Diving, Diving, Diving!

We went diving the other day! We led a trip of 3 divers for Albatros. We dove Palancar Gardens and Chankanaab. Ah yes, diving- the reason that brought us to Cozumel in the first place over 20 years ago. For years we knew more about the ocean, local dive shops and boats than we did about any happenings on land. We used to get up early, eat a quick breakfast and then were out on the slow boat until late afternoon. We were happiest when we did two morning dives, had lunch prepared in a hut on the beach (ceviche was heaven!) and then an afternoon dive. We loved the time on the boat slowly motoring our way to the dive sites. We met divers from all over the world and really became friends with the boat captains and their mates. We got to know Capitan Chucho and his mate Jose very well although sometimes our lack of fluency in Spanish could mess us up. An example, one day, Chucho brought his toy poodle on the boat. When we asked him what his dog’s name was, he replied “Sucio”. The dog was a grayish color. The next day he brought a very white toy poodle on the boat. When we asked for this dog’s name, he looked down at the dog and replied “Limpio”. It took us some time to realize that it was the same dog. Sucio is a Spanish word for dirty and Limpio is clean.
Chucho no longer captains the slow boat Lorena. He’s long been retired. Especially since Lorena sunk twice! Now, it’s fast six pack boats (that hold 6 divers) and operators try to run 2 trips a day. Even the smelly Yamaha 2 stroke engines are being replaced by quiet and efficient 4 stroke engines. Things change on the surface, but the reef and wildlife remain as healthy, diverse and beautiful as always.
After all these years, the fish seem like old friends. The grouper are like dogs following us throughout the dive. The angel fish like to dance in pairs. The parrot fish are as voracious as ever chomping continuously on the coral. The sting rays’ eyes peak out from their blankets of sand. The lobsters seem to know that they are almost invincible with the protection that the underwater national park provides.
Yes, dive days continue to be RED LETTER DAYS- in caps and bolded for emphasis.