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Holiday in Cozumel, the Latin Caribbean 4/29/2007 11:15:17 PM
A short about my recent, RECENT trip to Cozumel and SCUBA Greetings from DFW. Well I just got back from an eight day trip to the have lived up to their names. Yucatan or aka, the Latin Caribbean. This was my second trip down that particular side of the Caribbean Sea. St. Croix Island has got "nothing-on" the east side of Central America. LOL. Once again, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel
Okay, so I am a little pumped from my trip. I have a nice dark suntan and great pics from Palancar Reef. I took two underwater cameras and 57 exposures of film. Sorry they are not digital so I will have to go get them developed before I can post them. No worries, I will have them up by this next week.
For those who do not know; the Mayan Riviera (including the island of Cozumel) is part of the largest coral reef network in the northern half of the world. The water is a turquoise color all year round and has beautiful white sandy beaches. The only other reef in the world to surpass the Caribbean reef is of course the Great Barrier Reef. Cozumel is the second best place in the world to go scuba. I wish everyone could go and see it. It is a life changing experience each time I see it.
We arrived on Sunday the 22nd and were busy lounging at the pool side bar within minutes of landing. Thank you thank you Continental Air. We stayed on the second floor at the Malia Cozumel. It was a beautiful "all-inclusive" hotel. White sand resting 30 meters from my hotel room deck. At night, with window open; I would fall asleep to the sounds of waves hitting the beach.
On Monday we rented scooters and went into San Miguel to buy junk I did not need. I had not been as far south on the island last trip so we headed down to the International Docking peer. There giant hulks of steel lay tied carrying the names of Princess Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean.
Later that evening I headed up an old dirt road past our resort to see if there was any unknown diving sites. Along the way I past within inches a very large and I am sure very poisonous snake. The road ended at a small fisherman’s' dock. The water was murky and green. Filled with silt from the sea. Later I would read that alligators nested in that very area we had been searching through.
The next day Dan and I; Dan being my brother-n-law and very good friend went diving. Dan had not received his PADI certification so this would be his first scuba trip. I had not dived in open sea before myself. My experience had been Lake Washington in Seattle, WA and cave diving in New Mexico. Lake Washington is by for no small lake but salt water inlet sea port separated by man made canals. Lake Washington is fed by the Peugeot Sound.
Heading off into deep water I was thrilled by the chance to go diving again. I had been snorkeling off the same water seven months ago about 1000 yards off the island. I remembered holding my breath and diving down twenty to thirty feet to see giant clown fish and other species. This trip would not disappoint me.
After picking up five more divers, three being certified (myself included) we prepared to gear up and back drop off the boat. It was at this moment I realized I had forgotten my personal gear. The dive master had gear for me and I thought nothing after that.
Being the closest I rolled my body backwards off the boat. Clear fresh SALTY water engulfed me. The water was a warm 80 degrees. After everyone was in I yelled out, "no peeing in the pool". Mask on, regulator flushed and I descended to a beautiful world.
For those who are unfamiliar with SCUBA I will now paint a picture of what it is like to breathe through a regulator. Place on your face a scuba mask, stick in a straw to breathe and go run around a track field! I had utterly forgot how it felt to relax and just breathe while SCUBA. At about twenty feet I started to have problems. Not that I was scared or could not get my ears to pop but another forgotten and overlooked issue arose.
September 12, 2005 I had my lower back fused. I had two rods, six screws and some cages drilled into the middle of my vertebra. To fill the titanium cages the military doctor removed one of my left ribs and ground it down to make cement putty.
The scarring is large and crosses my entire left side. Internally, the scarring to the torn muscles surrounding my ribs has had a pleasure of knocking the wind out of me. At thirty feet I had to resurface and breathe open air. I have never given up on anything in my life. I had to find away to breathe using my right lung and rib muscles instead of a nice bilateral inhale.
Slowly I descended. After ten minutes I had conquered my problem. Then there was another. This was not my mask. The damn thing kept filling up with sea water. Yes it stings, yes it goes up your nose and yes it tastes like crap.
We ascended to the surface after our two minute bell went off and climbed one by one into the boat. I inspected every millimeter of my mask. I could not find a single hole. "I'm losing my mind". I can't believe what a whinny I am being. I know how to clear my mask. Ugh!
Second dive the problem got worse. I surfaced, begged for another and had no more problems. The dive was gorgeous and I could see. :) Later on the way back to shore I gave my mask a closer inspection and found a tiny tear on the outer surface. P.O.S., reminder next time doesn’t forget your gear.
The rest of the week went by casually (more on that later). Free drinks and a killer tan to boot. We met a fellow retiree from the military who is now working contract in Iraq. He and his wife were great fun. He even tried to recruit me. Wonderful, wonderful people. I wish them the best.
Besides breaking in a new camera (Canon EOS 20d) and taking 800+ pictures LOL, it turned out to be just what the doctor ordered.
We boarded US Airways and headed home at 2PM. The flight was long; in fact it was too long. We landed at around 9:45PM in DFW and I am just now writing this at 1AM. I do wish all who read this a pleasant night and I will post more this week including pictures.
KC
One last thing... I'm tired and I did not have the best grammar or spelling tonight. I do apologize.
