Cozumel - Diving Palancar Caves & Yucab (01.03.2022)

Anxiously waiting in the morning for updates from the diving school via Whatsapp. Around 08:00, the message arrives: Marina closed, no boats allowed. Disappointed, we pack our bags with the clear intention of taking the ferry to the mainland to Playa at 11:00. Enjoying the breakfast served by Jimena (the owner of the guesthouse) once again and making alternative plans for Playa del Carmen. Around 09:30, a new message arrives: Marina allows boat trips. Hooray! :-)

Arriving at the diving school on time at 10:30 with our luggage, we store our bags in between and hop into the minibus towards the sea, full of anticipation that we don't have to leave the island without a dive. At the marina, Jesus welcomes us... not the Jesus, but our dive guide, and together with a Swiss fellow diver (Fabian from Zurich, also on a 3-month break) and Malo from the Netherlands (currently doing dive master training), we cruise with our small boat "AK" towards the first dive spot, Palancar Caves.

We dive for almost 60 minutes, enjoying the underwater world to the fullest, exploring amazing formations at depths between 20 and 30 meters. Cenote diving is great, but it's even better with rock formations and caves in the open sea combined with marine life. Kathi takes great pictures of this natural experience. https://www.reefsofcozumel.com/palancarcaves.html

After having some fruit and sweet snacks, we head back towards the marina on the still rough sea to the dive spot Yucab, which, according to our dive guide, hosts significantly more marine life. This time, Malo leads us on this technically easier dive, and thanks to the current, we cruise at depths between 10 and 15 meters along this amazing reef. Along the way, we encounter a turtle, large shellfish, and, as the absolute highlight, eagle rays. This elegant creature is rather rare in the area, and we were lucky to see it pass by twice, "flying" through the water with its movements resembling wing flaps. After around 50 minutes and filled with happiness, we end the exciting dive. https://www.reefsofcozumel.com/yucab.html

The schedule was tight today, so after arrival and picking up our luggage at the diving school, we headed directly to the ferry port. It is located in close proximity to the docks for large cruise ships, from which several "monsters" had also docked today. Our ferry to Playa del Carmen was scheduled for 17:00, and due to the rough sea, we already had a feeling that it might be a bit turbulent. The approximately 45-minute crossing finally showed why boats were not allowed out yesterday. The overcrowded ferry rocked towards the coast, and without going into further details, the crew's demand for small bags was clearly increased. Kathi also struggled a bit during the ride, and we were very happy to have solid ground under our feet again.

After the adventurous crossing, we took a taxi to our resort, the Mahekal Beach Resort (https://www.mahekalbeachresort.com/?updatelang=yes), to recharge our batteries and let the impressions of our last two days of the shared Mexico trip with Kathi and Georg sink in. In the evening, a huge buffet awaited us, which we, especially after only having breakfast and snacks, joyfully visited multiple times.

The Daily Two:

Insight: The "traffic" on the water around Cozumel is powerful. Not only do the daily trips of the two major ferry providers, which transport 9-11 thousand people daily, contribute to the lively influx to the peaceful island. Three major terminals for cruise ships ensure the necessary infrastructure to accommodate up to 8 ships daily. Cozumel receives up to 4 million visitors per year, making the small island with less than 80,000 inhabitants one of the most visited cruise ports in the world. Before Corona, it was already ranked 3rd after Miami and Port Canaveral. https://www.komm-auf-kreuzfahrt.de/reportagen/die-zehn-groessten-kreuzfahrthaefen-der-welt/

Moment of Happiness:

Today, relatively easy ;-)... Having survived the ferry ride and having Kathi back to normal.