May 2011    Download the Entire Issue (PDF)

Vol. 26, No. 5   What's this?

Cocos, Fiji, Roatan, Yucatan

and why you shouldn’t rely solely on travel agents

from the May, 2011 issue of Undercurrent  

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Xcalak and Chinchorro Bank, Mexico. If any diver studies a map of the Yucatan, he has to imagine that the Chinchorro Bank, south of Cozumel, has to be special. I thought so 10 years ago, and was disappointed; my full review is still on our website. Jason Marks (Oakland, CA) gave it a go in March, and reports that nothing has improved at Chinchorro, but dives close to the mainland are just fine. "All diving was with XTC Dive Center, just outside Xcalak. We liked the local diving quite a bit. Hob Na, at the north end of the Xcalak reef, is a beautiful set of deep canyons and ridges, lushly covered with gorgonians and hard corals. While there were only a few snapper of any size, and I saw no grouper, smaller fish - - angels, parrots, wrasses, cowfish, butterflyfish - - abounded. La Poza, a relatively deep wall with side canyons harboring schools of tarpon, jack and snapper, was spectacular, and the entry, from inside the lagoon and over the wall with breakers rolling overhead, was neat. Poza Rica and Dona Nica were tamer sites, but still fun.Chinchorro Bank, on the other hand, was disappointing. The trip out, through swells of five feet and against a strong wind, was rough, and took more than 2.5 hours. (Coming back was easier, at almost two hours.) Everyone got soaked as we hit the reef cut, and despite some sun, it was impossible to get warm in the wind and spray. Punta Isabel and Punta Irelanda's relatively shallow reefs, averaging 50 feet, had apparently been scoured clean of most coral cover by a storm. Only widely scattered sponges and gorgonians survive; very sparse hard corals on the mostly sand-covered reefs, especially at Isabel. That said, there were more moderate-size fish (schools of snapper, several grouper, and a couple of triggerfish) than at the local Xcalak sites, probably reflecting fishing restrictions on this part of the Biosphere Reserve, as well as numerous conchs and garden eels in the sand flats. XTC Dive Center was a well-run operation with good staff, the exception being the divemaster on the Chinchorro trip, who was disengaged almost to the point of uselessness. We liked staying in their apartments next door (a.k.a. the Flying Cloud Hotel), which were comfortable, affordable and so convenient." (www.xtcdivecenter.com)...