Spring Break Travels

OK - I'm a little late - taxes and all, but finally up and running.  So what did we do?.....diving!!!   I know it's a shock but there it is.

I know - it looks terribly commercial.  We divers all laugh and usually sing the first line of "The Lo-o-o-o-ove Bo-o-o-o-oat!!!!"  Fortunately there aren't too many of these people below the water.

First we got our reservations late, so we decided to go early and come home late - that of course costs us more than just sucking up and paying the extra for the flights, but it was also a lot more fun.  So we got into Cozumel early afternoon - and takes a while to get to the hotel and then went diving.  Couldn't wait to get in the water - or rather get the camera in the water.

Isn't she beautiful....looks like she put her eyelashes on just for us.  But immediately in the water and we see this.  I'd just read an article about triggerfish who attack - actually you really have to provoke them - apparently getting near their nursery is a big no-no.  This one was alone and probably could have cared less, but I was excited to see something so important immediately on entering the water - I'm like that a lot when I'm diving!

Angelfish pair for life, here are two really big ones - about 12" to 14" long.  They were just trolling around looking for stuff to eat.  These are French Angelfish.

This is the beautiful Queen Angelfish which is always a wonderful find, and yes, they are this colorful.  They are beautiful in the water.

I never, never fail to marvel at the beauty and delicacy that is throughout the ocean.  Here is this unbelievably strong place - the ocean with its currents, drifts, and really big  fish and eaters, and here's this beautifully delicate stuff growing all over.

What are you looking at bub?....You look at me and I'll take a picture of you - with a macro lens, objects may appear closer than they actually are!!!!

A word about our accommodations.  We usually stay at Casa del Mar

It's a lovely place and they have geared their operation to diving and divers.  But we made our reservations late, and so we couldn't get in.

So we booked a place at Casa Viento

This is Diva - the house dog - and she's as sweet as they come.  It's a large casa (behind the pool in this photo), and little rooms along the other side of the pool.  We had a 1st floor room, which was great with all our equipment.  I can't say enough fabulous things about this place.  It was off the beaten track - very clean, very neat and just the sort of place that Walt and I love to stay in.  The only thing is that it is about 5 miles north of downtown San Miguel.  But if you get a scooter, then you can run all over the island.  For us we had to get transportation to the marina at Caleta.  It wasn't bad, cause Casa Viento was such a marvelous adventure. 

I would recommend it highly.

The rest of our vacation was in a time share on the Riviera Maya, which was not our cup of tea.  It was big, huge and just too many people stuffed into a place that was also just too big for us.  Not saying the place was bad, but it was just not for us.

After a week in Playa and the Riviera Maya, we came back to Cozumel.  It is so much fun and still quaint and yet settled - good food, good diving and so far - good accommodations!   

Evening view out our window!