Cozumel 2013 Day 7

Diving today on La Francisca Reef (French Lady Reef) and Las Palmas Reef. We were diving with three divers who had never been to the Las Palmas Reef nor seen a Bat Fish here, so we returned to hunt them down. Our regular Dive Master, Julio Kin, was a no show this morning so we had a different DM. His name is Gener and though a very nice guy, he is not nearly as proficient as Julio. We found no Bat Fish. The dives, however were nice. The currents cooperated today and we saw some very nice reef fish, a shark, many lobster, black grouper, a splendid toad fish, and other marine life. The La Francisca Reef has beautiful coral and sponge while Las Palmas is more scattered coral heads and sponge gardens on white sandy bottom. Enjoy the photos.

Lobster (one of many)

Blue File Fish

Blue Sturgeon

Juvenile Trunk Fish

Banded File Fish

 

 

 Nudi-Branch

 

School of Blue Damselfish on

Orange, Red & White Sponge Garden

Cozumel 2013 Day 6

This is our 5th day of diving and we dove on the Ana Luz again with DM Julio Kim. We told him that we would like to try and find Bat Fish, if possible. These are small and rare, but some had been seen this year on the Las Palmas Reef. We had never seen one and neither had Dean, the man from NJ we were diving with. So, it was off to find Bat Fish. First stop was Tuniche Reef where we saw a Scorpion Fish, some spotted Moray Eel, a Peacock Flounder, but no Bat Fish. After an hour plus surface interval (rest), it was back in the ocean on Las Palmas Reef. It wasn't long before our trusty dive master, Julio, found not one, but two Bat Fish. They are very difficult to see and blend in well with their surroundings because the cover their back sides with debris from the area. They are shaped much like a bat and when they swim they stay virtually on the bottom, much like a flounder. Their pectoral fins are used as legs to move slowly around and their lips are red. This was quite a treat for all o us. Also on this dive we saw a huge Red Crab lurking under a ledge waiting for dinner to pass by. We saw and photographed/videoed many reef fish and during our safety stop Julio and I spotted an outcropping of coral with a den of large Lobster nestled down under it. Along with the lobster were a couple of mature Jack Knife Fish (black and white) swimming around. I am going to post a video that Reva took of them and watch for the Lobster to swat one of the fish with its antenna. Very cool, Reva.

 

 

Peacock Flounder

Movie of Jack Knife Fish & Lobster

 

Barracuda

 

Jack Knife Fish (Adult)

 

Scorpion Fish

 

One Eyed Butterfly Fish

 

Bat Fish (notice eyes and lips)

 

Blue Sturgeon

Cozumel 2913 Day 5

Marty and Tammy dropped us off at the dive boat just before 8:00 this morning and we soon departed on the Queen Angel dive boat with our DM, Julio Kin. We headed south to dive on San Francisco Wall for our first dive, but when we arrived the current was very swift and much too dangerous for our group. We then headed to Dalila Reef and hit the water for our first dive. The current here was also very strong, but there was no down draft, because this is more of a flat reef rather than a wall. The current made it difficult to take good photos of the shark, turtles, spotted eel, and many other sea critters that we saw. I didn't post it here, but I took one video as I simply laid out perpendicular to the reef and flew by. It gives a good idea about just how fast the current was. We actually "flew" over both Delila and Cedral Reef on the same dive!
The second dive was much more tranquil. We dove at San Clemente Shallow and the current was much nicer. We saw many very small critters, including Lettuce Nudi-Branch, Gold Coral Blennie, Yellow Jack Drum, Spotted Drum and several other small marine life. We also saw two Scorpion Fish, some huge Parrot Fish (4-5 ft long), and a large Puffer Fish (18 -24").
Again, we love to hear your comments, so if they don't post on this blog site, email us at mitchk@mitchtexas.com.

Squirrel Fish

 

Lettuce Nudi-Branch (can you find him?)

 

Spotted Moray Eel

 

Scorpion Fish (master of disquiet)

 

Blue Cleaner Shrimp on a Sea Anemone

Gueze's Butterfly Fish

 

Gold Coral Blennie (can you find him?)

 

One Eyed Butterfly Fish

Cozumel 2013 Day 4

Up early to take Marty and Tammy to the ferry so that they could spend the day climbing and photographing the Mayan ruins at Tulum. Then it was off on the dive boat for two adventurous dives.

First dive was on the Cedral Balloons Reef, so named for the huge round or domed coral outcroppings. It is a beautiful reef with many color and types of sponge along with an abundance of reef fish. Our second dive was on Columbia Shallow Reef which is one of our favorite locations. It is very shallow with a maximum depth of about 25 feet so the light penetrates well and the colors are robust on both the reef and the fish. We saw many turtles, spotted drum fish, a toad fish and a couple of lizard fish along with a couple of fair sized nurse shark.
What made this last dive so adventuresome, you ask? I won't tell. You'll have to ask Reva!

Enjoy the photos, and thanks for visiting the site. I've been told the comments are not posting and I've tried to get that corrected, but I'm not sure if it's working again or not. Leave a comment and maybe it'll show up!

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Trumpet Sponge

Lion Fish (not good, kills reef fish!)

Fan Coral

French Angel Fish

Male Parrot Fish

Tree Worm on Brain Coral

Lizard Fish

Splendid Toad Fish

Cozumel 2013 Day 3

After a very rainy night we weren't sure that the boats would be on time, but they were. When we boarded the boat the temperature was 68F with a light rain. We headed headed out for our two dives, the first on the Cedral Wall and the second on Tormentos Reef. The current was pretty strong on the first dive, but we saw some great marine life including a sea turtle that was the largest we'd ever seen. There is a photo of it below and you can tell from Reva behind it how large it was. Reva is about six feet behind the turtle which was about 5 feet long, including its head. On the second dive there was very light current and made locating and photographing some very tiny marine life much easier. We got some pretty good shots which we share below. Enjoy, and let us read your comments. Thanks for checking out our blog.

Reva with Sea Turtle

Green Moray Eel (7- 8 ft.)

Angel Fish

Juvenile Lion Fish

Queen Angela Fish

Nudi-Branch (1/4 inch)

Pipe Sea Horse (1 1/2 inches)

Large Blister Worm (12")

 

Video of tiny fish (unknown type, not a flounder)

Cozumel 2013 Day 2

Our second day on the island began with two dives in the beautiful Caribbean Sea. Tammy and Marty dropped us off and soon we were on the Ana Luz with our Dive Master, Jaime and two other divers. We dove at the Palancar Deep and the Cedral Pass areas of the reef. Here are a few of the many photos that we took today. Hope you enjoy them and we look forward to reading your comments.

Butterfly Fish

File Fish & Giant Sponge

File Fish

Giant Sponge with Spider Crab

Nudi-Branch (about 1/2 inch long)

Baby French Angel Fish (about 1/4 inch long)

Swim Through the Coral

This Mutton Snapper Followed Us On Our Entire

First Dive!

Cozumel 2013 Day 1

Left Seguin at 4:30 this morning for an early flight to Cozumel with a stop in Houston. Heather and Charli Johnson picked us up right on time and 55 minutes later we were checked in and standing in the TSA security line. Everything was going great: plane was on time; flight to Houston was wonderfully uneventful and smooth; and then came the e-mail. Yep, you guessed it. The flight from Houston to Cozumel was delayed by and hour and a half due to mechanical problems with the aircraft in Florida. The an hour and a half became two, and eventually three. United gave us vouchers for food, but come on folks, we're burning daylight and dive time! Finally a second plane arrived and we were off to Cozumel, three hours late. The flight was fine and provided and opportunity for a quick nap. Arrival in Cozumel and moving through customs was busy, slow, but we had no problems. The staff at Casa Martillo greeted us with smiles and hugs and after settling into our new digs we checked in at the Dive Paradise dive shop. A quick trip to the grocery store and back home for our first Mexico meal of the year: Homemade chalupas, guacamole, and pastry. Now, it's time for some much needed rest and then our first two dives at 8:00 tomorrow morning. Watch for pictures and more blog notes. Good night all!