Wednesday March 2nd
Today we did not head as far south as we dove at La Francesca, as we dropped into the water I noticed Fripp signaling to his buddy Hugh to look at something he had found. My view was obscured by a large sponge and I had to kick hard against the current to see what it was – but it was worth the effort a large Goliath Grouper was lurking there. We crossed from this patch of reef over a sandy gully to the next patch, a large turtle the size of a coffee table passed underneath me just inches away (it’s not just the people that are friendly on Cozumel). Over the ridge of the next reef we dropped onto a steep wall covered in soft corals and sponges so colorful it reminded me of a spring mountainside covered in moss and spring flowers. We were zipping along in the current, it was like looking out through the window of a railway carriage – quite a ride. Carlos rapped on his tank and pointed to a little hole, I kicked against the current to reach it and peered inside to see a Splendid Toad Fish (these are found only in Cozumel and nowhere else in the world) his head is low and wide like a catfish with a whiskery beard, his fins are bright yellow ribbons in contrast to the dull grey body.
Our second dive was at San Clemente, Elliott and Connor broke away from the group to complete the Advanced Open Water dive with the navigation challenge (they used the compass to navigate a reciprocal heading and a square and counted the number of kick cycles and time to cover a 100ft line). For the rest of the group the hunt was on – Lion Hunt! In Cozumel tourists are not allowed to capture lionfish so the group was instructed to look out for lionfish hiding under ledges and report them to the dive masters who would exterminate them as they had been trained to do by the Marine Park. We chose this site as the numbers of lionfish are dropping in the well-used dive sites, thanks to the local dive masters removing any they see, but the numbers are still growing in the less traveled areas. This is one of the less used sites, and there are now three less lionfish there. Carlos took one for the team as he got a spine in his finger while putting the fish in the collection bag, within 30 minutes his finger was painful and throbbing and swelling fast. Now you know why tourists are not allowed to collect lionfish.
The group with our "catch of the day".
After changing into dry clothes the group headed to the town museum where they looked at exhibits about the geography of the island, including a cool three dimensional map showing all the dive sites. There were also exhibits of the history of the island with Mayan artifacts and scenes of Mayan life. We hoped that the students would leave with a better understanding of the cultural and geographical history of the island that has been our home for the past four days. Wandering back through town there was a chance for a little more shopping from some of the artisans around the square. As the group had been so great this week they were able to choose where we had dinner “Carlos ‘N Charlie’s” was the vote that came back, so we were soon surrounded by whistle blowing wait staff and rowdy cruise ship patrons. A clown appeared at the table and before we knew it everyone was wearing a balloon had and tapping their feet to the music.
Tuesday March 1st
Today we headed South again, and with all divers comfortable in the water we did a slightly deeper dive at Palancar Caves where we could see out over the wall into the deep blue abyss. We dropped onto the sand and headed into a channel in the reef that led into a winding canyon. There are not as many fish here as the shallower dives yesterday but the structure of the reef is amazing. As the channel winds around there is a swim through which leads out over the edge of the wall and there you are hanging in the water with 2000ft of blue below you - quite an amazing feeling; some of the students said they felt they were flying or like a space man! Carlos led us back into the reef structure through another swim through and we swam up to a shallower depth for the remainder of the dive. In this channel we found another one of the "suspects" a lionfish displaying his fins and spines but not scared of the divers - he seemed to be saying "I have no predators here!"
During the dive I dropped down to 100 ft with Elliott and Connor who were doing their Deep Dive for their Advanced Open Water class. They compared our computers and depth guages and noted the difference in appearance of colored items with and without a dive light on them. Water absorbs the reds in the spectrum first so although we can see well, we can't see the red color without a light. This was a much more challenging dive and as the instructor I was really proud of the group as they did an excellent job of buoyancy control and their diving skills were great. Congratulations to Jannie as she finished her last two surface skills and is now officially certified.
The surface interval was again at a beach (Playa) while we had a sandwhich and drink, then a short boat ride to Cedar Pass our second dive of the day. This turned out to be a favorite of the day as we saw a list of exciting creatures including a turtle, huge black grouper and Nurse Shark which roused from it's sleep swam along the reef in front of a group for about 100 yards. Hugh really enjoyed this dive as Carlos led us through a really long swim through that was more like a tunnel through the reef, sponges and corals drooped from the ceiling and walls like some strange alien garden and light played on the floor of the tunnel from the gaps in the overhang. We gathered in front of the reef for a group picture with the school flag (everyone trying to keep their fins still in the current) a great momento of a wonderful dive.
Returning to the hotel we had a couple of hours to rest before gathering on the patio for the night dive. We geared up and had a dive breifing to learn about the do's and don'ts of diving in the dark, and etiquette with a dive light. After assigning buddy pairs we took a giant stride off the dock in front of the hotel, it was dusk as we jumped in and descended and as we made our way the dark closed in around us. Suddenly colors seemed to pop more standing out in the beam of a dive light, and although the fish were starting to sleep (Parrot fish actually sleep on the bottom - rather like teenagers) there were lots of other creatures signing in at the shift change. We saw lobsters, crabs, lots of lionfish and a school of squid, but the highlight of the evening for everyone was watching the octopus hunting for supper as he glided accross the bottom slipping his long tenticles into nooks and crannies looking for food.
Monday February 28th
The boat picked us up this morning at the hotel dock. Manning arrived with the crew and helped everyone aboard. We headed south to our first dive site Palancar Gardens, the divers all did well dropping down to the sand at about 40 ft, no ear problems so we headed over the reef to the ledge and dropped down to 60ft to drift along in the current. Three turtles, a huge lobster, a large Barracuda and many schools of fish, snapper, grunts blue chromis and parrot fish all cruised or darted about the reef. After 40 minutes everyone headed up to the boat. After feasting on fresh rolls stuffed with ham, cheese, tomato and avacado - we went to a dock at a deserted beach an hopped ashore for our surface interval.
Our second dive was a delightful reef named Delilah. The structure here was a little different from the ledge with plenty of overhangs and swim-throughs. Carlos led the group through the first one, then Hugh and Fripp were investigating and exploring every key hole in the reef. Congratulations to Will Lord who completed his final skills for the Open Water certification in fine style - making it all look easy. He and Jannie did a great job of the mask removal skill drifting midwater in a 2 knott current!
After returning to the hotel and logging our dives there was a short break before we headed to town for a meeting with the biologist at the National Marine Park responsible for the invasive species projects. He gave a talk about the lionfish problem and how it is impacting Cozumel, we also learned about some of the measures they are taking to combat it - including a tournament where almost 3000 lionfish were caught in 5 hours. They then dissected several specemins for us, showing the parts of the fish including one which had six juvenille prey in it's intestines (they like to feed on commercially important fish such as snapper and grouper).
The boys decided they wanted seafood for supper so we walked over to one of Lucy's favorite restaurants La Chosa for dinner, followed by a stroll around the square. We sign out tonight with everyones comments on their first day on the boat.
Elliott - We saw a lobster the size of Mimi's head.
Will - Barracuda are not as scary as I thought they would be.
Fripp - I like Mexico; you can see six times further than Lake Jocassee.
Connor - Austria has nothing on this.
Hugh - Exploring the swim through's was exciting.
Coach Wood - Muchos Animales Grandes.
Mr. Morris - Great People, Great Dives, Great Trip!
Jannie - I saw a fish that looks like a rainbow.
Sunday February 27th
The group arrived safely in Cozumel, we checked in at our Hotel and a bunch of famished kids decided first thing on the agenda was Lunch! We went next door to feast on nachos, burritos and yes – Burgers.
Our first dive was a shore dive from the dock at Hotel Cozumel, everyone got to meet our divemaster Carlos and his family, and they kindly transported all the gear down the block for us. Teresa watched the bags while we took a giant stride into the clear blue of the Caribbean Sea. For some of the divers it was to be their first salt water dive. We were treated to several interesting fish including a porcupine fish, scrawled file fish, and several little rays. Connor spotted a huge conch shell wobbling on the bottom, which on further investigation turned out to be a huge hermit crab. There is a model of a Mayan ruin on the bottom as a feature of the dive – and would you believe it spreading his feathers in display on the side was a pesky lionfish!
All the divers did very well, Will and Jannie completed their first two Open Water Training dives, while Elliott and Connor completed their Peak Buoyancy dive towards earning their Advanced Open Water rating. Everyone had the chance to get their weighting right before the first boat dives tomorrow. Coach Wood admitted he underestimated at 8lbs (we do suggest another weighting check after the Holidays Coach Wood!) Manning earned his stripes as a divemaster intern today, helping every diver as they entered the water, checking air was on and all hoses were tucked in. He also did a great job helping a few divers with equipment in the water – he is now in bed as he has to be up early loading the boat while the rest of us are enjoying breakfast.
After an early start this morning, travels and dives an easy stroll to town for dinner was in order. We enjoyed our meal at Palmeras on the seafront with a gentle breeze off the water and serenaded by a local musician it was the perfect end to a great first day.
Stay tuned as we report on our PEAK Outdoors trip to Cozumel.
Students from Heathwood Hall Episcopal School head to Cozumel February 27th. Our focus this year "Beautiful but Deadly" the impact of Indo-Pacific Lionfish on the reefs of Cozumel Island.
