Scuba diving in Cozumel...

Cozumel is ranked as one of the premier dive spots in the world, and for good reason.

We've dove in many excellent locations around the globe (me-Hawaii, Turks and Caicos, and for Hal-New Zealand, Cali), and this was hand's down one of our favorites.

There was no trash to be found in the water, the locals were very professional and true stewards of the ocean, the water clarity was amazing and the temperature was warm enough to be able to do two dives and not be freezing.

We dove with Aquatic Sports, recommended to us by our hotel.

Turns out that our dive master, Sergio Sandoval, showed Jacques Cousteau around Cozumel, and dove with him when he first visited the island! Wow! And Sergio's PADI dive certification number is four, as in, he was the fourth person to get certified when PADI came out! Don't think you could be in better hands while diving than that.

Waiting at the dock to leave

Sergio, the legend, and myself, trying not to get seasick...

Hal enjoying the long boat ride out to the dive sites

On our first day we were diving with five other people, two of whom had dove more than 100 times, and one of whom had dove 2,500 times! Yes, you read that right - 2,500 dives! I don't think I've ever done anything that many times, except maybe go to the bathroom...!
Everyone was friendly and didn't seem to mind our clear lack of diving experience. It was different to be the couple that didn't know as much about the sport as everyone else, kind of refreshing.

Our first two dives were at Palancar Bricks, known for its amazing coral formations, and Paso Del Cedral. It had been a year since we had dove (last time was in Belize), and it was nice to be with so many helpful, experienced divers.

Fishes!

Possible Clark family holiday postcard photo...

Nurse shark

I love diving!

The second day we dove with only two other people, which was also nice because then we could go to the sunken Mexican minesweeper ship. It seemed as if most people we talked to told us to not bother with the shipwreck, because the coral and marine life is much more worthwhile, but we had a great time in the sunken ship. I'm already starting to look for more wreck dives - anyone have any suggestions??

We dove at the Santa Rosa Wall first, then headed over the the ship. 

Cool shot that Hal took looking up at the surface from the depths of the wall

Little jellyfish on the way down to the ship

Going in! 

Yay shipwrecks!

I'm a-okay!

Cool sponges growing on the ship

Didn't even seem like we were underwater!

Hal outside the ship, fighting the strong current

The other potential candidate for the annual Clark family holiday postcard!

The diving was amazing, Sergio and his crew were top-notch, and we can't wait to go back for more dives! The current was very strong, so it's drift diving, thank god because you can't make any headway against that south-north current!

On our last day we went snorkeling about five miles south of downtown, in front of the Money Bar, at a place called Dzul-Ha. There were definitely a lot of snorkelers here, and you have to be careful and watch out for boat traffic, but we found a great array of marine life once we swam out a bit.

The Money Bar had nice covered tables out on the beach where you could store your clothes while you swam, and there was a good restaurant there where we ate when we were done in the water.

Biking down to snorkel

Yay Specialized bikes!

Neat formations

Underwater coral life

Close up!

Practicing my 'shark' moves...!

Hi Fishey!

There's a spotted moral eel in there!

Adios, we can't wait to come back!

So even if you aren't a scuba diver, there is still plenty to see snorkeling. At Dzul-Ha, we even saw a huge spotted eagle ray!

Obviously my video taking and editing skills need work!

Thanks for following along on our underwater adventure. If you have any questions or need some help/advice planning your next trip to Cozumel, please let us know!

And if anyone has any other amazing dive locations or wreck dives, tell us about them and we'll try to go check them out!