Mailka Gultch

Went to the north side of the Island today and did a dive with Leona and Andy at Mailka Gultch. Bob was a sweetheart and got up early and took me over. We only did one dive because they get cold. The water temp was 75 but it feels cold to a lot of people. Andy found two big scorpion fish. One was at least 2 ft. long. There a a lot of canyons on the right side dive and they were beautiful and full of lots of turtles. So many I lost count. The visibility was great as soon as we got out of the bay. It was a fun day.

Maui Diving

I arrived in Maui on Monday night and managed to get in the water with the help of Shannon and Aaron, they went and got tanks before the dive shop closed. We dove Ahihi and Ulua and the dives were good. The vis was not what I like but it was better than CA. I forgot my camera at the condo so I have no pictures of those dives. Then we went snorkeling to Honolua Bay on Wed and I left the camera in the car, again no pictures. But today I dove Wailea and Ulua and I remembered the camera (it's not taking great pictures) but I got a few good shots. Connie I included one just for you and I'm sure you'll know which one.

Whale Sharks AWESOME

The Whale sharks were AWESOME. Better than Joe;s pictures. It was an hour and half boat ride for about 15-20 min in the water, but it was worth it. Cost about $200 with everything, but I may be tempted to give a day of diving on Cozumel for it. I may, or maybe not. We got to each go in three times for about 5-10 min each time. Only two in the water from each boat at a time and by the end there were lots of boats. There had to be 40-50 whale sharks there, just swimming around ignoring all of us. The kid from the boat took my hand so I could swim faster and see better. He did it for three of us, and it really helped. It was a real rush being that close to them. One was about 35-40 ft long and none of them were under 20ft. The kid told us there were only about 6-7 places in the world to see these guys and the place we were was the best in the world. Other places might have one or two, we had 40. Then we stopped on the way back and snorkeled while they prepared lunch and I found a great big Manta ray. By the time all these young guys got off the boats to see it, it was headed out to sea. Most of them swam after him and then they found another.
I got my ticket for the ride to the airport tomorrow. Guess it's back to the real world again.

Last Day to Dive

After yesterday's rain the ocean was pretty rough today. We went out, but only did one dive. Almost everyone on the boat was sick and so they headed back. Brent was getting pretty green and so we opted not to go on a second dive. The waves were really big and it made the getting out interesting. The vis was not real bad, but a lot of stuff was stirred up in the water. I didn't feel sick, which is unusual for me, I always the one with the patch on, but when I got home I felt a nap coming on and I didn't fight the feeling. Since it was so rough I opted to not take the camera so I didn't have pictures to play with and a nap was the next best thing. Tomorrow is Whale Shark day. Wish us luck with the weather.

Playa Del Carmen Mexico

I arrived here on Sat the 3rd of July and it has been a busy time ever since. Though with the wind and rain going on now, I may have to come to a screeching halt tomorrow. Sunday we dove with a local shop here. It is a good operation, but we had to wade out to the boat. Of course they said it was ankle deep, but on me it was over my waist. Then we got to do a back roll off the side. It was a little tricky because the side was a little higher than my butt wanted to go. All's well that ends well because we did a couple of nice dives. No where as nice as Cozumel, but ok for here.

Monday July 4th we took Brent to Cozumel. He had never been there so he had no idea of the treat in store for him. It was a long day. We had to catch the 7:00am ferry and since we are at a resort it is a $10 cab ride away. We dove with Aqua Safari, located on the strip across from their dock and we got there just in time to fill out all the paper work and get on the boat. Our first dive was Palancar Caves, second Yucba, and the third was Paradise Reef. All three great dives, but I think I wore the other two out. Brent was so impressed he is planning a three day trip over there after I leave. Darn

Today Yvette and I dove the Cenotes. Fresh water cave diving is very interesting and it was quite the adventure. It poured rain all day so the boats were not going anywhere else, so it was a good day to do it. It has rained so much and the river is up so high the place where we went in was up to my knees in water. (It is suppose to be dry) Needless to say no sun was shinning through the various holes so it was a dark dive. Good lights were a must. I wore my 3mm wetsuit and a 3mm shorty and a hood and I was toasty. Yvette didn't wear the hood and she was cold. She is a bit of a chilly willy though. I'm really glad I did it, but I would never give up a day of diving on Cozumel to do it again.