be together, so we all headed off to "Sonora Grill" for dinner, yes, I had their great "Garlic Shrimp", in fact, most had the same. As always, it was a great meal and "Victor and Antanio" made our visit very pleasant, as usual.


..L to R, Gregg, Jean, John, Sally, Allan, Bill, Me, Deb and Angela.

After a long visit, it was time to say goodbye to some and off to one more walk around the square before heading back to the hotel to pack, Lol!

Sunday morning, some of the group showed up at Co-Co's for the final goodbye breakfast, Allan was headed home, Alison and Amanda had to get to Alison boat for dives and the rest of us where just going to hang around and do some last minute shopping

...L to R Angela, Amanda, Bill, Jean, Gregg, Allan, John, Alison and Debs back.

This part of the trip is always the hardest for me, knowing you're out of dive time, you got to give the VW back and that tomorrow you have to go back to reality. Oh well, I just pray there will be a next time and I can start thinking and counting down the time, this will make the 7th time I've done just that.

Last thoughts
First of all, I want to Thank Alison for some great diving and her patients with us lag behind divers who want to hang in one spot to get a photo, you're a saint girl.  Then there is Pedro and Eyal at "Villas Las Anclas", they truly have a diamond in the rough, another great fine.
Cozumel is changing, that is true but what isn't. Each and every time I go I see something that isn't the same as the trip before and some things that are just the way they were on my 1st trip 8 years ago. Then there are those things that I haven't discovered yet, like this trip and the private beach at Puna Sur, what a great fine. One thing that really draws me back, other than the diving, the beach and Sun, is the People, the People of Cozumel I think, is what really calls me back each and every year.
Thank you Sally, Alison, Victor, Antanio, Chucho and Carlos, you are some of the very special people of Cozumel and yes, there are so many others,THANK YOU ALL!!! 

Trip Reports

back to top