Here's my favourite pic although it's a little blurry due to low light... This is the coolest little coffee house called Rock N Java with dirt cheap internet and good food and awesome staff.
Showing posts with label Cozumel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cozumel. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
New Gallery Up
Here's a new gallery from my first full day in Cozumel.
Here's my favourite pic although it's a little blurry due to low light... This is the coolest little coffee house called Rock N Java with dirt cheap internet and good food and awesome staff.
Here's my favourite pic although it's a little blurry due to low light... This is the coolest little coffee house called Rock N Java with dirt cheap internet and good food and awesome staff.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Diver's Log: Day 4
Punta Sur: Devil's Throat
Start Pressure: 3150 psi
End Pressure: 550 psi
120 feet for part of dive up to 80 feet for other part of dive, 35 mins bottom time max
We had to do a quick descent to get in devil's throat. we went through into the sandy-bottomed caverns of devil's throat. it was wicked, wicked cool. we had to go head first... i knew the pressure was going to hurt like hell and it pretty much did.
wilma had done a lot of damage to some of the unique coral formations that jorge wanted to show us. there was a huge french angel fish hanging out next to a sea turtle. i snapped a photo but it probably won't come out. it was an amazing dive.
SI: 1 hour nose bleeds during the surfacing. there was some peacocks hanging out on the shore that i photographed. one of them was happy to show me his plumage... i kept imitating his cooing and he kept cooing right at me. it was fun.
Cedral Wall
Start Pressure: 3200 psi
End Pressure: ? psi
Current was at least 2 knots. I got a picture of a lobster as i whizzed by it. think leaf in the wind. i was proud of myself for getting down into this reef. i was balanced and snapped a couple of pics of a text book trunkfish, smooth triggerfish, and a pork fish. there was this beautiful 1 foot long parrot fish. right there. and i wanted a picture. so badly.
one of my two cheapo cameras wasn't cooperating so i reached for the other one. that's when the current took charged of my hand and sliced it open on the reef.
gushing blood looks like rust under water. i was a little scared. i knew there's like .0001% chance of a reef or tiger shark being in the area... but still. i musta smelled like lunch.
i found jorge and he helped me out of the water... i was upset because the cut looked like it needed stitches... the boat driver did a great job of bandaging my hand and i've been gimp-typing these posts.
i think it really should have been stitched. i am a member of Diver's Alert Network and have insurance for diving accidents but i don't want to do stitches. the wound reopened in the shower but i bandaged it back up.
i had nose-bleeds after this dive, too.
you know what? i'd do it again in a heart beat. there's three things in my blood... the water, horses, and music... these things make life worth living.
i can't tell you how amazing all this was in spite of the nose-bleeds, the pain, the injuries, what have you.
and a big huge thanks to Jorge, the boat driver, and the crew @ Pepe's Dive shop. They are a first-class outfit.
Start Pressure: 3150 psi
End Pressure: 550 psi
120 feet for part of dive up to 80 feet for other part of dive, 35 mins bottom time max
We had to do a quick descent to get in devil's throat. we went through into the sandy-bottomed caverns of devil's throat. it was wicked, wicked cool. we had to go head first... i knew the pressure was going to hurt like hell and it pretty much did.
wilma had done a lot of damage to some of the unique coral formations that jorge wanted to show us. there was a huge french angel fish hanging out next to a sea turtle. i snapped a photo but it probably won't come out. it was an amazing dive.
SI: 1 hour nose bleeds during the surfacing. there was some peacocks hanging out on the shore that i photographed. one of them was happy to show me his plumage... i kept imitating his cooing and he kept cooing right at me. it was fun.
Cedral Wall
Start Pressure: 3200 psi
End Pressure: ? psi
Current was at least 2 knots. I got a picture of a lobster as i whizzed by it. think leaf in the wind. i was proud of myself for getting down into this reef. i was balanced and snapped a couple of pics of a text book trunkfish, smooth triggerfish, and a pork fish. there was this beautiful 1 foot long parrot fish. right there. and i wanted a picture. so badly.
one of my two cheapo cameras wasn't cooperating so i reached for the other one. that's when the current took charged of my hand and sliced it open on the reef.
gushing blood looks like rust under water. i was a little scared. i knew there's like .0001% chance of a reef or tiger shark being in the area... but still. i musta smelled like lunch.
i found jorge and he helped me out of the water... i was upset because the cut looked like it needed stitches... the boat driver did a great job of bandaging my hand and i've been gimp-typing these posts.
i think it really should have been stitched. i am a member of Diver's Alert Network and have insurance for diving accidents but i don't want to do stitches. the wound reopened in the shower but i bandaged it back up.
i had nose-bleeds after this dive, too.
you know what? i'd do it again in a heart beat. there's three things in my blood... the water, horses, and music... these things make life worth living.
i can't tell you how amazing all this was in spite of the nose-bleeds, the pain, the injuries, what have you.
and a big huge thanks to Jorge, the boat driver, and the crew @ Pepe's Dive shop. They are a first-class outfit.
Monday, April 28, 2008
vicious cycle
this post is back-dated as is the diver's log day 2,3 posts... i was wicked exhausted after the diving... diving will wear you down just because of breathing the air and the pressure changes to your body... i spent a large part of the rest of the day in bed....
i went out for lunch after diving and this waiter thoroughly attempted to rip me off and i was sad... he tried to charge me $11 for two drinks with NO alcohol in them after promising me a free drink if i came back to eat with them...
i still ended up paying 5.50 for one non-alcoholic drink which was the equivalent of strawberries in a blender with ice. the owner came out and told the waiter that the drink should be $4 only but somehow that message didn't get through...
bummer. normally i'm an extraordinary tipper (three years of waitressing in school is still etched in stone in my brain) but i stiffed the guy with no qualms. no more will i go to restaurant Mesaicoz. Mesaicoz is still owned by Jorgini and was the restaurant Bianci & Jorgini mentioned in lonely planet Mexico. it's a shame this happened 'cuz the food was quite good.
there is a tropical depression with 80 km/hr winds making weather overcast so i haven't been doing any sunbathing here... spent day/evening in bed although i didn't let the cold keep me from running before diving in the morning.
it's a vicious cycle... the cold is making diving painful and the diving is prolonging the illness. SIGH. but the diving is so fantastic i'm doing it anyways. i'm taking actifed noche before bed tonight and going for it again tomorrow.
i went out for lunch after diving and this waiter thoroughly attempted to rip me off and i was sad... he tried to charge me $11 for two drinks with NO alcohol in them after promising me a free drink if i came back to eat with them...
i still ended up paying 5.50 for one non-alcoholic drink which was the equivalent of strawberries in a blender with ice. the owner came out and told the waiter that the drink should be $4 only but somehow that message didn't get through...
bummer. normally i'm an extraordinary tipper (three years of waitressing in school is still etched in stone in my brain) but i stiffed the guy with no qualms. no more will i go to restaurant Mesaicoz. Mesaicoz is still owned by Jorgini and was the restaurant Bianci & Jorgini mentioned in lonely planet Mexico. it's a shame this happened 'cuz the food was quite good.
there is a tropical depression with 80 km/hr winds making weather overcast so i haven't been doing any sunbathing here... spent day/evening in bed although i didn't let the cold keep me from running before diving in the morning.
it's a vicious cycle... the cold is making diving painful and the diving is prolonging the illness. SIGH. but the diving is so fantastic i'm doing it anyways. i'm taking actifed noche before bed tonight and going for it again tomorrow.
Diver's Log: Day 2
We begin this day by the dive master, Jorge telling me to be careful... he noticed I had a nose bleed after the second dive yesterday (no wonder i was having problems with my ears... from now on i will go no where near a friend with a cold for at least two weeks prior to dive trip... :-()
Since the dosage of 2 benadryl allergy sinus no workie the day before, i had popped 3 pills before this day's dive.
Palancar Gardens
Start Pressure: 3000 psi
End Pressure: 0 psi
Saw a school of Sergeant Majors straight off. We swam through a cavern... It was fabulous although painful because swimming head first with the sinus problems is the most painful thing i can do... like knives in my ears.... We saw a sea turtle pretty immediately off. We saw a female coral crab and a male king crab who was only too happy to flash his pincers @ us (nobody likes a flashy pants mr. crab)
I did a bad thing and instead of coming up with 600 psi as instructed i came up with 0. Yes. Goose egg. De nada. I took a breath from my regulator and nothing came out. I won't do that again.
Surface interval (SI): 45 minutes
Delila
Start Pressure: 3200 psi
End Pressure: 300 psi
@ 50-60 ft for most of dive
Saw and photographed a barracuda in first 30 seconds of dive. Also saw a nurse shark. I was having a problem with foggy mask or i could have done better with pictures. This was a drift dive with really serious current. Over 2 knots. Jorge, dive master extraordinaire pointed out some goby's for me... they make holes in the sand and pop their bitty heads out... . I saw a huge parrot fish and got a pic.
Since the dosage of 2 benadryl allergy sinus no workie the day before, i had popped 3 pills before this day's dive.
Palancar Gardens
Start Pressure: 3000 psi
End Pressure: 0 psi
Saw a school of Sergeant Majors straight off. We swam through a cavern... It was fabulous although painful because swimming head first with the sinus problems is the most painful thing i can do... like knives in my ears.... We saw a sea turtle pretty immediately off. We saw a female coral crab and a male king crab who was only too happy to flash his pincers @ us (nobody likes a flashy pants mr. crab)
I did a bad thing and instead of coming up with 600 psi as instructed i came up with 0. Yes. Goose egg. De nada. I took a breath from my regulator and nothing came out. I won't do that again.
Surface interval (SI): 45 minutes
Delila
Start Pressure: 3200 psi
End Pressure: 300 psi
@ 50-60 ft for most of dive
Saw and photographed a barracuda in first 30 seconds of dive. Also saw a nurse shark. I was having a problem with foggy mask or i could have done better with pictures. This was a drift dive with really serious current. Over 2 knots. Jorge, dive master extraordinaire pointed out some goby's for me... they make holes in the sand and pop their bitty heads out... . I saw a huge parrot fish and got a pic.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Diver's Log: Day 1
Today I dove both Cedral Wall and Yucab (starting towards Tormento). Our dive group today was really good about alerting each other to cool stuff... Which is great. This isn't always the case. People were a-clankin' things on their tank and everyone would swim over and take turns at spying stuffs... And taking pictures.
My ears are causing me serious pain on account of this F*(King cold I STILL have but it's worth it. I had an issue on the first dive which caused me to come up briefly... After a discussion with the dive master he decided to help me go for it and that was that... I don't care if my ears split off of my head people... I'm a-diving.
My ears seemed to get better during the second dive but I will be taking the sinus pills I have religiously for the duration of my diving and also the airplane trips both back to Puerto Vallarta and then back to SF when the time comes.
Cedral Wall: This dive we kept @ between 60-80 feet. I saw three lobsters in this dive. Two of them were doing something with each other... I couldn't tell if they liked or hated each other but I surely didn't want to get in the middle of whatever it was they were doing.
I couldn't figure out this cheapo disposable underwater camera for this dive which is sad. I also saw a sea turtle with entourage.... I've noticed that the bigger swimming animals seem to come with entourages... It seems like some fishes like to roll with the big guy on the block or something like that.... I saw a parrot fish and a bunch of queen angel fishes.
Yucab: This dive we ranged mostly between 50-60 feet. This dive was a drift dive as is customary for most of Cozumel diving. We saw two separate spotted moray eels. The first one just wasn't going to pop his head out for me but he was hanging out next to a purple tube sponge with some brittle sea-stars moving around in there. So I hung out there for at least five minutes.... A teensy crab made it's way in & out of the sponge...
Later on the dive master got a teensy crab to crawl on his hand and that was cool. I sorted out the camera situation (off/on... this thing is a pain in the neck) so I was able to snap a couple of good pics of the lobster I saw this dive. I got a pic of a queen parrot fish and several Queen Angelfish and anything else I could photograph along the way. I couldn't get the camera to work when we saw the spotted moray on this dive... But it was cool anyway. He popped his head out and hissed his hello (as is customary)... It sounds pretty neat underwater.
All in all... this was a pretty good day diving... Tomorrow I will be taking one 27 exposure camera for each dive so wish me luck!!!!
My ears are causing me serious pain on account of this F*(King cold I STILL have but it's worth it. I had an issue on the first dive which caused me to come up briefly... After a discussion with the dive master he decided to help me go for it and that was that... I don't care if my ears split off of my head people... I'm a-diving.
My ears seemed to get better during the second dive but I will be taking the sinus pills I have religiously for the duration of my diving and also the airplane trips both back to Puerto Vallarta and then back to SF when the time comes.
Cedral Wall: This dive we kept @ between 60-80 feet. I saw three lobsters in this dive. Two of them were doing something with each other... I couldn't tell if they liked or hated each other but I surely didn't want to get in the middle of whatever it was they were doing.
I couldn't figure out this cheapo disposable underwater camera for this dive which is sad. I also saw a sea turtle with entourage.... I've noticed that the bigger swimming animals seem to come with entourages... It seems like some fishes like to roll with the big guy on the block or something like that.... I saw a parrot fish and a bunch of queen angel fishes.
Yucab: This dive we ranged mostly between 50-60 feet. This dive was a drift dive as is customary for most of Cozumel diving. We saw two separate spotted moray eels. The first one just wasn't going to pop his head out for me but he was hanging out next to a purple tube sponge with some brittle sea-stars moving around in there. So I hung out there for at least five minutes.... A teensy crab made it's way in & out of the sponge...
Later on the dive master got a teensy crab to crawl on his hand and that was cool. I sorted out the camera situation (off/on... this thing is a pain in the neck) so I was able to snap a couple of good pics of the lobster I saw this dive. I got a pic of a queen parrot fish and several Queen Angelfish and anything else I could photograph along the way. I couldn't get the camera to work when we saw the spotted moray on this dive... But it was cool anyway. He popped his head out and hissed his hello (as is customary)... It sounds pretty neat underwater.
All in all... this was a pretty good day diving... Tomorrow I will be taking one 27 exposure camera for each dive so wish me luck!!!!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Hola from Cozumel
I'm here in Cozumel and finally getting over that horrid cold that got me my last two nights in Puerto Vallarta. I spent the longest travel leg of my journey completely sick... So much so that when my plane was two hours late after midnight in LAX I purchased a blanket and slept on the floor of the terminal...
I have said many times to many folks that I have a gift for sleeping... When it's time to go nightey night... I'm out. And I proved it. The thing is... most of the flight did this... I had to compete for crash space along the terminal windows.
I'm thankful someone woke me up... I awoke to a, "uhh... Excuse me.... Are you getting on that flight???" I sprang up and into action in time to make final boarding while the people who woke me up laughed at my outburst of "Uh Oh!"
I finished that leg of the journey by making it... before my luggage. But my luggage came on the last ferry from Playa Del Carmen and arrived @ my hotel after midnight last night. Which is good... Because the clothes I was wearing after 3 plane rides and a walk into San Miguel de Cozumel had a special kind o' smelly funk to them. So not sexy. Not so much.
My hotel is pretty nice... It's a newer hotel with a swim-up bar and a ladder straight out of the caribbean ocean to the sand with the beach chairs. There's also a hot tub... I know, poor me. So I spent today getting over my cold... Taking dips in the caribbean to cool off.
There was a lot of wind today which meant that snorkelling was pointless... The sea was churned up a bit which is no good if you want the fishies to come hang out.
I was having a heck of a time with the airplane landings yesterday as my ears refused to pop and let go of the pressure... I decided it would be a bad idea to scuba dive. It would have been the pain of the airplane multiplied by a factor of ten... If you have a cold... scuba diving feels like the effect of having knives stabbed into your ears. I've been through that before and decided to opt out of a repeat of that experience.
Tomorrow I will be on the first ferry to playa del Carmen on my way to Chichen Itza. We're stopping in a pool/waterfall for some swimming along the way... I won't be back to the hotel until after 9 PM tomorrow night.
I'll be doing diving Sunday - Wednesday including some night diving... Think, "The freaks come out at night.... the freaks come out at night!"
This paradigm also holds true for the underwater community. And the freaks are muy, muy beautiful. Think shrimp lounging around in neon purple tube sponges.
Highlights of the trip so far include the dinner I just had @ Restaurant de Choza (mentioned in Lonely Planet Mexico), the trip last week to Sayulita (a little surf town on the central pacific coast), the wedding (of course, of course), and some late night ruthless UNO card game action with the wedding party.
-xoxoxo from Mexico!
I have said many times to many folks that I have a gift for sleeping... When it's time to go nightey night... I'm out. And I proved it. The thing is... most of the flight did this... I had to compete for crash space along the terminal windows.
I'm thankful someone woke me up... I awoke to a, "uhh... Excuse me.... Are you getting on that flight???" I sprang up and into action in time to make final boarding while the people who woke me up laughed at my outburst of "Uh Oh!"
I finished that leg of the journey by making it... before my luggage. But my luggage came on the last ferry from Playa Del Carmen and arrived @ my hotel after midnight last night. Which is good... Because the clothes I was wearing after 3 plane rides and a walk into San Miguel de Cozumel had a special kind o' smelly funk to them. So not sexy. Not so much.
My hotel is pretty nice... It's a newer hotel with a swim-up bar and a ladder straight out of the caribbean ocean to the sand with the beach chairs. There's also a hot tub... I know, poor me. So I spent today getting over my cold... Taking dips in the caribbean to cool off.
There was a lot of wind today which meant that snorkelling was pointless... The sea was churned up a bit which is no good if you want the fishies to come hang out.
I was having a heck of a time with the airplane landings yesterday as my ears refused to pop and let go of the pressure... I decided it would be a bad idea to scuba dive. It would have been the pain of the airplane multiplied by a factor of ten... If you have a cold... scuba diving feels like the effect of having knives stabbed into your ears. I've been through that before and decided to opt out of a repeat of that experience.
Tomorrow I will be on the first ferry to playa del Carmen on my way to Chichen Itza. We're stopping in a pool/waterfall for some swimming along the way... I won't be back to the hotel until after 9 PM tomorrow night.
I'll be doing diving Sunday - Wednesday including some night diving... Think, "The freaks come out at night.... the freaks come out at night!"
This paradigm also holds true for the underwater community. And the freaks are muy, muy beautiful. Think shrimp lounging around in neon purple tube sponges.
Highlights of the trip so far include the dinner I just had @ Restaurant de Choza (mentioned in Lonely Planet Mexico), the trip last week to Sayulita (a little surf town on the central pacific coast), the wedding (of course, of course), and some late night ruthless UNO card game action with the wedding party.
-xoxoxo from Mexico!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)