Mexican Wave Diving - Cancun, Easter 2007

by Andy & Fiona Boorer

We decided on a slightly earlier dive trip this year, having tried the Florida Keys last year in the summer (TOO windy at start of hurricane season). Mexico at Easter had advantages - not too hot and (hopefully) not too windy.

We had booked a basic all inclusive for 2 weeks (food gets VERY boring after two weeks.....) at Imperial Las Perlas hotel and booked diving with Manta Divers before we went. We booked their "Super Extreme Dive Package". This was 9 dives, advertised as 2 reef dives, 2 wreck dives, 2 dives on Cozumel, 2 cenote dives and a night dive. There were 6 of us, as quite qualified (minimum BSAC Advanced, most of us instructors) divers ( + 2 baby divers who did some of the dives!). Age range - 3 "real" grown ups, and 3 who are the late teen diving brigade, plus the "baby" divers of 17 and 11.

It was still quite windy...... don't know when you could go that isn't. The 2 shakedown reef dives were OK, but a bit boring after a while. The coral is quite broken up after Hurricane Wilma, and there really wasn't a huge variety of species. Highlights of dives were some Nurse shark and a frogfish.

The advertised 2 wreck dives were in fact ONE wreck dive on the only wreck they seem to have left (C58 minesweeper) - and then another adequate reef. The minesweeper has quite a current on it getting down (we spent the whole week being told about currents, but this was the only annoying one), and for a "sanitised for the tourists" wreck is all right. Nice Eagle rays off the stern. The reef - pretty, but not a WRECK!!

Cozumel diving was all right - very clear (if a bit barren) water, but advertised as a "wall dive". I don't consider a 30 degree slope as a wall, myself, and if it had not been for our own dive guide who realised we wanted a little more, and took us deeper, we would have spent the time poddling over 20m or so, with small reef patches between sand bits. As it was, we crossed a pretty large sand patch for several minutes, and the main dive guide seemed cross that we were doing somersaults and playing trains (what else is there to do on barren sand....). Advertised as amongst the "best diving in the world". Well........ maybe if your experience is very limited........

Manta's boat broke down, so we negotiated, and did a dive with the scuba school at our hotel (as we said, get a web site, guys and people will know you exist). Night dive. Glad we had the bad ass Kowalski torches. Lots of Trevelly hunting on the fringes of the beams, and one HUGE - and I mean HUGE - turtle.

The best diving of the whole trip was the cenote diving. Glad we did it last. We did Chac-Mool. It was awesome! Cool water, but we did it in thin wetsuits and were not cold, despite the dive guides pessimism! First dive they don't take you too far inside, just in case you freak, but I can respect that. Water is SO clear - you can see the fresh/salt interfaces and at times it looks like you are flying in clear air. We saw underwater fossils, surfaced in a cave and saw tree roots and a tarantula, then later switched off our torches (TOTAL darkness, enlivened by my daughter and I mutually shooting a hand out without thought and grabbing tight to each other - no premeditation, we just did it). I don't like caves much, but this was excellent. I could be persuaded to do more cenote diving - I really take my hat off to the guides, as at times I was totally lost!

Upsides - the vis was good, it was mostly pretty - and the cenotes are awesome. Downsides - only one wreck, and "ho hum" reefs. The tipping culture is a bit extreme, too, and you are expected to tip (guide + boatmen + transport drivers) on EVERY trip. I think we were unhappy with that - as I would not say the diving was cheap and you really did not build up a relationship with dive guides - different ones each day.

Other highlights of the trip? Driving golf buggies on Isla Mujeres and having our daughter pulled up at the end of the day as the policeman said she was "too little" to drive - I hasten to add that she has a licence, so was quite legal, but they made one of the "grown - ups" drive (and we actually did not have our licences with us..).

Visit to Chichen Itza - all my childhood National Geographic inspired dreams realised - brilliant! The theme park "Xcaret" - the evening " Mayan/Mexican" show is worth the entry fee on its own - we saw recreations of the Mayan wall "football" game (without the ritual beheadings at the end - shame!) - and a "night hockey" game played barefoot with flaming balls of soaked pitch......




Last but not least, we rebelled against the all inclusive food and went to a restaurant that looked nice. It was - very nice with - very nice prices..... Suffice it to say we ate oysters, and lobster, and Kobe beef (the cows are fed on beer and massaged regularly - the meat is wonderful, though; sigh), and wicked wicked desserts, and lots of wine. It was the sort of meal with waiters who do everything but chew the meat (in fact, that's unfair, as with Kobe beef, you just have to wave your knife threateningly in the direction of the steak and it falls to bits), and you don't look at the bill, just get the credit card out! Actually, it was worth every penny - my saliva glands are watering just remembering it! Diving? DO THE CENOTES! The reefs etc are OK. Get more wrecks, guys!




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