Happy New Year to everyone!!  I certainly had a great New Year and was lucky enough to spend Christmas and then welcome in the New Year in Cozumel with Bill and Linda Dwyer, and my lovely bride...Kathy.  We had a great time and look forward to the spring version in April 2012.  It was tough duty, but someone had to volunteer for a practice run before the Spring Fling.

Sadly, I had to work the day we left, so we had to delay the departure until evening.  The 'group' linked up at BWI, checked in and found the first bar with scotch...:-)).  Our flight was on time and we headed off to Houston for the night.  Arrived Houston without incident, checked into our hotel and had a fine dinner before retiring for the evening.  Up early and back to the airport for the flight to Cozumel.  Special for our departure, Houston arranged for it to be raining and cold...wonderful.  I, of course, was wearing shorts and flip flops...it's all in the mind...:-)).  Arrival, immigration, and customs was smooth.  No one got the "red light" requiring a full inspection of all your luggage.  The bus to the hotel was a bit delayed, but we didn't mind as there was a bar near the waiting area.  Check-in was painless and once the wrist band was attached, we were free to indulge in all the included food and booze.  Not bad...Oh yea, the sun was bright and the temperature was running around 80 degrees.  Since we arrived before check-in, we left our bags with the desk and headed off to wait at the lunch buffet next to the pool.  Nice.

Overall, the food was excellent and there was a wide variety of dishes to suit any taste.  Breakfast was everything from steak, waffles, eggs to order, or pancakes.  Bacon was excellent and more than you should ever eat.  It was buffet food so it wasn't like eating in a gourmet restaurant, but it was darn good!  I can't recall a single moment that was unpleasant.  The entire staff was excellent and willing to do whatever needed to be done to ensure you had a fun time.  The rooms were clean and had everything you needed.

Most of our time was spent just laying by the pool, sipping drinks, and enjoying the sun.  We did have Santa pay a visit on Christmas Eve.  He even had presents for the good kids...I didn't get one and can't figure out why.  Perhaps he was expecting me in Maryland.  I know I've been good...at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it...:-)).  The New Year celebration was very nice as well.

Diving...everyone's real interest...was EXCELLENT!!

Visibility was an average of about 100 - 150 feet and the water was around 80 degrees.  I dove in a 3mm shorty for the entire week.  My dive master dove in a pair of swim trunks and no shirt.  A couple of the dives lasted an hour and a half and I have to admit I got a bit chilled.  Generally, however, 3mm would have been enough.  I'm sure in April a pair of shorts and a rash guard will be more that enough. 

Cozumel is famous for its drift diving.  For anyone unfamiliar with drift diving, it is downright fun and easy.  You just ride the current and see the beautiful underwater world flow past.  You only need to maintain a view or to stop and take a longer look at something.  I did 10 dives and each was a wonderful experience.  I saw a dozen turtles, several sharks (Nurse and Blacktip), Green Moray Eels (BIG), and a wide variety of reef fish.  I understand the number of different turtles increases dramatically in the spring. 

I was in Cozumel in 2007, not long after the big hurricane, and the reefs were really beat up.  This time it was like a whole different world.  The reefs are healthy and the coral is really pretty.  This was primarily a topside vacation with the gang, so there isn't a lot of evidence (photographs) of my exploits.

The hotel dive operation is very accommodating.  They run four dives a day and return to the dock between each one (the advantage of our hotel being so close to the best dive sites).  The shop takes care of most everything.  You have to store your equipment after diving, but there are rinse tanks and storage areas right near the dock.  All-in-all, not much hassle.  There is no shore diving, but four dives a day should be enough for anyone...me included.  There are night dives as well (I didn't partake as I was occupied in the evenings...bars need love too).

I checked out the dive operation at the Occidental Grand, the location of the Spring Fling trip in April. They run four dives a day from the hotel dock.  There is storage for your gear and rinse tanks as well.  The dive shop is not all that well stocked, but has the basics if we need them.  For those of going in April, we need to make sure we have everything we need before we go.  As usual, we will have a couple of get togethers to ensure everyone has what they need.

Our return travel wasn't any more difficult that getting there.  We loaded up at the hotel, arrived at the airport, checked in, processed security, and entered the waiting room without delay.  Strangely, we didn't have to take off our shoes, but belts caused an issue.  Immigration and customs in Houston went smoothly.  One thing to expect is that you have to reenter the airport through US security after leaving customs.  Not really an issue, but another bump in the road.  Finally got home around midnight with lots of excellent memories.

As an additional benny...I had the opportunity to check out the new Oceanic VT4 dive computer.  WOW!!  I've been diving the VT3 and really loved it, but this just puts it to shame.  I particularly liked new features and the improvements over the old.  One of the best improvements was the way you can access the different menus.  Before, you had to scroll through a number of different screens to get to the right place, and if you missed it, you had to start over.  Not so much anymore.  Now it's a regular menu driven screen.  Very nice.  Here are a few of the other features:

• Powered by Oceanic's Dual Algorithm allowing you to choose the decompression algorithm that best suits your diving needs without compromising safety.
• Deep stop with countdown timer...a nice addition.
• Switch between up to 4 independent wireless transmitters, tracking multiple Nitrox mixes.
• 3-axis digital compass with full tilt compensation...I used this and didn't have any trouble adjusting from the old fashioned compass.
• Improved user-interface with Step Back allows for easy settings preview and for settings to be changed while viewing the menus...I had my no decompression time as my primary screen and that was really nice.  Scrolling through the various screens was easy and provided more information than you can imagine.
• Customize your dive mode display with multiple data options.
• Confirm common pre-dive settings - defined by the user.
• Access custom Shortcut; your choice of display, setting or function.
• User replaceable battery with data retention.

I also took the opportunity to check out another dive operation on the island that is not associated with the hotel.  It was a great experience.  We dove steel, high pressure 120 cu.ft. tanks from very well appointed dive boats.  This operation caters to serious divers.  I will confess up front that it costs more than the hotel dives, but I found it worth every penny.  The steel tanks reduced the weight we needed to almost nothing and provided enough air to have dives running at least 60 minutes and more often than not, 75 minutes.  Divers are required to have a computer and are permitted to dive their own profile.  That means you are in charge of your own fate.  Dive Masters are helpful and will point out this and that, but will leave you alone if that's your preference.  The ladies are afforded steel, high pressure 100 cu.ft. tanks which provides everyone the air they need.  The morning dive begins around 8:30.  After you get back on the boat and remove your tank, they hand you a nice warm stadium coat to wrap up in.  It may not be necessary in the summer, but, I have to tell you, it was a welcome sight in December.  Surface intervals are about an hour and a half to ensure sufficient off-gassing.  Another option that isn't always available with other operations is access to some of the deeper, less frequented dive sites, and the north and south ends of the island.  I could go on, but I think I can best describe the experience by repeating the pre-dive briefing... let the dive master know when you reach 1000 PSI or three minutes to DECO.  Again, this is not your run of the mill hotel operation.  Quality often costs more.  In some cases, it is worth it...like this operation.

That's about it for now.

Your wandering traveler

Maury (aka Grumpy)