6:15. The cry of the alarm came early, and we roused ourselves out of well-earned sleep. Typically when we dive, we’re at the mercy of a cruise ship schedule, so the day begins when the captain docks. Mercifully, closer to 8:00 most of the time. But this time we were on dry land in Cozumel, Mexico, and even our desire for a few more snoozes couldn’t keep us in bed. It was Monday, and Monday was Dive with Martin day.
The beauty in getting up with the sun means you’re the first in the water. So by the time we left for the dive shop, our excitement to get going was already high. Over 10 years ago, I did one of my first dives in Cozumel, but diving here would be a new experience for Laura, and we were eager to get to it.
On arriving at the International Pier, we found our way down to the water and the Dive with Martin dive shop. “Dive Shop” is a bit of an overstatement – it’s a small hut packed with gear and a couple of dive boats tethered to the pier. Dive with Martin’s operation is small but mighty.
We were warmly welcomed by the shop staff and introduced to our dive master, David. We got all of our stuff together—dive computers, BCDs, masks, wetsuits, etc.—and boarded the boat. Before we knew it, we were off to go scuba diving in Cozumel!
As we motored to the southern end of the island past Chankanaab beach, we stopped twice to pick up other visitors who were diving in Cozumel for several weeks. We were the only ones there just for the day. Despite being the newbies in the group, David made sure we knew the dive plan and the hand signals so our Cozumel scuba diving adventure would be a success.
Within just a few minutes, we were in the water. There were no other boats around anywhere. The benefit of Dive with Martin over other Cozumel dive shops was clear — first in the water means dive sites without other divers.
Our first dive included the last section of Playacar Horseshoe, the start of Playacar Gardens, and the sandy Playacar Shallows. There were lots of impressive coral towers and tons of lobster, including the rare Spanish Lobster (sometimes called a Slipper Lobster). That’s a strange, strange looking creature!
We also found several lionfish, which are interesting looking fish that are unfortunately quite invasive in Mexico and the Caribbean. Since they endanger the local ecosystems, many countries encourage divers to dispatch of them. The first one we found was claimed by a grouper, but David brought the second one to the surface to filet it on the rear of the boat. As we understand it, lionfish is quite the local delicacy.
Between dives, we lounged in the sun and enjoyed water, apples, and snacks on the boat while talking about everything we’d seen below. Throwing our apple cores into the water created a feeding frenzy among the fish.
The second dive took us to the Paso Del Cedral reef. Immediately we saw a giant eel swim out from the coral and along the reef. There were also a lot of green sea turtles out swimming and eating. But the the highlight was the sharks.
OK, let’s talk about sharks. We’ve seen them diving before. In the Bahamas, we were about 15 feet from some pretty big bull sharks. In Grand Cayman, we got to see a huge, majestic hammerhead. But on this dive in Cozumel, we had first — a close encounter. A young nurse shark took a serious interest in our group, but especially in me. It head butted me twice, kept swimming through my legs, and brushing against me. While it initially scared the crap out of me, I began to appreciate the playful temperament and beauty of these creatures.
After our numerous encounters, it was time to head back to shore. Our day in Cozumel with Dive with Martin was a series of firsts that we look forward to repeating.
Lance Longwell is a travel writer and photographer who has published Travel Addicts since 2008, making it one of the oldest travel blogs. He is a life-long traveler, having visited all 50 of the United States by the time he graduated high school. Lance has continued his adventures by visiting 70 countries on 5 continents – all in search of the world’s perfect sausage. He’s a passionate foodie and enjoys hot springs and cultural oddities. When he’s not traveling (or writing about travel), you’ll find him photographing his hometown of Philadelphia.