Reports From
Readers: Part I
Cozumel's adult dive operators, Bonaire's bummers
from the August,
2004 issue of Undercurrent
We want to
keep you updated. We’ve received lots of reports from readers,
traveling divers, correspondents, and others, and between Chapbooks
we like to offer updates that we think are important. Here’s the
latest.
Cozumel: There are perhaps more dive operators per
square foot here than any place in the world. Some cater to the lowest
common denominator of divers, but your fellow Undercurrent subscribers
know the good ones. Aldora Divers (www.aldoradivers.com)
has been a favorite for many years, and past issues and chapbooks have
sung their praises. You can’t go wrong with them, but here are
a few others as well.
Liquid Blue is a favorite of serious divers,
as Daniel Spitzer (Suffern NY) reports from his June trip to Cozumel,
“A two-small-boats operation. Owner Roberto Rodruguez-Miramon
and his brother Jorge share divemaster duties, while Roberto’s
wife Michaela (from Colorado) runs the office. It is a pleasure to dive
with them, as they enjoy leading a small group through the nooks and
crannies of the reef and pointing out interesting finds. Liquid Blue
uses steel 100 or 120 cubic foot tanks, so deep dives such as a multiple
entry of Devil’s Throat are not time-limited. Liquid Blue dives
to meet the experience and desires of its customers. ... Cruise ships
disgorge masses, and on some nights it’s best to avoid the center
of town. However, on a Sunday, it is possible to enjoy a quiet dinner
and walk around town, appreciating a different culture and marveling
at the ability of an entire family — husband, wife, and two children
— to balance on a single motor scooter. (As a neurosurgeon, I
cringe, especially since there isn’t a helmet in sight.) www.liquidbluedivers.com.
Advanced Diver: Says Jack Gibson (Dallas, TX), “Richard
and Tony did it for us again. On our first dive, 77 minutes at Palancar
caves, we saw one of everything: a nurse shark, hawksbill turtle, spotted
eagle ray, southern stingray, green moray, and a spotted moray. After
9 years of diving with them, I can tell you these guys are pros who
give you lots of bottom time over Cozumel’s best sites.”
www.advanceddivers.com.
Blue XT Sea Diving: Chuck and Nancy Anson (Oceanside,
CA) write that with Blue XT Sea in January, “we got long bottom
times, good fast boats, experienced dive staff, and our choice of dive
sites. They picked us up at the Plaza Las Glorious pier each morning
around 8 a.m. Their dive boat is a fast twin engine boat that easily
holds eight divers, but there were never more than six, plus the divemaster.
They use aluminum 80s, and fills were consistently 3,000 plus. Most
dives were over 60 minutes. The two divemasters, Raul I and Raul II,
have each been diving Cozumel’s reefs for more than 10 years.”
bluextseadiving.com
Living Underwater: Larry Sandusky (Meridian, ID) says
that in June owner Jeremy Anschel “actively solicited input on
our diving preferences before recommending dive sites, then gave excellent,
detailed pre-dive briefings. He was consistently attentive underwater,
often checking your computer personally to make certain decompression
dives were going smoothly. Living Underwater uses steel 120s for extended
dive times and beautiful drift dives, with the time to closely examine
the smallest reef creatures. Jeremy is a sharp-eyed divemaster who will
show tiny creatures with the same enthusiasm as the large ones. Jeremy
and Living Underwater are living proof of Undercurrent’s value
to the discriminating diver.” www.living-underwater.com.
Solomon Islands: Scientists have long thought that
the world’s most diverse coral regions end at Papua New Guinea,
but researchers recently “set the marine scientific community
on its ear after uncovering one of the most diverse coral reef systems
in the world in the Solomon Islands.” Dr. Alison Green announced
in June that 15 scientists from Australia and the Solomons spent 35
days there and recorded 485 species of coral and 284 different fish
types. She said the surveyed area had the second highest number of coral
species in the world and for fish diversity it ranked equal with Indonesia,
the Philippines, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. Many divers have known
this for a long time, and with the civil unrest in the Solomons now
under control, the Bilikiki is again the boat of the hour.
Says Larry Schnabel (yes, Larry again), who was on board in March: “Boat
comfortable, well organized, rooms clean and spacious. Food quite good,
lots of fresh veggies, fruit, fish. Dove Guadalcanal, Russell Island,
Florida Islands; divemasters let you dive your own dives without trying
to mollycoddle you. Saw a few mobulas and whitetip, blacktip, and reef
sharks, largest maybe 4 feet, but coral and smaller fish life abundant
(saw four varieties of trigger fish and more varieties of Nemos). Some
strong currents.” www.bilikiki.com.
Bonaire: We get enough mixed reviews on the Plaza Resort
to caution divers headed there to keep expectations in check. For example,
a reader from Knoxville, TN, there in May, says that “My decision
to stay at Plaza Resort was to satisfy my wife’s (nondiver) likes
for a nice beach, A/C, and cable TV. The Plaza Resort is the largest
on the island. It also might be the most overrated. The rooms are huge
and clean. Decor is basic and limited. We stayed on the 2nd floor (top)
and our ceiling leaked in five places during a couple of rain showers.
The landscaping around the resort was lacking. Bird droppings covered
walkways under trees. I expected a lot more from this resort based on
the rates I was paying.” More than one diver has reported that
unless they have booked a package in advance, they had trouble getting
on the dive boats; there hasn’t been enough room for all the divers
at the resort. www.plazaresortbonaire.com.
And P.S.: Bonaire: To meet international security requirements,
officials considered closing Town Pier to all diving, but that didn’t
happen. Nonetheless, divemasters and divers heading to Town Pier will
now be required to provide identity information in advance to the harbor
master, and permits will be checked by security officers. When ships
are in port or under heightened security, no diving will be allowed.
... Bonaire’s reefs are degrading because of runoff, sewage, and
other matters, so Bonaire is putting in a new sewage treatment plant.
Trouble is, reports the Bonaire Reporter, environmentalists
say the proposed design will “do more harm than good to Bonaire’s
reefs.”
Cayman Aggressor: Keep the weather in mind if you’re
headed aboard the Cayman Aggressor in winter. Susan Rae Sampson
(Renton, WA) reports: “Last November, we took our chances on the
weather and lost: We were unable to get to Little Cayman and Bloody
Bay Wall.” Rough seas can prevent the Aggressor from
making the 70-mile crossing, which means that you may have to be satisfied
diving the full week alongside all of Grand Cayman’s day boats.
www.aggressor.com/ca-home.html
— Larry Clinton
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