Dive Review of
Papa Hogs/Reef Residencias - At Home in Cozml in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan

Cancun, Riviera Maya, Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii, Bahamas, Caymans, Grand
Turk, Florida Keys, Miami & Ft. Lauderdale

Dive Conditions

700 psi upon ascent  

[None]  

Overall Rating

Papa Hogs is a first class operation.  Each morning, a small six-pack, with
a captain & divemaster, would pick us up at the dock about a quarter
mile from our condo.  For 5 of the 6 days, only the 4 of us in our group
were on the boat.  Our nitrox tanks, BCs, and regs were all set up, having
been rinsed and stored from the day before.  We asked that Sergio be our
divemaster all week and the request was cheerully honored.  Sergio asked
where we wanted to dive each day and if we didn't have a preference, he
suggested a nice variety of sites.  Not much in the way of briefings but he
led us on each drift, looking out for us and showing us things of interest.
 We could dive our own profiles or follow him and the captain was always
quick to spot us and pick us up, asking us to doff our BCs in the water and
hoisting them up before we climbed the ladder.  Surface intervals were on
the beach and lasted about an hour.  The reefs below 30 feet are still
covered with sand from 2005 Hurricane Wilma but the color and fish life at
shallow depths were plentiful.  Saw several tutles, lots of cudas, a few
nurse sharks, plentiful rays, and a few sightings, thanks to Sergio, of the
endemic splendid toadfish.  I would definitely return to Papa Hogs in a few
years after the currents sweep the sand off the reefs.  Residencias Reef is
a fairly isolated but luxurious condo 10 minute drive from town --
definintely need to rent a car.  The condos are large, equipped with
everything (ours #5240 even had golf clubs, beach rafts, and bottled water)
with great beach views, but ask for one with English rather than Spanish
satellite TV.  Also inquire about any construction or power outages
planned, as we had one day without power and hadn't been advised in advance
(altho our rent for that day was refunded.)  The beach and grounds are
groomed each day and the pool large.  Each evening we drove into town and
ate tasty grilled fresh seafood at restaurants receommended by Divemaster
Sergio.  It was offseason when we went in September, so it wasn't crowded
although the town fills up when the mega cruise ships dock, but they were
gone by dinner time.  A nice week of  attractive, pleasant but unexciting
diving  (except for one day when Sergio took us for an exhilirating drift
in a strong current that was as exciting as a theme park roller coaster --
we were all smiles afterwards) with full service and comfortable
accomodations. 

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