June 29th, 2008: Cozumel Diving Day 1 – Palancar Gardens & San Clemente

After getting settled and signed up on Saturday for everything, we were ready to dive on Sunday. The first morning was a bit hectic at the dive shop as people were signing in and everyone was there at the same time. I felt fortunate that we had gone over the day before to fill out the necessary forms and show our cert cards to the DS and soon we were walking down the path to the pier and to our boat. We were on the “Sand Dollar Express” – a beautiful, clean and incredibly spacious catamaran which was dedicated almost entirely to our group. We quickly chose a spot under the cover out of the sun and began setting up our gear, chatting and enjoying the warm, tropical morning.

Soon the boat was underway, cutting through the amazingly blue Cozumelenian waters, clear and inviting. I was anxiously awaiting splashing in and getting to explore around! The excitement was almost unbearable and the ride out to Palancar Gardens seemed to take forever. But soon enough, we were gliding into our 3mm wetsuits (a dream compared to our normal 7mm plus hood and gloves), getting our BCDs on, masks and fins in hand and making our way to the back of the deck to jump in. I was ecstatic.

After a little giant stride into the water, slightly anxious but more excited, we reconvened and were soon letting the air out of our BCDs and descending into the WARMEST water I think I’ve ever dove in. And what was below the water surface did not disappoint in the slightest.

As my head peeked below the surface, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There, down 50 feet into the blue abyss, I could see the bottom. Looking around, I could divers in all directions. Just absolutely amazing. Mark and I, suspended in the water column, eyes wide as saucers and just making hand gestures to one another about the viz – I mean it was so good, that the viz wasn’t ending – it was just that I physically couldn’t see any further! It was truly awe inspiring.

After the buoyancy issues were sorted for some of our companions, we were off. Palancar Gardens is just a beautiful site full of coral reef scenery which just does not disappoint. The site has a number of swim-throughs, which are some of my absolute favorite things to do! And floating over the reef, you pass all manner of grunt and parrot fish, especially stoplight parrot fish in their various stages, while small wrasse, and angels dart in and out of the reef. It is truly a magical first dive to begin your dive vacation on.

After a surface interval, we were treated to San Clemente, truly a Cozumel drift dive experience. Blasting over the reef, we were greeted by Lisa’s favorite fish – the barracuda. While I find these fish somewhat creepy, their lower jaw slightly jutting out, sometimes exposing their lower sharp teeth, they manner in which they eerily hang out, watching us divers fascinates me to the point that I almost feel like I can’t take my eyes off them. Sea rods are in abundance and small fish flit in and out of the elkhorn coral and barrel sponges making this site a light and fanciful dive to do.








Dive #64 – Sunday, 06/29/08 – Palancar Gardens – Cozumel, Mexico. 8:37 AM. Max depth 51 feet, average depth 38 feet. Bottom time 48 minutes. 800 PSI at end of dive. Water temp 82°, vis approximately 60-100’. Surface interval – 1 hour, 3 minutes.

Dive #65 – Sunday, 06/29/08 – San Clemente – Cozumel, Mexico. 10:53 AM. Max depth 79 feet, average depth 55 feet. Bottom time 41 minutes. 1050 PSI at end of dive. Water temp 82°, vis approximately 50-70’.

Favorite Photo of the Day:

Barracuda cruising the reef