Cozumel, 2017!

We return to the warm, clear waters of Cozumel for our 2017 dive trip. Staying at the all-inclusive Casa del mar Resort, enjoy diving with the professional staff of Marine World Cozumel. The resort is located south of the main city of San Miguel Cozumel so we don’t have the constant foot traffic and loud celebrations experienced in town. We are walking distance to shopping and restaurants, and taking a taxi back to town is very easy. The food and service in the restaurant is excellent, with a good variety of dishes to choose from. Last year, breakfast was served buffet style and we ordered from the menu for both lunch and dinner. There is a beautiful pool to cool off after diving, and of course, there is a swim-up bar. With a few exceptions, most all the beers and mixed drinks are included in our package.

All rooms are very nice with daily maid service. The housekeeping staff is very attentive and friendly. They also learned to make animals out of the bath towels, and you will find a different creation on your bed each day. Rooms are clean and well lit, the air conditioning works as expected, and there is no road noise. The one downside is the acoustics in the rooms make it easy to hear all your neighbors, so it’s a good idea to hold quiet conversations.

Plan on 18 boat dives (3 a day for 6 days), 3 meals a day, unlimited beverages (including adult beverages) as well as one non-diving day to explore the island.

>>>¡y Cenotes también!<<<

I can take a limited number of divers to explore the cenotes on the Yucatan peninsula. Composed mostly of porous limestone, the freshwater runoff from rains is filtered through the ground and ends up in large bodies of water that meander underground to the ocean. Over tens of thousands of years, the water has carved massive caves that are now being explored by certified cave divers. Many of these underwater caves have entrances where the limestone near the surface has eroded and caused a sinkhole. These sinkholes (cenotes) are the entrance to the underground caves and caverns. Water in the caverns is gin-clear, and the underwater stalactites and stalagmites are awe inspiring. Some of the caverns have some saltwater incursion, and you can experience the change in buoyancy and visibility as you make your way through the halocline.

All cenote dives are guided by certified cave diving instructors, and the dives are done in the cavern portion of the underwater caves. While not having direct access to the surface, cavern diving is done within view of the ambient light from the outside. If something goes awry, you swim toward the light to exit. We will be diving with cave instructors from Akumal Dive Shop, located a short distance from our jungle eco-resort. A number of cenotes are available for us to dive without having to attain a cave or cavern diving certification (as long as we are accompanied by a certified cave diving instructor). We will be diving the following cenotes:

• Dos Ojos – the Barbie line
• Dos Ojos – the bat cave
• Taj Mahal
• Garden of Eden

The cenote dive side-trip is limited to 10 divers.

For the cenote portion of the trip, we will be staying near the town of Akumal in a small jungle resort called Villa Morena. The resort is a small, eco-friendly resort that Patty and I fell in love with when we first saw it. The construction of the units used local and natural materials or recycled ones, free of petrochemical substances. All electricity is generated from solar panels and wind turbines, and the electricity is stored in batteries for use at night. All the water comes from underground rivers and is pumped to the surface.

Much of the exterior lighting is equipped with twilight switches or movement sensors in order to save electricity, and all internal and external bulbs are L.E.D. The majority of the cleaning products and detergents used by the resort are biodegradable or biological, and the bathrooms and kitchen drains end up in septic tanks, with two settling basins and one wetland tank that cleans the water through the roots of some specific plants. Solid waste is separated into plastic, glass and cans, and recycled or disposed of in special centers; paper and organic waste are burned and thrown in a compost unit to produce the soil that, together  with the ashes, goes to feed vegetable garden and fruit trees.

Cost of this mini-trip includes lodging, meals and cenote diving. It does not include ground transportation from the airport in Cancun, but there are several options available. If we arrive as a group, we can work out group transportation. If you arrive much earlier or later than Patty and me, I’ll provide you with transportation options or arrange transport for you. Transportation from the airport in Cancun is inexpensive, especially if you take the commercial ADO (pronounced aah-day-oh) bus to Playa del Carmen and have the resort pick you up from there.

Dates and Prices:

• Cenote Diving in Akumal: June 28 – June 30
  • 3 day / 2 night stay at Villa Morena
  • 4 cenote dives over two days (dive on 29th and 30th)
  • Meals included (Italian and Mexican food specialties at the resort, Mexican food in Akumal)
  • Double occupancy: $400 person / Single occupancy: $460 person
  • Note: divers MUST demonstrate good buoyancy skills prior to signing up for this portion of the trip. I will offer a Peak Performance Buoyancy course in 2017. Email me to sign up if your buoyancy skills are dicey or if someone has told you that your buoyancy skills suck.

• Cozumel Dive Trip: June 30 – July 8
  • 9 day / 8 night stay at Casa del mar Dive Resort
  • 6 days of 3-tank boat dives
  • 1 shore dive on arrival to check and adjust your buoyancy
  • Meals included
  • Drinks included
  • Marine park fee ($3 / day) included
  • Double occupancy: $1500 / Single occupancy: $1900

To make your reservation, email me:

cecil@pattyandcecil.info