Scuba Dive with Eagle Ray Divers Today we woke up to very dark skies. It was so overcast, there was absolutely no chance of clearing up. We were thinking the ship might cancel the port stop. Once we arrived in Coz and were at anchor, the devastation became very apparent. It was really horrible to see what weather is capable of. We were anchored out front of the International Pier area. At first view, all we could see were skeletons of buildings and rubble. You could actually see right through high rise hotels. I would have never imagined the damaged could be so bad. If I could give my honest opinion about this, I believe it is too soon for the ships to stop here. I do realize they need the tourist dollars to re-build, however, the day we were there, there was the Coral Princess, Carnival Valor, Carnival Conquest, the Radiance – and I even think I saw the Rhapsody of the Seas as well. This is close to or more than 10,000+ people and the infrastructure just is not there yet. On a positive note the people were exceptionally warm and happy and ready to please. I am not sure if there are any planes coming in yet as there did not appear to be many hotels in operation. Our ship prepared as the huge ferries are used as the tenders. Once the tenders began service, it was very fast to get ashore. The International pier itself was completely devastated and you could see where they rebuilt just enough to allow the ferries to have a proper docking area and just beyond this it was fenced off. The rest of the pier was reduced to just some footings and twisted rebar. We had pre-booked a scuba dive with Eagle Ray Divers. We used this dive operation last year and we really like them. When we got off the tender, there were a lot of shore excursion operators offering tours. We had to get to the ‘La Caletta’ marina just up the road. We got there very quickly by taxi.and met our hosts for the day. The taxi fare was $6 flat rate plus tip. There was another couple going snorkeling on our boat and there was supposed to be another family going diving also booked. They were ‘no shows’. This was very lucky for us, as we now had the dive master all to ourselves. The great thing about scuba diving is it does not matter if it is a rainy day because you get wet anyway and you are underwater so the weather did not ruin our day as much as it was a factor for my brother and his family who were going to the beach. I do not want to dwell on the hurricane damage, but I will mention a few more things to try and help people choose their shore excursions. I think to get out and do some water sports is a good idea as our dive was still excellent and the snorkeling still appeared good as well. Since there did not appear to be a lot of land tourists staying there, there is not the amount of divers and snorkelers there usually is. These operators need the business. I do not think this would be a great beach port for the next little while. The water goes right up to the shore line beaches are washed away. Chakanaab (sp?) no longer exists. Paradise Beach is operational but just does not look ready. We saw some people that went on the Tulum and Xelha excursion and they really enjoyed it. The shops and shopping available is picking up and they are putting out their best efforts. There is still a lot to buy. The restaurants were destroyed at the International Pier. There might be a lot more shopping and restaurants downtown but I cannot comment for sure, as we did not get down there. I can comment on the diving, it is still fantastic! Do not hesitate to go. You can certainly see where unfortunately reefs have been covered over in sand and some unfortunate destruction. However, the water was still the most gorgeous blue and the animals were plentiful. The crew on our dive boat was even telling us the hurricane actually opened up more caves and swim throughs, so you might be pleasantly surprised. We went to Santa Rosa Caves and the second dive was at a reef we went to last year ‘las palmas’. It was still the most fabulous topography and walls and IMHO the critters are the best in the area. The day before, in Grand Cayman we had great dive conditions and 100+ visibility and I still preferred Cozumel. We saw a great nurse shark under a ledge and many huge queen angelfish (the best I have ever seen) and those Cozumel ‘splendid’ toadfish are just the best! All in all we had a great day in Coz even though the weather was cold and miserable (probably got to about 76F). The warm people and their remarkable surviving spirit was so warm and certainly was a lesson for all of us. If you want to contact Chellie at EAGLE RAY DIVERS www.EagleRayDivers.com chellie@eagleraydivers.com 011-52-987-872-5735 phone FAX-52- 987-872-7295