We stayed at three different locations on Cozumel this trip.
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| Along Avenida Rafael e Melgar |
This post contains a small portion of the photos (and a couple of videos) of our time here. If you prefer to skip over the text in this post and only view all photos, click here.
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We spent our first 8 nights at IBEROSTAR COZUMEL
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| The reef Dalila is directly in front of the resort. |
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I dove exclusively with SCUBA Tony while here. I cannot recommend them highly enough!
All but the day 1 dives were with viejos amigos DM Miguel and Captain Conejo whom I first met about 10 years ago at Dive Paradise; the dive operator that works out of Hotel Cozumel & Resort. SCUBA Tony runs a valet dive service ... amenities include: maximum 6 divers, I'm diving nitrox 32% this trip, they aim for 1 hour+ bottom times, BCD & fins off before re-entering post dive, gear is cleaned after each dive and set up for the next day, water & snacks on-board. Completed the scheduled 5 / 2-tank days; no El Norte's.
All dives were in Chankanaab, a Mexican National Marine Park. One day, the Policia Marina pulled up to our boat and asked to see our park wristband passes, all wrists in the air, a cell phone photo of us, then we were allowed to pass ... first time this has happened! Also Policia helicopter surveillance; good to know they are checking.
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| Divemaster Miguel 'Chicken' (l bottom) Captain Conejo 'Rabbit' (l top) |
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| DM Miguel points at a fireworm that has attached itself to the branch coral |
ALL underwater photos were taken with a GoPro Hero 11 Black camera. They cover the 10 dives listed above with SCUBA Tony and the 16 I completed with Dive Paradise that are documented later in this post. If edited using the Dive+ app, subsequent photos will be tagged with a Dive+ watermark.
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Kirk & Cheryl |
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4' Black Grouper (center) |
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Divers navigate the currents around a coral wall.  They use their wings and snout to stir up the sand and cover themselves. There are also 2 Permit Fish (circling the ray for fish nibbles) in this photo but the sand is being stirred up so violently that it's difficult to see them.  |
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| Blue Tang |
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Leafy Coral
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| Lobster |
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| A crab walks along carrying it's tiny home |
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| Green Sea Turtle |
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2 nights at the EXPLORIAN FIESTA AMERICANA
We intended on relaxing and refreshing while here; that's exactly what we did!
Our final, 18 nights were spent at HOTEL COZUMEL & RESORT
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When we were here, the volunteer organization DIVEHEART was on site with a very large group of divers with various physical challenges. Staff from DIVEHEART are PADI certified to deal with all the challenges these disabled divers face and provide 1:1 or 2:1 (Instructor/Buddy to Diver) assistance. The video and photos that follow highlight a diver by the name of Bob. He had a long career as an able-bodied diver and then had a spinal injury. His sister, became PADI certified in order to accompany him as support on these dive excursions.
Simply an amazing group of people!
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| Into the water |
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| BCD on |
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| Mask on |
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| Fins on |
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| Gear and breathing check |
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| Heading out on a check/shore dive. Soon after this photo was taken Bob descended (2:1) with his dive buddy and an instructor.  Boat dive next morning. Wheelchair divers are loaded, while in their chairs and backwards, down from the wharf and onto the boat ... it often takes 6 support people to accomplish this task safely.  |
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DIVES 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟
SITES La Francesa (63' max), Palancar Bricks #2 (74'), Cedral Wall/Pass #4 (65'), Palancar Little Horseshoe (83'), Cedral Wall/Pass #5 (69'), Hotel Cozumel & Resort shore/check dive (22'), Tormentos (59'), Villa Blanca (57'), Santa Rosa Wall (78'), Yucab (55'), Punta Tunich (68'), Paradise Reef (42'), Palancar Caves (86'), Cedral Pass #6 (55'), Palancar Gardens (80), Cedral Pass/Wall #6 (61)
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The remainder of my diving this trip was with Dive Paradise. Been diving with them since 2013; a great operation with certainly many of the best support shore staff and administration, instructors, divemaster's and boat captains on the island.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to dive with Instructor/Divemaster Omar (one of DP's best!) this trip; but I was treated to a BIG Mexican underwater bearhug soon after this photo was taken. Dive Paradise requires a minimum of 4 divers for a fast (express) boat and I was the only diver registered that day, so unfortunately I had no choice but to move to Renegado. I haven't been on one of these big boats in several years. It got crowded down there! On Board: 2 DM's with 7 divers each, 1 Instructor with 1 student, plus a Captain and 1 deck hand. I'm used to the small boats with 1 DM and a max of 6 divers or the fast boats with 1 DM and 5-8 divers. With this configuration, the dynamic of the underwater dive environment changes dramatically; not as intimate or as relaxing with large groups in the water. |
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| Looking UP on the descent DOWN |
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There were 3 nurse sharks resting in the coral chambers here. This fellow was the largest at 7-8 feet ... you're only seeing the back dorsal in this photo. |
 Green Moray Eel (5'); out in the wild and hunting. |
 Divers OUT  |
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| At Palancar Bricks This is the site of a shipwreck that is only identified now, by a scattering of bricks that were likely used as cargo/ballast. The shipwreck dates to somewhere after 1870 based on some coins that were salvaged many years ago. There were at least three anchors also; I've seen one of them. One was removed in 1967 and went to Chancanab. |
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| Four 3-4' Black-Tipped Reef Sharks Murky water at the edge of Cedral Wall, 40 feet distant. I was told that divers initially began seeing a group of 6 juveniles, then just 4 and recently 1. As they mature; they will often split from the group, move to deeper water and stay mostly solo. |
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| Queen Angelfish |
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| Not a great photo. 'Charlie', is an often seen resident Loggerhead Turtle easily identified by a large boat propeller scar on his shell. He's massive and old, with a huge head, neck and shell. He can be spotted searching for the tastiest sponges. Loggerhead turtles, like all sea turtles, are marine reptiles and must come to the surface to breathe air periodically. Given his size I would suspect he won the turtle vs propeller encounter. The loggerhead sea turtle ranges in size from 2.4 to 3.5 feet (74–107.5 centimeters) and can weigh between 155 to 412 pounds (70.2–186.8 kilograms) |
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| Yellow-tailed Damselfish |
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| Yellow Stingray |
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| Burrfish (aka. Balloonfish) |
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| Trumpetfish |
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| Symbiotic relationship? ... Barrel coral and conch |
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| End of Dive Divers gather for the 3 minute safety stop at 15'; a good test of a divers' neutral buoyancy control. Ideally, divers would release any air from their BCD during this initial ascent and use controlled breathing to remain mostly motionless and static at 15'. Once the 3 minute stop is completed; a diver then allows themselves to rise slowly to the surface by inhaling. At the surface, a diver squeezes a couple of 'puffs' of air into their BCD (using the inflator hose) in order to float face up until the boat arrives for pickup. ___________________________________________ Next day ... on board the 'really, REALLY fast' fastboat Cascabel, flaunting twin 150 hp Mercury outboard motors. I swear we were at Palancar Reef in 20 minutes! With: DM Lillian and Captain 'Why Me?' Goyo Reefs: Palancar Caves & Cedral Pass |
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| Mark Dann Cris Audra Andy |
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| Lobster |
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| Peacock Flounder |
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| Spotted Eel and Blue Tang |
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| White-spotted Filefish |
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| Rock Beauty |
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| French Grunt |
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An 'under-weighted' diver struggles to descend. |
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| Staying low where the current is milder; dive buddy Andy crosses a grassy plain at Cedral Pass |
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| French Angelfish |
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| See ya on the bottom ... |
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... follow along, if you like.
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