Cozumel, April 2010
6:05 PM
Well , it been a few days since returning from my trip to Cozumel. I am adjusting to "real life" again and reflecting on the trip. This was my fourth trip to Cozumel, and my third to Occiental Allegro. There were some unexpected changes at the resort since my last visit 5 years ago.
As I expected the lack of a direct flight caused some headaches and delays in getting there. The typical 2 1/2 hour flight turned into a 9 hour trip. Much too long!
We got to the resort and got settled into our room. I was anxious to get down to the dive shop to sign up and try to get my wife Tracey and I ready for an afternoon shore dive. I turned the corner to the dive shop and where Dive Palancar should have been only to find a new dive operator! I walked up to the gal in the window and asked about doing a shore dive and she bluntly said "There are no shore dives here" She wasnt rude but her attitude wasnt exactly friendly either. I asked why and she said something to the referring to it being illegal and the "previous operator" was poorly managed. I wasnt exactly impressed with this first meeting. I had to bite my tounge to keep from expressing my opinion so I said thanks and left. At this point I was getting worried. Who the heck would i dive through! I wanted to start diveing first thing in the morning but wasnt sure who to go through at this point. I walked to the pier and looked up the beach to the next resort and I spied what looked like the Dive Plancar boats tied up off of Occidental Grand resort. I took a quick walk up the beach and found that Palancar had moved to the Grand resort for some reason or another. No one wanted to talk about it too much but I seemed there were some hard feeling about what happened. Nonetheless, I got signed up with them for some afternoon dives and I was happy to be diving with some old friends in
Cozumel. They agreed to pick me up at the pier at my resort and deliver me to the dive boat every day. That would save me a long walk on the beach every day! The best part is that they still allowed unlimited shore dives at their new beach area at Grand. The next morining I took Tracey and our gear up the beach to do a shore dive with her. It had been 5 years since her last dive so she needed some refresher water time. Unfortunately the water was kind of rough that morning and she had a difficult time. The waves freaked her out and ultimatley she bailed out after her unsucsessful attempt of getting though the waves. I was initially upset with her for quiting so soon, she is a good diver and knows what to do. All she had to do is get through the waves and she would be in the clear! Tracey got out but i decided to go out for a while and try out the borrowed gear I was using. I did have one problem. I had recently purchased some new boots but never tried them on until arriving in Mexico. When I put them on and tried to put my fins on I found they wouldnt fit in the fin pocket!! Ultimately I had to force them into the fins and loosen my fin straps . Now getting them off would be quite a work out!
After the shore dive I returned to our resort for a look around. There were some obvious changes going on here! After talking with a few locals I discovered that Cozumel was in the middle of a recession itself. With an economy that revolves around tourism , the recession in America has had an affect on the Cozumel economy. Our resort which had rebuilt and expanded after Hurricane Wilma was mostly empty. The official number was 55% capacity but it almost seemed deserted at times. The services had been cut back too. It could be downright frustrating to get a drink at the bar sometimes! It seems the bartenders were told to be extra slow to serve drinks to discourage consumption. I usually tip at the begining of the week to get quicker service but after my first attempt at the bar I decided to wait to see if service improved.....it didnt. Dont get me wrong here, they employees were very cordial and nice but very slow. In previous trips here even with a very busy bar the wait for your drinks was usually very short and the selve serve Corona on tap was no more. I tried to pour my own but was quickly told NO. Bummer! It is obvious the resorts are cutting back to conserve money. They have to to survive I supose. Despite the changes the resort is still very nice , clean and inviting to be at. I have no complaints about the facilities. Even the beds are softer and more comfortable now. The food was average but good enough for seconds! I had read many complaints on line about food but found a good selection and for the most part flavorful.
I will continue my trip later on another posting!
As I expected the lack of a direct flight caused some headaches and delays in getting there. The typical 2 1/2 hour flight turned into a 9 hour trip. Much too long!
We got to the resort and got settled into our room. I was anxious to get down to the dive shop to sign up and try to get my wife Tracey and I ready for an afternoon shore dive. I turned the corner to the dive shop and where Dive Palancar should have been only to find a new dive operator! I walked up to the gal in the window and asked about doing a shore dive and she bluntly said "There are no shore dives here" She wasnt rude but her attitude wasnt exactly friendly either. I asked why and she said something to the referring to it being illegal and the "previous operator" was poorly managed. I wasnt exactly impressed with this first meeting. I had to bite my tounge to keep from expressing my opinion so I said thanks and left. At this point I was getting worried. Who the heck would i dive through! I wanted to start diveing first thing in the morning but wasnt sure who to go through at this point. I walked to the pier and looked up the beach to the next resort and I spied what looked like the Dive Plancar boats tied up off of Occidental Grand resort. I took a quick walk up the beach and found that Palancar had moved to the Grand resort for some reason or another. No one wanted to talk about it too much but I seemed there were some hard feeling about what happened. Nonetheless, I got signed up with them for some afternoon dives and I was happy to be diving with some old friends in
Cozumel. They agreed to pick me up at the pier at my resort and deliver me to the dive boat every day. That would save me a long walk on the beach every day! The best part is that they still allowed unlimited shore dives at their new beach area at Grand. The next morining I took Tracey and our gear up the beach to do a shore dive with her. It had been 5 years since her last dive so she needed some refresher water time. Unfortunately the water was kind of rough that morning and she had a difficult time. The waves freaked her out and ultimatley she bailed out after her unsucsessful attempt of getting though the waves. I was initially upset with her for quiting so soon, she is a good diver and knows what to do. All she had to do is get through the waves and she would be in the clear! Tracey got out but i decided to go out for a while and try out the borrowed gear I was using. I did have one problem. I had recently purchased some new boots but never tried them on until arriving in Mexico. When I put them on and tried to put my fins on I found they wouldnt fit in the fin pocket!! Ultimately I had to force them into the fins and loosen my fin straps . Now getting them off would be quite a work out!
After the shore dive I returned to our resort for a look around. There were some obvious changes going on here! After talking with a few locals I discovered that Cozumel was in the middle of a recession itself. With an economy that revolves around tourism , the recession in America has had an affect on the Cozumel economy. Our resort which had rebuilt and expanded after Hurricane Wilma was mostly empty. The official number was 55% capacity but it almost seemed deserted at times. The services had been cut back too. It could be downright frustrating to get a drink at the bar sometimes! It seems the bartenders were told to be extra slow to serve drinks to discourage consumption. I usually tip at the begining of the week to get quicker service but after my first attempt at the bar I decided to wait to see if service improved.....it didnt. Dont get me wrong here, they employees were very cordial and nice but very slow. In previous trips here even with a very busy bar the wait for your drinks was usually very short and the selve serve Corona on tap was no more. I tried to pour my own but was quickly told NO. Bummer! It is obvious the resorts are cutting back to conserve money. They have to to survive I supose. Despite the changes the resort is still very nice , clean and inviting to be at. I have no complaints about the facilities. Even the beds are softer and more comfortable now. The food was average but good enough for seconds! I had read many complaints on line about food but found a good selection and for the most part flavorful.
I will continue my trip later on another posting!
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