Cozumel Trip report. Very Long.

[diverg]

I just returned from a week long vacation to Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, and thought I would give you a trip report. I was part of a group of 20 people of which most were from the Ft. Lauderdale area. I was the only Texan in the group and I think there were two others not from Florida on the trip.

I am very fortunate in that I have direct flights into Cozumel from Houston, and do not have to do a the bag drag from Cancun to Playa Del Carmen to Cozumel. My flights usually cost the same amount whether I fly into Cancun or Cozumel so it is a no brainer for me. The rest of the group flew into Cancun and arranged transportation from the airport to Playa del Carmen, and then caught the ferry over to Cozumel.

We stayed in the Villablanca Hotel which was really conveniently located right next door to Scuba Mau the dive shop that we used on this trip. I stayed at the Villablanca last year and used Scuba Mau as my dive operator and had a blast. The Villablanca is not a fancy hotel, but it is what I look for in an hotel. It is resonably priced with very large rooms. If booked as a Scuba Mau dive/hotel package it can be done for $505/pp double occupancy. It is not an all inclusive, and there isn't a great big beach. Across the street there is a small beach bar and a small restraunt that has a great view. Shore diving from is nice from this location.

My diving did not go as planned. The plan was that I was going to do 3 boat dives a day plus at least one night dive. First dive of the trip was nice. I had no problems, and it was great to be diving in the ocean again. Water was a few degrees warmer then the same time last year, and I did not get cold at all. It was on the second dive of the day that I started to encounter problems with my ears. About 23 to 30 minutes into the 2nd dive I started have severe pain in my ear. I was having problems equalizing, and it stunk. I decided at the end of this dive I would not do a third dive and hope things were better the next day. So on day two I am taking sudafed, ibuprofen etc hoping to not have any problems. On these two dives i did not have any pain in my ear, but it still did not seem right either. When I would go to equalize my ears by holding my nose and gently blowing there was a constant gushing sound of air coming out of my ear. At that point I decided not to do more then 2 dives a day, and I probably should have stopped diving at that point. Day three of diving the first dive is at Punta Sur and specifically the Devils Throat. This is a deep dive with swim throughs that takes you to 120 ft. I had absolutely no problems whats so ever with my ears on this dive, and I started to think just maybe things were good now. Well I was wrong. On the second dive, I had trouble and pain in the ears again. Not as bad as day one, but not right either. At that point I decided to call my diving for the trip. It was not the kind of birthday gift I wanted to give myself on my birthday, but it was the right thing to do. My group still continued to dive and have a great time. I made the best of my free time by reading and resting.

One reason I choose not to do an all inclusive in Cozumel is because I like to go out and eat at many of the great restaurants on the island. It is so hard to hit all of them because on my many previous trips to Cozumel I have found favorites that I like to go back to. On this trip the places I went to were

Especias- This is an excellent place to eat. The host/owner Adrian is well known on the island. He is a man of many talents, and is an excellent host. The food is great and is a mix of Argentina/Yucatan Mexican. He offered my group a free shot of some liquer that was excellent but I do not remember the name of.

Casa Denis- Is a old family owned restaurant. Matter of fact it is owned by Adrians family, and many times he is there on Sundays helping out. His place, Especias, is closed on Sundays.

El Pique- is a taco place way back in the city. Not many tourist will ever go that far back, and that is ok to me. Great prices and great food.

Guidos, is an excellent Italian restaurant that serves anything from brick oven pizzas to lasagna etc. We eatt here on my birthday, and I got a free slice of ice cream cake that was doused with an orange liquer that was lit on fire. OMG it was yummy!!

Now for breakfast we had arranged to have an American breakfast from the hotel restaurant everyday. The manager of this place informed us on the day of arrival that this usually consisted of eggs, toast, bacon and juice everyday, but that he would vary it up for or group. We would let him know what we wanted the day before and he would have it for us the next day. Fruit plates, eggs, pancakes, cerals mexican sweet bread were all on the menu, and it only cost us $5 per day. This place on Sundays has an all you can eat Mexican bbq for $14. There was grilled meat, chicken wings, etc. It was pretty darn good.

Our final day in Cozumel was awesome. I have a very good relationship with Scuba Mau and its staff. From the start of planning this trip, I had been telling the owner I wanted to have a bday party while I was down there. Well we got it all arranged, and I decided to do it not on my bday, but on our last day of the trip. Several of the divemasters did all the cooking using the hotel restaurant facilities. I arranged to have a Tres Leches cake, and entertainment was a fire and drum show. It was great way to end the Cozumel portion of the trip.

On Friday we left Cozumel to go to Isla Mujeres. This required an early wake up call and catching the ferry to Playa del Carmen and van ride to Cancun. Then another ferry ride to Isla Mujeres. It was a long day, and I was beat from the night before. Once we checked into the Hotel Posada del Mar, I rested for the rest of the day since we were going to snorkel with the whale sharks.

On Saturday morning, we meet up with Delfin Diving to go on our whale shark snorkel, and let me tell you it was an adventure. We left the docks at 9 AM, and once we got out of the protection of the island we were in 5-8 ft seas in 30 ft boats. Surprisingly the boat I was on handle the seas pretty good, but it took a long time to find the whale sharks. What usually happens is that all the whale shark snorkel boats from the different companies spread out. Once one boat finds them they radio it in, and everyone else converges on the spot. Well on this day, the whale sharks were not spotted until 1:30 - 2:00 ish, and then it took us over an hour to get to the spot. Once we got there, it was like the mother lode was hit. There were whale sharks all over the place. You would have a group of people in the water and at times you would have 3 or 4 whales sharks right on top of you. Despite the very long day, it was worth it.


Overall this was a great trip despite my diving setbacks. Scuba Mau has to be one of the most friendly dive shops in Cozumel. They go out of there way to make you feel like family, and that is how I feel about this group. The Villblanca Hotel meets my needs for a hotel. I am nopt a big beach person so having a great big beach is not important to me. I do not need an all inclusive in Cozumel because I like to eat at the local restauraunts, and am not a big drinker. The all inclusive resorts with nice beaches are way down south and it will cost you $20 one way for a cab ride to town from the all inclusive resorts in the south. One day maybe I'll try out an all inclusive closer to town.

I know this is a very long report and hopefully those of you that stuck with it and read it all enjoyed it.

PS: If you are on facebook add me as a friend, and mention you are with Chum. Here is a link to the pictures of the fiesta on our last day in Cozumel.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/...&id=1347415105

[Sprout]

Thanks for the report! I leave for Cozumel and Playa in the morning. Woohoo! Will have to try some of your restaurant recommendations!

[ReefHound]

Great report. I'll be staying at Villa Blanca and diving with Scuba Mau the next few days, leaving in the morning.

Sounds like it was a good trip, got in 6 dives, and a nice place to spend some R&R time. No mention of the leg so hopefully it has healed up?

[diverg]

Originally Posted by Sprout

Thanks for the report! I leave for Cozumel and Playa in the morning. Woohoo! Will have to try some of your restaurant recommendations!

Definitely go to Especias. Thursday thru Saturday they have live music, and it is just one person. More for ambiance. We were sitting within 15 ft of him and could still easily have a conversation. Casa Denis also gave our group a free house margarita. Not that large, but free is free.

[diverg]

Originally Posted by ReefHound

Great report. I'll be staying at Villa Blanca and diving with Scuba Mau the next few days, leaving in the morning.

Sounds like it was a good trip, got in 6 dives, and a nice place to spend some R&R time. No mention of the leg so hopefully it has healed up?

Todd tell Opal, monkey, Gabi and the crew hi for me.

[demoman]

Originally Posted by diverg

Todd tell Opal, monkey, Gabi and the crew hi for me.

good report. i will be diving with scuba mau in early august. i also think they are a great dive operation. i will tell opal hello.

[scubagirl]

Demo....Reefy!!! Hell I wouldn't gone with ya'll! Have a great time!!

[rakpix]

reef-y?

[Cold_H2O]

Originally Posted by rakpix

reef-y?

Stick around us long enough and you too will have a nic name.

[Sushi Boy]

Great report, sorry I missed you on Isla Mujeres. What time did you leave the hotel? I got there about 1:00. Hope the ear heals quickly & you don't have any long-term effects.

Now somebody turn off the spigot down here..