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Mexico 1996
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| As every year we take a hell of a long time to decide were to go diving. After a beautiful 4 and a half weeks in Curacao last year we decided that Racquel would pick a spot and that it would be a surprise to me all until we reached the airport and check in our luggage. A couple of weeks passed and the mysterious grin on her face grew wider and wider so she must have decided and perhaps already have booked everything. One day at work a colleague of ours passed me in the hallway and said in his best Speedy Gonzalez voice “Meggikoooo”. So goodbye surprise. Racquel was furious and her little plan was spoiled but I comforted her by saying that I would love to go and that is was a very nice choice. We were to do some culture sniffing and relaxing and let the amount of diving depend on the quality and the prices. Of course we had a good deal of Montezuma’s Revenge in the first week and we really have no more embarrassments about anything. Man picture yourself in a small cabin with your friend and the both of you feel they have to use the toilet exactly 30 seconds before those stomach cramps reach you. You almost sit on each others lap. The hotel is beautiful with a small pool and nothing to in the evening. So we went to bed early and slept a lot because of the temperature. We stayed in the Shangri La Caribe Hotel and used Cyan Ha for our diving. They are located on the beach in front of the hotel. |
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 In this pictue you can see the location of the Shangri La Hotel. The hotel is divided in to two hotels, at the bottom side it is called Las Palapas. They had an arguement or something I really don’t remember. The two are almost identical. Up along the coast you reach Cozumel after about an hour drive. The road is poor and a lot of accidents happen here. Don’t be afraid if the military stop you and investigate your luggage. It seems this is the only way for smugglers to get to and from Belize and other countries. Watch out for giant spiders crossing the road. |
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 The view from the ocean towards the hotel with the boat from the dive center in it gives you a good idea about the crystal waters and the beautiful white sandy beaches. The beach is cleaned every day and the waiter brings you your drink even if you’re in the water. At least if he can reach you without swimming. The boat could use a sunroof. In this picture a huge thunderstorm passed the coastline. This brings out the colors of the ocean even better. |
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 The cabins in the hotel are 1 or 2 stories high. We were very glad we were in a 1 story cabin when we had the shits. Imagine you are on the second floor on the toilet all night and you know there is also someone staying beneath you. Could you be more embarrassed? If you can have your pick try to get a cabin as close as possible to the beach. The cool ocean breeze in the evenings and at night cools the palapa and keeps away the insects. Even if your are close to the beach everything is within walking distance. |
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 Another view in the direction of the hotel next door I think. I don’t remember our pool being shaped like this. The staff is great in this hotel, they are very friendly and do everything to let you enjoy your stay. The have specials at night at dinnertime and sometimes they dress up and have a little show. People around here are poor and so they should be tipped properly. I wonder if Francisco is still waiter.. |
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| The dive center is owned by Carlos. To us he looked like the twin brother of David Hasselhoff. When we told him this he laughed politely but he probably doesn’t know who David Hasselhoff is. Man, I only known this dude because he runs around on a beach surrounded by beautiful women in very tiny bikinis and I happen to like beaches. Almost all the dives we were accompanied by Marcel the divemaster. A very good diver but not a great communicator. | |
| The Dives during these 2 weeks | |
| The numbers in front of the dives correspond with the numbers in my logbook. | |
| 26 |
Las Cabezas
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| Our first dive in Mexico. In Holland we got our AOW c-card so we are a little more trained and experienced. We had some nice diving in Dutch waters in between Curacao and Mexico. This is a nice dive with a lot of big fish. The fish seem to be not shy at all. The divespot has a lot of big blocks and swim throughs. When we surface the guy in the boat tells us he saw dolphins….hummm maybe lucky next dive? Depth: 14.1 meters |
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| 27 |
Xcaret
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| There has been a lot of rain lately so the visibility is poor this dive. There is an Italian guy with us, crazy guy in a funny way. There is some excitement over a lobster but we have seen dozens of them in Holland so we can’t share this and find it amusing.
Depth: 13.9 meters |
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| 28 |
The Chimney
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| Two turtles on this dive with Marcel our DM. There is not much in the logbook so I think it was good but not exceptional.
Depth: 27.3 meters |
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| 29 |
Xcaret
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| Second dive at this location. Viz is a lot better and we meet a school of baracudas, a green moray eel and the usual fish.
Depth: 14 meters |
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| 30 |
Wreck Dive
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 A dive on one of the wrecks. Carlos tells us hat not many people know the location of this wreck and that it is only there for 3 months. Some say it has to do with smuggling and rivaling groups of smugglers. In the bar of the wreck there are still bottles filled with booz. I rented a camera on this dive and made this picture. I think it is one of the best I made. You can see a baracuda close to the mast that is pointing upwards. There is a strong current on the wreck but we enjoy the dive and stay down as log as possible.
Depth: 26.6 meters |
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| 31 |
Las Cabezas
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| Second dive with bad viz this time. This was our last dive. We enjoyed diving here but it was not as good as Curacao. We enjoyed chasing the small hurricane with the boat after one of the dives.
Depth: 12.2 meters |
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 We also took the time to do a little sight seeing. We visited Chitzen Itza on a tour and rented a car one day to explore Tulum together with a Dutch couple we met n the hotel. Driving around Yucatan can be dangerous but fortunately we did not have any problems. |
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 Chitzen Itza is a must when you visit the yucatan peninsula. Take a tour with one of the guides who will explain everything to you. If you don’t you will miss a lot of information. You get to vist lots of place that are in the movie Against all odds! |
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| unfortunately we did not do any cenote dving. If we ever get back we will certainly investigate some of these underwater cave-systems. keep diving, ScuBart |
