Cozumel! Again! Not only did we book with our pal and divemaster, Kim Rogers, owner of Dive GalaxSea Cozumel, we foolishly invited our besties, Bret & Krista, Corey & Damree and Rick & Cindy to join us in a house rental right on the beach. Spectacular!
Kim showed up every morning to pick Shelli and I up from the private dock to take us to the coolest dive sites. We spent time in familiar waters and had the added bonus of Kim taking us to Eagle Ray Wall, near the north end of the island, to watch Eagle Rays cruising in to feed. We did not see too many, but it was beyond cool. We hunkered down at 80 feet in notch in the wall so we would not get swept away by the powerful current and then waited for them to come in. Thanks to Ingo’s air consumption rates at those depths, we had to return to shallower water far too soon. We had an a amazingly fast drift dive across sandy flats dotted with eel grass and empty conch shells until we got picked up by the boat. Afterwards, we did an Intro to Wreck Diving class with Kim as we dropped on the Felipe Xicoténcatl (good luck pronouncing that) or C-53. It was originally a WWII minesweeper called the USS Scuffle. At 184 feet long, 33 feet wide, and 40 feet in height, it is an awesome site as you descend the 70 to 80 feet to the base of the ship in Cozumel’s crystal-clear waters. We ended up exploring all three decks of the purpose-sunk wreck, and, thanks to the currents and massive cut-outs, silting was not a concern and we could move with reasonable confidence through the ship.
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Topside, our friends enjoyed themselves, eating, drinking and exploring the island. We were glad they all had each other to pal-around with while we went diving. After most days, we were pretty wiped out from diving to do too much once back on dry land. However, we spent our evenings having dinner, drinks and a lot of laughs. Between us, we had rented two crappy little Chevy roller skates (“cars”) aka “The Hoopties” that could barely seat four people. The cars were entertaining by themselves as they might shed an interior part randomly or change color spontaneously. Case in point: One evening, we were headed out to dinner and there was Bret, Corey, Krista and Damree sitting in their car and Bret is having a WTF moment. He puts the key in the ignition but cannot get the key to turn. Some expletives were shared about the POS car when Ingo asked, “Hey, wasn’t your car green?” We all pretty much lost it as they exited the gold colored shitbox and got in the green car they had rented.
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This was also the trip we adopted Nube ( Noo-Bay), the Mexidog from the Cozumel Humane Society. She is the anti-Jack Russell of Jack Russells but she is our little darling and we are so glad we saved her from eventual doom. Her and Callie the Destroyer are the best of pals. Big thanks to Corey and Damree for being her escorts home because the Friendly Skies of United will not transport animals to the states. BTW, even if you do not adopt in Cozumel, please consider being an escort to animals being shipped north. You’ll not only save a critter, but you might even save your soul.
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Update- July 2019: Sadly, Nube suffered from many health issues that began to severely erode her quality of life and we had to make the right choice to end her suffering. We were thankful of the time we had with our sweet little terrier and equally saddened we only got 5 years with her. She was a loving dog and we like to think she was as happy to be a part of our life as we were happy to be a part of hers. She passed away quietly and content in the company of two people who loved her.