Diving Cozumel

Where did the week go? The rest of the week flew by in a blur of dives, feasting on great Mexican food and fish classes. We were so tired every night we were asleep before our heads hit the pillow!

Here is a brief recap...Tuesday we dove Delila, Chankanaab and Villa Blanca Wall. Delila is my favorite site and should be renamed Cherubfish Gardens. This is the only time I've ever been able to mark my survey slate "abundant" for these delightful little fish. They were in groups of 3 to 6 everywhere! This hilly site is covered with lush algae and other plant life, making ideal habitats for bucktooth and greenblotch parrotfishes as well as scores of other fish species. My buddy, Laurie, and I were down to 100' and could have descended a bit farther if time and gas supply allowed. Still, this dive ended all too soon after only 45 minutes of bottom time.

Wednesday was a two tank dive in the morning at Palancar Caves and Tormentos Reef. After a brief nap and lunch, the Colonel and I did a short dusk/night dive right across the street from Aqua Safari. We identified dusky cardinalfish and a reef squirrelfish. An octopus also came out of its hole and did his camouflage dance for us. In a short 22 minutes we had more fun in 20' of water than a person should be allowed to have.

Thursday morning we visited Palancar Horseshoe and Chankanaab Bolones. It is so frustrating that several of our group have come across glassy sweepers, but I have missed them every time! The light reflects off their shiny bodies as they swim in close schools and reminds one of the reflected light from a disco ball. Thursday night Barbara, Tom and I dove Paradise Reef. Barbara and I made a good team of finding fish for Tom to photograph. I was the official recorder of our sitings during the dive. The highlight of the evening was seeing at least five spotted moray eels out of their hiding places and hunting along the reef.

Friday we dove Columbia Pinnacles and Punta Sur Shallows. Viz was only about 20' at Punta Sur Shallows, which was good in one way: it made us focus on the small stuff right in front of our faces and not be distracted by other things in the distance. For such a shallow, silty place the Colonel and I saw an impressive diversity of species: dusky damselfishes, several species of parrotfishes, silversides, hamlets, gobies, blennies, grunts, snappers and even an ocean triggerfish that swam into view for a second before it disappeared into the gloom. This was the only dive the Colonel and I actually stayed together for the entire dive.

For the week, our group identified 198 different species of fish and found at least a dozen lionfish for the divemasters to remove from the reef. The staff at Aqua Safari and our trip leaders, Sheryl Shea and Tracey Griffin are the best there is and made the entire trip delightful!

On Saturday the Colonel and I returned to the frigid North and anxiously await the next adventure...

Best fishes,
Reefnut