COZUMEL: UNDERWATER PLAYGROUND
Only about 20 kilometres off the coast of Playa Del Carmen lays Cozumel Islands, the largest of the Mexican Islands.
Mexican Islands are rather small, even Cozumel despite being the largest it is only approximately 45 kilometres long and about 16 kilometres wide. You can go around the whole island in a short time. Not by foot of course. The best would be to rent a scooter and explore.
Cozumel is very pretty but in my opinion is not the typical idyllic tropical island. On a clear day it can be seen from the shores of Playa del Carmen. What you can see it’s a stretch of tall buildings. Is that really a Caribbean island? One might ask oneself. It is indeed.
Cozumel has grown and developed a lot in the last twenty years or so. Big all-inclusive resorts have been opened, as well as many restaurants bars and shops. It has all been to accommodate the great number of tourists visiting each year.
There are two sides of Cozumel: the west side with sandy beaches (unfortunately not accessible if you are not staying in one of the resorts) and swimming pool like waters and the rocky east side with rough sea and big waves.
There must be a reason why Cozumel is so well known and visited. Even if not so special from the surface, Cozumel has some hidden treasures. Below the surface, it is a heaven for scuba divers. It is classified as one of the best scuba diving destinations in the world.
These are some of the points that make Cozumel a very sought after scuba diving spot:
- Diving season is all year round
- Great visibility, often 30 meters and over
- Calm waters almost every day of the year
- Variety of diving in just one place: drift dives, deep dives, reef dives, wall dives and wreck dives, just to name a few
- Unique reef topography
- Huge size fish!
As I said, just to point out few of the incredible characteristics of this diver’s paradise. Most of the dive sites are all located on the west side of the island. This is due to the island position, this side of the island is sheltered from the strong winds and it benefits from calm waters and excellent visibility almost all year.
The pioneer of scuba diving – Monsieur Jacques Cousteau – arrived in Cozumel in the late Fifties, early Sixties and proclaimed the island one of the top ten diving destinations in the world. He had his laboratory here for a while.
Cozumel underwater is a playground for scuba divers. There are pinnacles, swim throughs, caverns, tunnels, you name it. The island is very well known for its drift dives.
There is not a great variety of fish species but somehow the fish in Cozumel are huge. They just seem to have grown out of proportions. I have seen here some of the largest Groupers and Lobsters I have ever seen in my life.
The Splendid Toadfish (Sanopus Splendidus) lives under coral outcroppings along the Cozumel reef. It is a species of toadfish endemic to this island and it is quite a rare sight. It is an elusive toadfish because I have never seen one, but I can assure you other divers have seen it.
I dived the first time in Cozumel in 2009 when I was quite a newbie diver, recently advanced certified and with not many dives under my belt.
The first time a put my head under the water of Cozumel I was stunned. Since then I have been coming back and dived again several times. I have been back to live in the Riviera Maya since last June and I was back diving in Cozumel just recently. I was not disappointed; the diving was just as great as few years ago.
MY FAVOURITE COZUMEL DIVESITES
Cozumel offers something for everybody. There are some easy and some difficult dive sites. The following are my favourites:
Palancar Gardens
Depth 12 to 20 meters. This is a great dive sites suitable for divers of all levels. This dive site impresses me for its colours. The coral formation resembles a garden full of flowers. I think it could have not had a more suitable name.
There are many colourful fish hovering above the reef as well as some smaller inhabitants found in the cracks such as the Banded Cleaner Shrimps. Currents here are always very mild, so it is a perfect site for photographers who want to spend time on achieving the perfect shots.
Palancar Caves
Depth: 18 to 30 meters, advanced divers only. This is another section of the Palancar reef system. Excellent deep dive! What makes this dive special is the variety of it. There are tunnels, caves and large caverns to explore. It is very common to spot Turtles, Sharks and Eagle Rays. It is one of the most common dive sites.
Columbia Shallow
Depth: 5 to 10 meters, suitable for all levels. I simply love this dive site. It offers a great long and relaxed dive.
It looks like a perfect sea garden: it seems to go on and on for ever. It is very popular with schooling Snappers, Grunts and Barracudas. It is another great dive site for photography. It is a shame every time I have been here I did not have my camera.
Columbia Deep
Depth: 18 to 30 meters, advanced divers only. This dive site is a sensational drop off. It is a very spectacular deep dive with impressive huge coral pinnacles with caves, tunnels and caverns. It looks like the perfect underwater world.
There has very large marine lifes, I once came across a turtle that looked like it was on steroids. It is not unusual to spot Eagle Rays, Great Barracudas and Reef Sharks.
Santa Rosa Wall
Depth: 15 to 40 meters, advanced divers only. Before I did my first dive here, I heard a lot about it. So many people were telling me I had to dive Santa Rosa Wall.
When I finally did, I understood why. The sight is breathtaking. As soon as you start descending you can see the start of the wall at about 15 meters. There it drops off into the blue.
The bottom is several thousand meters below. The visibility is so clear that you just want to keep going down. The wall is covered with enormous sponges and huge overhangs of corals and there are plenty of swim throughs and tunnels.
It is a playground for divers. During the dive is common to see Turtles and massive – I mean massive! – Groupers.
I would definitely recommend spending few days diving in Cozumel. It is not uncommon to just do day trips from Playa del Carmen, but the best experience would be to stay few nights on the island and do several days of diving.
@ This article is written by Carlotta Arona (PADI MSDT #284952), please give respect to her copyright!
This article is not to be reproduced or distributed without written permission of Carlotta Arona.