-=> Quoting Margie Nahas to All <=-
 MN> I'm looking for recommendations for dive operations and/or
 MN> places to stay in Cozumel (diver friendly, of course!).
I really enjoyed The Galapago Inn when I was there last year.
The dive operation is excellent by anyone's standards. Our
boat was a 45' twin diesel catamaran, set up specifically
for diving. The Inn is located about 3 miles south of the
center of San Miguel (the main town on the island).
For more info, check out back issues of any of the popular
dive magazines; Galapago Inn gets written up at least
a couple times every year in one or another of the magazines.
 MN> Also would like info on the weather and diving conditions for
 MN> the month of October.
We went the last week in September, and the weather was nice for 3 days
with afternoon thunderstorms the other 4 days. This is the typical
weather pattern for July through October. I have heard from
other divers that the very best time of the year for Cozumel diving
vacations is May and June. The water is nice and warm by then, so
a dive skin is all you need, and the weather is ideal. In the winter
months, especially January and February, I have been told that the
water is cold enough that most divers want a 1/8" neoprene wetsuit.
In late summer, September-November, there is always the risk of a
hurricane, but the prices are usually lowest at that time of the year.
 MN> Please share your experiences....
We made 5 days of two-tank boat dives in the morning, and my favorite
sites were Palancar Caves/Palancar Gardens and Santa Rosa Wall. These
reefs are a system of steep walls, canyons, caverns, and the sheer
variety of marine life is incredible. Visibility was never less than
150', and the current usually ran about 1 to 1.5 knots...about as fast
as most people walk. The boat drops you off then follows your bubbles
and picks up divers as they surface. Occasionally, on the really popular
reefs, the various groups of divers would intermingle and once one
of our guys got picked up by a boat from another hotel! It was OK, they
just called on the radio and our boat came over and picked him up
a few minutes later.
The Galapago Inn has a dive shop right on site and the package includes
unlimited beach diving, so after morning boat diving you can just
check out tanks and dive off the beach anytime you want in the afternoon
and evening. I wanted to limit my N2 exposure to reasonable amounts,
since we were approaching 90 to 100' depths on all the morning dives,
so I declined afternoon beach dives. After dinner, I made a night
dive every night, once from the boat and 4 beach dives. The "beach"
at Galapago Inn isn't a sandy beach in the Blue Hawaii mode, but
is actually a rock seawall. The "beach" entry is a giant stride from
the Galapago Inn Boat pier, about 4 feet above the water, and the pier and
adjoining seawall has ladders and concrete steps for exiting. Be
careful at night when exiting, as the urchins are out in force and
almost cover the seawall in places. These urchins have the nastiest
looking spines I've EVER seen; our northern California coast urchins
don't hold a candle to the Cozumel variety for sharpness and length!
After the deep morning dive, the boat would move in to shallower reefs
in the 30' to 50' range and make another dive after 1 hour surface
interval, returning to the hotel a little after noon. The shallower
reefs are nice, but the visibility isn't quite as crystal clear as on the
deeper reefs, and the current is stronger, so it's more difficult
to stop and look at things. Marine life is great, though, and if
you are into u/w photography, there are infinite photo opportunities
on both the deep and shallow reefs.
Have a GREAT vacation! Wish I were going back to Cozumel myself, but
my wife and I are probably going to Hawaii this year.
PS: The heat and humidity in Cozumel are very high, so you will
probably sweat a lot; I strongly recommend that you bring some kind
of chemical cleaner suitable for neoprene, so you can clean your
dive skin and booties. If you make three or four dives every day,
as we did, your dive gear never gets dry, and by the middle
of the week, will start getting a little ripe smelling. Booties
especially can get totally gross if not cleaned with detergent every
other day or so. 
If you have time to reply, let me know how you like the diving down there
in Forida.
Laurence Charlot 
Sacramento, CA
... Coral reefs hate standing ovations.
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