The Shark Tank pirate flag posted at Blue Angel ... Official sign Cozumel Radio is in town!
Day One: Thursday, April 30:
I had fallen and at the very lest cracked a rib just 2 weeks before this trip, and was debating as late as the night before the trip as to whether I could make it or not.The morning of the trip, I felt pretty good and only had some minor issues with it throughout the trip. By the end of most days, I was feeling it, but other than the occasional tweeking it while holding on to the line along the side of dive boat or climbing up the ladder into the boat, it was not a major issue at all.
AA Flight 1256, the daily flight from D/FW to Cozumel left on time and with fairly smooth flight, we arrived almost 20 minutes early at Cozumel International.
Air Margaritaville at Cozumel International Airport ...
We made it through customs in nearly record time, got the green light at the baggage check, purchased transfers at the taxi window and we we're whisked off to the Blue Angel Resort (Casa Sharky)
I've made a survey of the cruise ships in town on a daily basis for many years. Today, there were 3 ships at the International and Mayan piers and a Disney ship at the downtown pier.
Blue Angel Resort (Casa Sharky!)
I've made a survey of the cruise ships in town on a daily basis for many years. Today, there were 3 ships at the International and Mayan piers and a Disney ship at the downtown pier.
Ester dropped off the car from Less Pay at 4:30 and we headed up to Mega for some supplies.
Both of us were up very late the night before, so we had dinner at the Blue Angel restaurant. We split an excellent spinach salad, Shrimp Alfredo for her, perfectly cooked pasta in a very good Alfredo sauce. I had the chicken fajitas which were also very good.
Day Two: Friday, May 1:
Mexican Labor Day, banks and some businesses closed.
2 ships at the I.P/Maya and 1 downtown.
2 ships at the I.P/Maya and 1 downtown.
We slepted in a little. Checked in with the dive shop & sent my rig over to Javier at Cozumel Scuba Repair to get serviced.
I have had my rig serviced twice over the past 2 years by dive shops back home who farm out the work to an individual. 2 different dive shops use the same guy, and I have suspected he did not do the work either time.
Coz Scuba Repair, picked up the rig at the Blue Angel, did the maintenance on the regulator, replaced the broken pressure gauge and returned it back to Blue Angel by Tuesday, even with the holiday and weekend. AND it only cost $160, including labor, parts & the gauge, $60 of was the gauge! ... pretty sure we're just going to use them from now on.
I have had my rig serviced twice over the past 2 years by dive shops back home who farm out the work to an individual. 2 different dive shops use the same guy, and I have suspected he did not do the work either time.
Coz Scuba Repair, picked up the rig at the Blue Angel, did the maintenance on the regulator, replaced the broken pressure gauge and returned it back to Blue Angel by Tuesday, even with the holiday and weekend. AND it only cost $160, including labor, parts & the gauge, $60 of was the gauge! ... pretty sure we're just going to use them from now on.
We love this place and have been coming here for almost as long as we have been coming to the island.
Mexican eggs for me, what we call Migas at home. Scrambled eggs with onion, peppers, tomato, & the Iron Man for her, scrambled egg whites spinach with panchego cheese. Coffee & mixed juice (orange & carrot) to drink.
the view from the Museum restaurant
the 2nd story restaurant at the Museo de la Isla de Cozumel
After eating, we stopped and bought a table cloth from the guy who sells his family's products just outside the Museum. He has been there for years. The table cloth is weaved "lace" with a Maya motif on it.
the table cloth on our dining room table at home ...
Mayan hieroglyphs on the table cloth ...
Then we set out to circumnavigate the island for the first time of this trip.
Heading south, we jumped off the main highway at the Caleta and took the beach road. Fiesta Americana has reopened as a new all-inclusive resort after a major renovation. It looks odd painted in turquoise and white, rather than the bright orange it had been for so many years.
Playa Corona is still hanging in there. It holds a special place in our hearts. It was the first "day beach" we spent the day at almost 20 years ago now.
We stayed on the old road all the way down to Punta Sur, stopping to pay homage to "Tree", the giant Ceiba tree just a mile or so north of Punta Sur & the Rasta Bar.
Heading south, we jumped off the main highway at the Caleta and took the beach road. Fiesta Americana has reopened as a new all-inclusive resort after a major renovation. It looks odd painted in turquoise and white, rather than the bright orange it had been for so many years.
Playa Corona is still hanging in there. It holds a special place in our hearts. It was the first "day beach" we spent the day at almost 20 years ago now.
We stayed on the old road all the way down to Punta Sur, stopping to pay homage to "Tree", the giant Ceiba tree just a mile or so north of Punta Sur & the Rasta Bar.
They have blocked the old road once you get past Rastas, so you have to stay on the highway now, which kind of stinks, we like to just cruise along the old road at 5-10 mph, just enjoying the view and counting turtle nest stakes.
Because of the "norte" and prevailing northerly winds, it was probably the calmest I've ever seen the wild side. The waves are usually constantly pounding the shore over there because the prevailing winds are usually coming off the Caribbean Sea from the east, making this a great place to spend the day on a hot, humid day. The Caribbean breeze is like natural air conditioning.
For dinner we headed up to see our pals Angie and Matt at 'Ohana Café & Bar.
It's not only one of our favorite places to eat and hit of a nightcap, but also two of our favorite people on the island, which extends to their family. Angie's father owns Rasta's/The Freedom Bar/Bob Marley's, whichever you prefer.
It's not only one of our favorite places to eat and hit of a nightcap, but also two of our favorite people on the island, which extends to their family. Angie's father owns Rasta's/The Freedom Bar/Bob Marley's, whichever you prefer.
'OHANA CAFE 5th Ave. N.
Rasta Dude...
The Mrs. had the lobster rolls. PERFECTLY cooked lobster tails, stuffed with cheese & wrapped with bacon...what more could you ask for/
I had the traditional grilled fish, garlic butter style, both dishes served with excellent buttered veggies and rice.
We retired to the bar and hung out with Matt for a while before heading back to the casa.
Day Three, Saturday, May 2:
2 Carnivals at the I.P./Maya piers
Did we mention this is a dive trip?
We opted to dive the new 10 o'clock option this morning. Pretty good choice, it was just the 2 of us and a guy named Mike from San Francisco. My buddy Tony Vilet as DM on board the BAII.
First stop: We dropped down between Yucab and Tormentos and let the current dictate which dive we would do.
The southward moving current took us over Yucab. The currents were a little crazy. In fact the weather has been a little crazy. Unseasonably hot the previous 2 weeks, a Norte just before we arrived & now, unseasonably cool weather the past couple days.
Today was exceptional. Almost no humidity, in the upper 70's most of the day, breeze constantly blowing from the north.
Today was exceptional. Almost no humidity, in the upper 70's most of the day, breeze constantly blowing from the north.
Big Barrel sponge
Conch shell laying egg
Spiny lobster
Big Green moray eel
Even with the northerly winds, the seas were very calm today and visibility was exceptional.
We saw 2 Bearded Splendid Toadfish, lots of snapper on this dive. Tony found some nudibrachs, Tons of lobster everywhere. Some grouper, and the usual suspects of damsels, blue chromis and wrasse all about.
After an SI on the boat, we dropped down the C-53. The last time, and only time, I've done this dive was about 2 months after they sunk the ship, so i was interested to see how much growth as happened since then.
Tony leads the way ...
Sponge growth on the bow
I started to follow Tony into the ship, but couldn't 'feel' or hear my buddy behind me, so i exited and sure enough, Lore was having equipment issues. Her BC infiltrator wasn't connected & she was having weight belt issues.
We got her inflator hooked up, straightened up her belt, and made our way to the bow of the boat to wait for Tony & Mike.
We got her inflator hooked up, straightened up her belt, and made our way to the bow of the boat to wait for Tony & Mike.
After the guys came out of the ship, we all then moved off over the sand flats to Chancanaab Shallows. We didn't anything significant, except we found a cleaning station with at least 2 cleaning shrimp, an arrow crab & a banded coral shrimp all under a lip of a large barrel sponge.
Lore explores the reef ...
Garden eels
2 Cleaner Shrimp at a Cleaning Station...
After rinsing the equipment, we headed to the room to look at the daily photos... I hook up my camera to the TV and we look at the "daily's" to see how I did that day, nothing special today, having some focus setting issues, but the first day is always an "adjustment" day if you will.
Then we walked u the street to La Hatch, just south of the hotel across from Villa Blanca, for a late lunch. Shrimp ceviche for her, and tacos El Pastor for me. I LOVE taco El Pastor and this place does them very well.
View from La Hatch... out to sea ...
... towards the South
... to the North
Some more chill time at the hotel, waiting for the big Mayweather/Pacquiao fight, we headed up to Mega and picked up a couple pieces of pizza for dinner.
The fight was on delay, and we fell asleep way before it ended.
The fight was on delay, and we fell asleep way before it ended.
Day Four: Sunday, May 3:
1 ship downtown? ... unusual for Sunday. There are usually not ships on Sunday.
So the dive thing is having a hard time gaining traction. I didn't sleep at all Saturday night, usual insomnia, and wasn't feeling so great in the morning, so we canceled diving for the day.
I finally fell to sleep and slept most the morning while Lore got in some pool time.
We had lunch at Blue Angel, Lore had the shrimp crevice, saying she could eat this every day. I replied, I think you have.
I had the grilled chicken sandwich, with fries.
Then we jumped in the jeep to drive around a bit, ended up going around the island again, this time the old road was open from Rasta's on, probably because it is Sunday so the locals could use it to get to the beach, and usually there are no cruise ships on Sunday, except today one was at the downtown pier, so there is less traffic around the island in general.
Rasta's Freedom in Paradise Bar
maybe could have dropped the 's' and added the 'n'?
Then we headed down to the 100 year old town of Cedral for the Fiera de Cedral. An annual event held this time of year.
It usually takes about 10-15 minutes to drive from the highway to the town of Cedral. Today, it took over an hour and half with so many people headed down to see the bull fights and activities around the celebration.
Arch to Cedral
folk dancing at the Cedral Festival
inside the church at Cedral
our friend Angie's grandfather's boat ... Cozumel history!
Our friends Matt (Mateo at BA) & his wife Angie, the owner of 'Ohana Bar, were staying at a friends house and invited us by. A lovely little house with a pool and fenced/walled yard. I would love to live in this town if we ever moved to the island.
After the traffic slow down, we arrived and met our friends. After a little while we walking up town to see the festivities. Angie and Matt's daughter was the juvenile queen of the Carnival and she was dressed in a traditional white embroidered dress with her crown.
An amazing amount of people show up for this thing! The bull fight was just getting over when we got downtown, but the dancing was in full swing.
Getting out of Cedral was much faster and we stopped at Mega for some supplies before heading home.
Day Five: Monday, May 4:
2 ships at the I.P./Maya piers.The Mega pizza didn't sit very well, so I wasn't up for the morning dive. Slept in a little and hung out at the pool most of the day.
With a quick lunch break at Rock'n Java. I had one of the dishes I get there a lot, grilled chicken on rice with mango/kiwi salsa, served with soy sauce...yummy.
Lore had an excellent spinach and mushroom quesodilla. just right.
R'n J grilled 'Teriyaki' chicken with rice and mango/kiwi salsa
Spinach & mushroom quesadillas
Then it was time for one of the highlights of all my trips to the island... massage time with Barefoot Sally!
If you have never experienced an Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage, do yourself a favor and schedule one at http://www.barefootincozumel.com/ for your next trip.
It rained to the south of the island most of the afternoon, but stayed nice an dry near town and at the hotel.
Rule #1 of island life, if it's raining where you are at, move to the other side or end of the island. Most likely it's not raining there.
Driving along the Milgar ...
cruising through town ...
Sunset at the marina up North ...
Dinner at a Cozumel classic, Casa Denis.
Casa Denis is one of the oldest restaurants on the island and a 'must do' for most that are regulars here.
Garlic octopus for her chicken mole enchiladas for me, mango margaritas all around.
Day 6: Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) -
2 ships at I.P./Maya piers
Morning dive with DM Pedro & Chango (Alberto) on the trusty Chiquimax.
First stop Palancar Gardens.
With the Norte out of the way, the winds and currents have returned to normal, speed, although we were still headed to the south. A nice easy drift along the beautiful, coral and sponge covered 'island side' of the reef wall.
Several very large lobsters, A big King Crab, TONS of Midnight Parrot fish, and Gray & French Angels, with the occasional Queen popping out of an overhang.
With the Norte out of the way, the winds and currents have returned to normal, speed, although we were still headed to the south. A nice easy drift along the beautiful, coral and sponge covered 'island side' of the reef wall.
Several very large lobsters, A big King Crab, TONS of Midnight Parrot fish, and Gray & French Angels, with the occasional Queen popping out of an overhang.
headed south ...
reef shot
Deep Sea Sea fans
King Crab ...
not sure if it's and algae, or some sort of eggs ...
An S.I. on the boat & we were off to Tunich for the second dive.
Remember how i said currents were back to "normal" ... may have spoken a bit too soon.
The current on Tunich was headed the right direction, but holy mole! What a ride! Absolutely screaming current headed north.
Lore head off as Gray Angel passes by ...
Scrolled filefish
Pair of Gray Angelfish
Yellow Spotted stingray
"tumbleweed" sponge in the heavy current ...
Despite that, the group counted at least 5 nurse sharks, Several Hawksbill turtles, a green & a huge Loggerhead.
After chilling at the pool most the afternoon, we all met for happy hour in the Blue Angel lobby, with carried on late into the night.
Day 7: Wednesday, May 6:
2 ships at I.P./Maya, one arrived at noonish.
Because of the late night, we slept in, had breakfast at Blue Angel and had nice leisurely day around the casa.
Dive boats ready to go!
hammock time!
Blue Angel sunset ...
A good diner was in order, so on the suggestion of Inked pasta and a seafood mix, we headed up to Guido's.
We haven't eaten here in a few years. For no particular reason, we have always liked the place, but with almost 30 restaurants on our "must do" list, we can not make them all, even on a 2 week trip!
Guido's garlic bread, and a wonderful salad for appetizers.
Lore opted for the Inked pasta, with octopus, shrimp & scallops on our friend Keri's suggestion.
I had the pork special. Tender pork tenderloin with a cherry reduction and brie cheese sauce, served with roasted cauliflower, grilled zucchini & mashed potatoes.
Coconut Crème Brule ... yum - meee!
Red wine for drink, Italian coffee & coconut creme brule for dessert.
All of it was excellent!!
Day 8: Thursday, May 7:
2 ships at I.P./Maya
Back on the boat! Morning dive on Chiquimax with Chango & DM J.P. (Juan Pablo).
Santa Rosa for number one.
This reef has been the slowest to recover after hurricane Wilma, 10 years ago. The reef looks better than it has in a very long time. Covered with coral and sponges, Blue Chromis, Damsels, parrots, large snapper (the Mutton Snapper have gotten very large), more lobster and another large King Crab.
This reef has been the slowest to recover after hurricane Wilma, 10 years ago. The reef looks better than it has in a very long time. Covered with coral and sponges, Blue Chromis, Damsels, parrots, large snapper (the Mutton Snapper have gotten very large), more lobster and another large King Crab.
Headed down!
Shy Grunt ...
Pipe horse ...
Spiny Lobster ..
my dive buddy!!
The amazing Cedral Pass for the second dive. This site should be called Turtle Town for a nickname and has become one of my favorite dive sites on the island.
We stopped counting Hawksbills at 10, others saw a green, up to 5 nurse sharks and an Eagle Ray cruised by, well, actually one of the other divers chased it right into my path and I manged to get a couple very nice shots of it.
We stopped counting Hawksbills at 10, others saw a green, up to 5 nurse sharks and an Eagle Ray cruised by, well, actually one of the other divers chased it right into my path and I manged to get a couple very nice shots of it.
Carpet anemones ...
Napping Nurse shark ...
Hawksbill sea turtles ...
Eagle ray ...
Eagle Ray
Lunch at Blue Angel, a very good chicken chimichanga for me and fish sandwich for her.
The theme for this trip is "chill", which we did most of the afternoon. A lot of that on this trip.
I was able to get Mark and Janelle Weisheart from Phoenix Arizona to sit down with me and do a Dive Report for Cozumel Radio. They did an excellent job and it is currently being aired on the station.
I was able to get Mark and Janelle Weisheart from Phoenix Arizona to sit down with me and do a Dive Report for Cozumel Radio. They did an excellent job and it is currently being aired on the station.
For dinner, we headed up to another favorite spot, the Rock'n Java Noodle Bar.
Rock'n Java Noodle Bar at lower level of Mega ...
We ordered beef egg rolls and split a large Cashew Chicken noodle bowl. The egg rolls may have been the best I've ever had, and I've had a lot of them. We got the order of 2, which are very large for egg rolls, stuffed with chopped carrot, jicama and ground beef. Not the cabbage stuffed wantons you get back in the States.
We've had the Cashew Chicken noodle bowl before, and as all the R'n J products, it did not disappoint.
Day9: Friday - May 8:
2 cruise ships @ I.P./Maya
The FINA High Dive World Cup starts today. They have set a large scaffolding structure on the new car ferry pier, just north of Blue Angel. Women will be competing from 20 meters and men from 27 meters through Sunday.
Morning dive with Chango and DM J.P. on Chiquimax ...
How 'bout some bricks? Palancar Bricks that is.
Most of the bricks have been spread out as far south as Columbia Shallows and north through the rest of the Palancar dive sites, Gardens, Caves and Horseshoe.
Bricks never disappoints, it has everything a diver needs on a Cozumel deep dive. Large pinnacles, swim-thrus, ins & outs, all supported by a beautiful coral wall.
Spiny lobster in the sand ...
Orange filefish in "spotted" phase ...
Deep Sea fans ...
Nudibranch in algae ...
it's canyon time!
diver on reef...
For the second dive JP read my mind and we headed to Dalila.
Trusty Chiquimax ...
my dive buddy!
Barracuda
funny looking anemone
fish over reef
Eagle Ray passing by ...
Several large barracuda, a small Hawksbill jetted down from the surface after taking a breath, lobster everywhere and tons and tons of fish everywhere.
My motivation was to get to dive with the local nurse shark some have dubbed "Nurse Jackie" who has obviously been had fed lionfish and is now showing up during people's dives and becoming quite friendly. I just hope she doesn't start becoming aggressive once she realizes that she's not being fed anymore.
It is legal to hunt lionfish in the Marine Park, but it is illegal to cut the fish up and hand feed it to other animals. You are supposed to just spear the lionfish and take it off the spear and leave it to the predators to just find them and eat them on their own.
No Nurse Jackie today, but Hawksbill turtles, lots of lobsters, Tons of schooling fish and several big barracuda met us along the way.
A light lunch at La Hatch ... love me some La Hatch. Shrimp cocktail for her and of course, Tacos el Pastor for me. Mango margarita and Pineapple/banana margaritas respectively, which we shared back and forth.
A little drive around and some chill time and it was time to get ready for one of the best dinner experiences the island has to offer ...
Buccano's is truly special. Located in the northern hotel zone, this former hotel property is now one of Cozumel's best and most beautiful day beaches, and on Friday and Saturday night, becomes the amazing Buccano's at Night.
Buccanos Sunset ...
Our friends and dive buddies from Breckenridge, Colorado, Chris and Keri joined us for the event.
The girls started with a Jalapeno/mint margarita, special app drink. Quite spicy, but very good. Chris and I opted for the nightly red wine special, a blend from Spain that was very good.
Lore and I started with Butter Poached Cheese Raviolis - poblano rajas, fresh corn & toasted almonds with brown butter.
Or friends had a melted cheese with lobster app.
For dinner, both Chris and I had the Queen Snapper special. Snapper crusted with coconut, served over a bed of green beans and roasted onions ... excellent.
Lore had the Blue Cheese, Lobster macaroni and cheese special, very good and very rich.
Keri had the Lobster Ravioli, a regular menu item. Big smiles all around.
For dessert we all split chocolate mocha cheesecake and a lemon parfait with brownie and blue berries ... again, smiles all around.
DAY 10: Saturday - May 9: Mexican Mother's Day!
2 ships at I.P./Maya piers
We took the day off from diving and slept in a little.
I made my way down to the lobby, took some pics of the property and was able to get my new friends Louissa from Germany and Amelia from Melbourne, Australia to do spots for the station for me.
The girls are part of a GOPRO dive program going on at Blue Angel. The company has nothing to do with the camera company and I suspect even was in existence before the camera company.
They offer SCUBA training for potential dive professionals from Open Water all the way through Instructor certifications. If you do the entire program, I believe it lasts six weeks.
"pano" from the pool at Blue Angel ...
"pano" from the dock at Blue Angel ...
A visitor to the pool ...
Our friend, DM Matt (Mateo) had told us about the fairly new restaurant Guido's Delicatessen, located on the corner of 15th ave. N at Calle 10 (10th St.) The full name is La Tienda Guidos Delicatessen
Wow, what an great reco!! Lore had the Ham, Cheese and Leek quiche, served with a sample of their excellent curry potato salad and BLT pasta salad, all very good.
I had the English Breakfast, a slight diversion of Eggs Benedict, 2 round focaccia bread slices, covered with scrambled eggs, ham and smothered with béchamel sauce ... excellent! Did I mention it was excellent?! We WILL be back here ...
Guido's Deli ...
Ham, Cheese & Leek Quiche ...
"English breakfast" ...
Water, O.J. & a cappuccino for drinks ... we have found a new favorite for sure!
Another day relaxing around the pool. We had thought about trying to get a shore dive in, but a lot of relaxing seemed to be more in order on this trip.
For dinner we headed up to Rock'n Java for some of their excellent Potato skins for and appetizer, a Caesar chicken salad sandwich for me and a big bowl of black bean soup for her.
I purchased a metal sculpture of a shark for my shark collection. R'n J has several of them on their walls and Blue Angel has several displayed in the lobby as well. I have admired the work for years, and finally decided I needed a new shark for the collection.
Shark sculpture from R'n J ...
Day 11: Sunday, May 10: Mother's Day U.S. -
No ships on Sunday ... like it should be.
Back on Blue Angel II, this morning with Fiero at the helm and our buddy Pedro doing DM duties.
First stop, the beautiful Palancar Caves.
The name of the site "caves" is a bit of a misnomer, there are a couple swim-thru's here, but what mostly makes up the topography, are tall pinnacles stretching from the ocean floor to around 45' spaced out all along the wall, so there are lots of in's and out's to explore.
We were visited by what I'm pretty sure was our local Loggerhead sea turtle, some have named Eduardo.
It came over a pinnacle and gently swam among and around the group of us for a couple minutes before moving on south down the reef.
Trumpet fish ...
Keri and the Loggerhead sea turtle
coral close-up
sponges
r
On ascension from the dive I experienced some reverse blockage and was pretty off balanced when I got on the boat.
We had planned on doing Villablanca Wall for the second dive, so I had Fiero drop me off at the hotel pier, before taking the rest of the group out to one of our favorite dive sites.
I slept off the "vertigo" ... mostly, and we headed up the street to the car ferry pier to see the men's finals of the high dive competition.
We found a spot in the shade that was just perfect for viewing the diving ...
"Sharky, your next!"
We first tried Kondesa, but we did not have a reservation and they were full for Mother's Day, so we headed up to La Terazza in stead.
We split the nearly famous Blue Cheese salad. A carry over from the old Prima menu and still a favorite.
Lore had the grouper with pasta and veggies, she said was so-so. She had definitely had better here.
I had had chicken ravioli here for a special a couple years ago and it was exceptional, so I ordered the spinach and ricotta ravioli off the menu, again, it was good, but not great.
We split a piece of key lime pie for dessert, which was pretty good.
Day 12: Monday, May 11:
One last day to get a dive in. Morning dive with Chango and quite possibly the best DM on the island, our buddy Jose on Chiquimax.
I still wasn't feeling 100%, and in retrospect, should probably have not even tried to dive today, but, decided to give it a shot.
First stop, one of the best deep dives on Cozumel, Columbia Deep. Again, a gorgeous wall dive with tall pinnacles, and lots of in's and out's to explore.
Jose, Chris and Kerry dropped to at least 100', I stopped at 86' and moved back up to around 70 and hovered over the group, exploring the wall and pinnacles, looking for something I hadn't seen yet on the trip.
Deep Sea fans at Columbia Deep ...
Reef shot ...
soft coral close-up ...
Gray Angelfish
Columbia Deep ...
My ears weren't quite cooperating, even though it appeared that I was clearing, I still had much more pressure in my head than what was comfortable.
I signaled to Lore to buddy up with Jose, signaled him I was surfacing and headed up to do a quick SI.
Chango picked me up and by that time, I was feeling pretty off balanced again. Upon our return home, I have seen an ear, nose and throat doctor and my left ear drum is recessed and not releasing properly ... thus the reverse blockage coming up. ... we're trying to get it fixed now.
Shortly after I got on the boat I heard my wife's voice. She was having BC issues, the inflator on the rental BC she was using was sticking and blowing up her vest too fast for her to deflate it and after messing with it, she didn't feel up to inflating manually and just aborted the dive.
So, for the second day, I missed one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite dive on Cozumel.
Columbia Shallows is an amazing 30' max dive. Tons of coral and sponge examples, including Elkhorn and Pinnacle corals, fish everywhere, it's a good place to see a nurse shark out swimming, and overall, is pretty much like diving in an aquarium.
I was feeling pretty bad by the time we got back to the hotel, and slept most of the afternoon again.
Lore had lunch with our dive buddies Sylvia, Chris and Keri and chilled at the pool with a book most of the afternoon.
I still wasn't feeling great by dinner time, but needed to eat, so we jumped in the jeep and made our way to Ernesto's Fajita Factory for dinner.
This is a long-time Cozumel favorite of many people. The setting right on the water is great for sunsets or a leisurely lunch, I think they are even open for breakfast.
Lore had the nearly world famous Cozumel Burrito. A large tortilla stuffed with a seafood variety that never disappoints,
I had the Mexican food combo plate called the Cozumelino. Quesadilla, taco, cheese enchilada, rice & black bean frijoles. One of the few places that still give you black beans on the island.
We used to get them almost everywhere, but most of the island has gotten "Americanized" and has moved to pinto refried beans.
I had water, but Lore had a Coconut daiquiri she just raved about.
Day 13: Tuesday, May 12:
They make us go home.
Luckily for us, our plane didn't leave until almost 4pm, so I had plenty of time to slowly pack, rest, pack, rest, pack, rest ... as I could hardly hold my head up from my ear issue.
By 1:30 I was feeling somewhat alive and we headed to the airport to check our bags. We had upgraded to business class for the ride home, so check-in was quick and we headed back to "The Deli" for one last Cozumel meal.
Guido's Deli
I had the fresh roasted turkey sandwich and the Mrs. opted for fish sandwich. Both were very good, we will be back here again.
We made it back to the airport just in time to go through security and board the plane.
adios Cozumel International ...
cute little beverage tray in Business class ...
Front row!!
Business class worked out great! We were in the front seats of the plane and were the first to depart.
Smooth flight to D/FW, we actually arrived just a little early, made it through customs in record time, picked up the luggage and were home in no time.
As always, thanks so much to all our friends, family and the folks of Cozumel Island for all your hospitality, see you as soon as possible.
