The Aquarium.

You can throw a rock in Cozumel and hit a Dive Shop. In the late 60s, the islands and the reefs surrounding it were noted by Jacques Cousteau to be one of the 5 best places in the world for diving. Ever since, most people who come to Cozumel generally come to dive. The pictures in the "Aquarium" were taken from:

• snorkeling off the beach at the hotel;
• snorkeling at Xel-Ha; and
• my brief SNUBA experience at Xel-Ha.

SNUBA consists of swimming underwater with a regulator, but no tank. Your air supply is kept on a raft which floats above you. The result is that you can dive deeper than you can snorkelling (about 10-15 feet) but, unlike SCUBA, your movement and depth is restricted by your airlines. The experience was so wonderful, it convinced me to go on the dive offered by my hotel to the The Columbia Shallows I didn't get a camera that could withstand 25 feet of water, so you don't get to see the spiny lobster, the coral reefs of Columbia, and the nurse shark that swam directly under my head as I hung inverted in the water, looking at him under his part of the reef until he got tired of being gawked at and came out.

This week I saw somebody with a Diver Down flag on is license plate, and I was transported back to the shallows, it's beauty, wonder and tranquility.

"The Aquarium" Picture List:
(Use your back button after you've clicked on a picture to return to this page.)

First Contact.

The trick initially was to find a spot off the hotel to see something interesting. We found a small section of rocks, not 10 yards from shore, and the fish, discovering us, started to swim in circles around us.

Getting the Once Over

One comes in for a closer look. When they started brushing against you, it got a little unnerving.... *g*

The Gang of Yellow

Smaller fish hanging out in a school of yellow in the crook of the rock.

Spot the teethy creature.

Oh, but this is a murky shot. See, I wasn't close enough to get a really clear picture. See, I was snoreklling away from the fishies above to see what else was around. The baraccuda saw me before I saw him, I'm sure. It's a bad picture, but the adrenaline rush was something else. I've added some pointers to help you see the not-so-little bugger....

Parrot Fish

A pretty blue parrot fish comes over to check things out.

Ann

Ann inspects the coral and fishes.

Into the water of Xel-Ha.

After visiting Tulum, we came to the snorkelling haven of Xel-Ha. After the heat of the ruins, it was still almost too chilly getting into the grotto. But the first views were worth it.

Coral but no reef.

Coral colour fishes swim near the sandy bottom.

Full frontal nudity

The SNUBA gear. Note, I'm giving the wrong hand sign. *laugh* That one means, not "Okay!", but SURFACE!!

Clearer water.

The snorkelling area was quite murky (for whatever reason ... surely not from everybody peeing.... ?), but once out closer to the reefs, where I was taken for my snuba tour, the water got crystal clear. Here's a beautiful view of the reef from coasting along the bottom.

Black Angels

Beautiful black angelfish with yellow trim. Just after I had taken my last picture on the roll, I came face-to-face with three of these beauties hugging close to a section of their reef. Gorgeous..

Dolphins.

They had a special caged area of Xel-Ha, where, for a price, you could swim with these dolphins.

Go to: Iwanna Iguana