531 replies to this topic

[WreckWench]

Ok...the post has been cleaned up to reflect the travel day of Aug 23 and not Aug 22.

Thanks for catching that Don! -ww

[Travelgal]

Payment Update:

1. Sylvia aka catfish - Pa.- got your check for full amount less $100 early payment discount $100
2. Paula aka Travelgal - FL got your check for full amount less $100 early payment discount $100
3. Pam aka purple starfish - TN got your check and you qualify for the chance at free nitrox!
4. Wyn aka pamwyn - TN got your check and you qualify for the chance at free nitrox!



Forms Update:

1. Paula aka Travelgal...got your forms!


PLEASE remember to put your screen name on the checks as well as the trip you are paying for and any other useful info like d/o or nitrox etc.

WE ALL QUALIFY FOR CHANCE FOR FREE NITROX RIGHT?

[DandyDon]

Ok...the post has been cleaned up to reflect the travel day of Aug 23 and not Aug 22.

Thanks for catching that Don! -ww

Sure, but then some of the confusion was BKAC - between keyboard and chair on this end. I was also questioning the package price as I thought you might have left out the cost of the Cenotes, so after our phone chat - I am very impressed with the package and price. I edited my previous post to avoid possible confusion on the dates I questioned.

Dang, this will be my seventh Cozumel trip in just over 6 years of diving, but it is great. And it's not because I get cheap air fares from Lubbock - it's often cheaper to fly from other cities much further away, as I have to change planes in Houston or DFW. It's just a wonderful dive location, affordable to reach, then cheap once you do. I'll be glad to offer some suggestions and my personal insights for any who haven't been to Coz or the Cenotes - perhaps later on as the trip gets closer, but I'll try not to overdo my blah blah...??

I remember great breakfasts from a stay at the Casa del Mar, so I guess their other meals will be good. After those breakfasts, one more meal a day is all I could stand then - and it'll be tempting to still go into town with the great restaurants available there, but - free with the package is pretty appealing, too.

The Cenotes day was easily the highlight of my last trip, and with the 5 diver maximum including DM - doable for almost anyone with reasonable buoyancy control. The water is a comfy mid 70s and fresh to maybe brackish if we dip below the halocline, and the sights are breath taking. Really, hope I do better with air consumption this time, as it was just so exciting. The final part of the trip to Holbox will be all new to me, and I questioned Kamala about making that transfer including water ferry the same day as the Cenotes, but she's done it before - so cool, sounds great.

BTW, "Isla Holbox is pronounced i-la holebosh - 'x' in Mayan is pronounced 'sh'." Hell, I'm probably still not pronouncing Cozomel correctly - got in a bad habit years ago, but I'm working on that, along with Ce-no-tes and Ta-lum. I've never swam with whale sharks, manatees or even dolphins, so that'll be great. Yeah, I can see a huge pic album coming out of this trip - maybe I'll break it up into 3 Aol/Yahoo albums before email invitations to friends?

First day shore dives at the hotel can be nice for equipment and buoyancy checks, but Dzul-Ha beach club is known for the best snorkeling and not far from our hotel. I'm wondering about grabbing tanks and taking a cab to the Fiesta Americana hotel just south of it, riding the gentle shore current across that area, then exiting at the beach club to take a cab back. Anyone ever tried that? I'll look for more info - hehe, got 6 months don't we? I have driven around the south and back side once, but that'd be a nice trip to see sights I missed before, and I never have done the famous ruin there. Mayan women used to row from Talum/Akumal area to Coz with the current to visit the temple there, then row back probably ending up at Puerto Morelos.

My passport is good thru 2010; did you say to book returns out of Cancun (CUN) after 1 pm on the 23rd? I'll work on getting my paperwork done and check in the mail by this weekend, trip insurance and flights, and send links for this trip to a couple of friends who may be interested.

[WreckWench]

WE ALL QUALIFY FOR CHANCE FOR FREE NITROX RIGHT?

Yep!!! All who paid in full or deposited by Feb 20th qualify for a chance at Free Nitrox.

[DandyDon]

"...did you say to book returns out of Cancun (CUN) after 1 pm on the 23rd?"

I hate it when she ignores me. Well, most women do - hate that, too.

thank you

Edited by DandyDon, 22 February 2007 - 12:24 PM.

[finGrabber]

"...did you say to book returns out of Cancun (CUN) after 1 pm on the 23rd?"

I hate it when she ignores me. Well, most women do - hate that, too.

thank you

Last year, the departure time from Cancun was after 1pm. The reason being that you'll be returning from Holbox to Cancun that morning and it's a 3 hour ride, I believe.

[WreckWench]

"...did you say to book returns out of Cancun (CUN) after 1 pm on the 23rd?"

I hate it when she ignores me. Well, most women do - hate that, too.

thank you

Not ignoring you...just been in appointments all day! And yes please book flights for after 1pm. (Main post updated too! Thanks for reminding me that I had forgotten to mention flight times!)

[DandyDon]

Not ignoring you...just been in appointments all day! And yes please book flights for after 1pm. (Main post updated too! Thanks for reminding me that I had forgotten to mention flight times!)

Oh, ok - so you have a life.

Thanks ladies. 1pm will be fine. Looks great.

Put me down for "check's floating around the mail somewhere," please.

Edited by DandyDon, 22 February 2007 - 10:09 PM.

[finGrabber]

Not ignoring you...just been in appointments all day! And yes please book flights for after 1pm. (Main post updated too! Thanks for reminding me that I had forgotten to mention flight times!)

Oh, ok - so you have a life.

Thanks ladies. 1pm will be fine. Looks great.

Put me down for "check's floating around the mail somewhere," please.

Done!!

You're on the list

[WreckWench]

Not ignoring you...just been in appointments all day! And yes please book flights for after 1pm. (Main post updated too! Thanks for reminding me that I had forgotten to mention flight times!)

Oh, ok - so you have a life .

Yep I do...I squeeze my day job into about 6 hrs working thru lunch so I can spend the rest of the day, evening and weekends doing SD...my hobby on steriods! But hey...gives new meaning to eat, sleep, type, talk and breathe diving!

[1Scubadiver]

Just joined tonight , Count me in for Holbox trip, possibly my 20 yr old daughter also.
Absolutely cannot wait.

[finGrabber]

Just joined tonight , Count me in for Holbox trip, possibly my 20 yr old daughter also.
Absolutely cannot wait.

WooHoo!!!

I'll add you to the 'checks in the mail' list

let us know about your daughter too! I personally love diving in Mexico

[DandyDon]

That would be cool, diving with your own daughter. Quite a memory. Mine is too involved with raising my grand kids for scuba.

I was in Coz a year ago, not that long after H.Wilma blew thru, and much of San Miguel and the southern resorts had been heroically rebuilt, the jungle was staging a comeback as it has after storms for millenia, the shallow reefs were kinda bleak but still lively with fish, but the deeper reefs were fine. The water was still a bit cloudy with sand still drifting around the channel, but it was a great trip nonetheless. Saw a marlin on a safety stop, but he left before I could shoot a pic for proof - the DMs had never seen one there, but they were polite when my bud & I claimed we did.

I returned there this past January and the town and almost all of the southern buildings have been further rebuilt, the jungle is in its next stage of regrowth, the deep reefs were still great - enjoyed a great show from an eagle ray that was not at all shy about diving into the sand not 10 ft from a row of us divers laying there in awe. You just never know what's gonna be next there. The water was clear, and the shallows were starting to get some regrowth. Even shot a couple of spiny urchins - rare since a wipe out years ago - in the shallows one night.

Our hotel was Ground Zero for H.Wilma, and I even know one guy who rode the storm out at Casa del Mar. Very well built concrete. The dock, dive shop and bridge across were still missing last year, but looked good this year.

Here's a pic viewing the street front from the water shortly after Wilma - even tho the hotel had been refurbished already. Note the tall, dead tree still standing...

Here's a pic from the hotel a year later - with the dive shop and dock showing by the water, and check out the "dead tree"...

I'm looking forward to Cozumel again, of course - wonder dive location, but I'm thinking about taking a car to drive around the south end again, back up the wild side on the east, with a stop at the temple ruins all Myans tried to visit in their lifetime - especially the women hoping for fertility. They rowed across the channel in crude canoes, then back drifting north with the current both times.

And I'm certainly looking forward to diving the Cenotes again - the high point of January's trip, but after that - it's all new to me. Never been to Holbox, much less snorkeled with the giants. Wow this is gonna be great.

[WreckWench]

Just joined tonight , Count me in for Holbox trip, possibly my 20 yr old daughter also.
Absolutely cannot wait.

And welcome! I am thrilled that you've found us and we hope your daugher can join us! Kamala

p.s. as you've figured out this site is for adults so fortunately your daughter qualifies! We hope she can join us! I have another "mom and daugher duo" diving with us on the site too!

[WreckWench]

Thanks for the great pictures of our hotel Don! And yes you are right...Cozumel, Cenotes and Whalesharks all in one trip! It's never been done before...I know...the transport alone took 4 months to set up...the standard reply was you want to what????

But no worries...I have it well in hand. This is now the second year to do this trip...and while adding the Cenotes is new...the rest is not! -ww