cozumel diving Archives | TRAVELS WITH TAM

The Thrill of Nighttime Photography with Blackwater Cozumel Diving: A Unique Way to Observe Marine Life

July 3, 2023 By Tam Warner Minton Leave a Comment

The Thrill of Nighttime Photography with Blackwater Cozumel diving!

blackwater Cozumel diving, blackwater Cozumel, Cozumel diving, underwater world — _{All photos by Blackwater Cozumel, Robert Stanfield.}

Cozumel is a beautiful dive destination known for its crystal-clear visibility and breathtaking marine life. If you’re an avid diver, you may have already explored the reefs and underwater landscapes during the day. But have you ever considered diving and discovering the enchanting underwater world with Blackwater Cozumel? I did it recently, just once, but I will be doing it again! It was amazing. I know a few of the animals I saw, but not all! I’m looking forward to researching.

Blackwater is a unique way to observe marine life that is not visible during the day or on the reefs. Blackwater Cozumel focuses on going 3 or more kilometers out into deep water, allowing you to experience the bioluminescent creatures that rise from the deep. You don’t have to dive deep to see them; you can photograph them at 15 feet! During these dives, you can see a variety of larvae life that come out only at night by using light to entice them to the surface. Most of the time, these are tiny creatures like larval fish, jellies, and hydromedusa. Aren’t they incredible???

Blackwater Cozumel Diving

One of the most thrilling aspects of Blackwater is photography. Blackwater Cozumel and Robert Stanfield offer a specialized photography experience that allows you to capture mesmerizing photos of the bioluminescent creatures you encounter during your dive. The underwater world at night off the reefs is an entirely different experience, and the images you capture will be stunning.

Who can do it?

Advanced divers or divers with previous night diving experience. Good buoyancy is a must. No heart conditions.

What’s needed?

Full dive kit – Rental Available
Dive light – Rental Available
Full-length wetsuit / stinger suit

We also recommended the following:

Hooded top
Camera with lights/strobes
Narrow beam torch for spotting
Video / Focus light
2 or more strobes

When do we do it?

Weather is the limiting factor with open ocean dives. We use a large boat that can comfortably operate in waves up to 2m in height. For an enjoyable dive, we aim for 1.8m or less with the most up-to-date weather forecast. So if you plan on a blackwater dive during your stay in Cozumel, please be extremely flexible with dates for the dive.

So, you’re looking for an adventure that will take you beyond the usual daytime diving experience? In that case, blackwater diving is a great option. The surreal beauty of the bioluminescent creatures and the thrill of blackwater photography makes for an unforgettable experience. So, dive into the enchanting underwater world of Cozumel!

Cozumel Critter Diving was Fantastic in September 2018!

October 20, 2018 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Antilles Sponge Crab! See the eye stalks?

Cozumel critter diving was fantastic last month! I have always loved the diving in Cozumel, but never more than now! Shore diving has become my favorite diving, but I still love the boat and drift dives, too. It has been so much fun to dive the shallow shore line and discover the little critters who live there, and that no one ever sees! Check out these fabulous finds! Diving with Mario Ceh of Scuba with Mario is always an adventure. He has sharp eyes and sees what others miss…lucky for me!

Two of the Best Dive Sites in Cozumel are full of Sea Turtles!

July 17, 2017 By Tam Warner 11 Comments

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reefs, palancar, cedar pass, cozumel diving — The Palancar Reef System is amazing.

Dive sites on Cozumel often have turtles! I always love diving El Paso de Cedral (Cedar Pass) and the Palancar Reefs. I cannot think of a single trip I have taken to Cozumel when I didn’t dive them more than once. Palancar is beautiful, full of colorful coral and sponges (and turtles!). Palancar Reef is so large it is split into four sections: Palancar Gardens, Palancar Horseshoe, Palancar Caves and Palancar Pinnacles. The mountains and colors of the reef never cease to awe me. Huge pinnacles come up from the depths and take one’s breath away. I wish I had the ability to translate it into images. Cedar Pass, on the other hand, is a basically flat area with no large coral, but it does have a lot of small coral head areas, and under the ledges are some pretty amazing creatures! And I don’t think I’ve ever been on the reef without seeing turtles and a nurse shark or two. These reefs could not be more different, yet each is a fabulous dive site. Take a look!

columbia deeps, columbia shallows, cozumel, dive cozumel — Look at that face! A beautiful Hawksbill Sea Turtle.

An incredibly large and old Loggerhead. You don’t see them often on the reef, but they nest on the east side of Cozumel.

The fish are waiting for the goodies the turtle doesn’t eat, they are happy to have crumbs!

cozumel, turtles, diving cozumel, scuba — Turtles always have a clean up crew! In this case, a French Angel and a Yellow Head Wrasse.

reefs, cozumel diving, palancar, cedar pass, cozumel — These Blue Striped Grunts are hanging out in a recessed area on Palancar Gardens

Children of all ages love to look at fish faces! My first book, All Fish Faces, is an introduction to species living all over the planet, and fun facts about them. And of course, cool photos of fish faces! Meeting our fishy friends face to face can only help people understand and love our oceans.<br />

Why My Favorite Dive Site in Cozumel is All of Them!

July 4, 2017 By Tam Warner 5 Comments

cozumel diving, sea turtles, about cozumel — Palancar Gardens is a very beautiful reef.

Diving Cozumel for 30 years (yikes!) means that I have been on just about every reef. Why is my favorite dive site all of them? (I still have two dive sites I have not gotten to, but hey, give me time). Cozumel is famous for its drift diving. Cozumel’s dive sites are mostly on the southern side of the west, or leeward, side of the island, between the island and mainland Mexico. Waters are much calmer in this channel, but currents can be quite strong. Most divers love to drift dive. You jump off the boat, and when you are done drifting, the boat picks you up. Much better than boats that anchor and you have to swim back to (in my humble opinion).

Currents are a blessing and sometimes a curse. In strong currents you can be swept along so quickly there is no way to take a photograph, and less experienced divers can have a tough time learning to deal with it. With the incredible stony coral in Cozumel using a hook to stop and look around is not an option. I have never been in a current here that was too strong for my skill set. I love current dives, I love the dives where you don’t feel a lot of current, and that is basically why my favorite dive site in Cozumel is all of them! Each site has its unique features, and I absolutely love the dives where there are a lot of turtles. Seeing sea turtles is always a thrill! They are endangered, and Cozumel is very fortunate to be a nesting site for Green Turtles and Loggerheads. We mostly see Hawksbill Turtles on the west side of the island, even though they don’t nest here. They nest on the mainland, and apparently they like to hang out on our island reefs. They are very welcome! Of course, I love most all marine creatures, but it must be said that turtles are very special. We all need to do our part to make sure we protect these critically endangered animals, and our oceans, so that our children and grandchildren can also feel the wonder of seeing them in the wild.

The Ultimate Dive Experience! Part Two.

July 30, 2015 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

A gorgousRock Hind on Palancar Horseshoe — A gorgous Rock Hind on Palancar Horseshoe

My favorite part of the Ultimate Dive Experience at the Occidental Allegro in Cozumel? The diving of course! Let’s turn the dives into Fab Photos Friday, and check out Pro-Dive Mexico!

Pro-Dive Mexico boat (http://www.prodivemex.com/diving/cozumel/

The dive experience at Pro-Dive is friendly, efficient, and quick! Gear is placed in bins with your name on it, and when it is time to board, simply take your gear to the boat and put it together. They have both air and nitrox (no extra charge for Nitrox!), and a Nitrox Analyzer on board. All dive guides are fully certified Master Scuba Diver Trainers, Instructors, which is part of the safety standards for ProDive. I found the dive guide, Louis, from France, to be helpful and professional. Not to mention that I loved his accent. It didn’t take long to get organized and off we went to Palancar Horseshoe Reef.

Pro-Dive’s website is fantastic, giving you all kinds of information on Cozumel diving. Palancar Reefwas made famous by none other than Jacques Cousteau in the 1960s, and it is so large it has to be dived in sections.

2015-07-03 10.35.06 cp lobster — Gorgeous Lobster on Palancar Horseshoe Reef.

2015-07-03 11.00.53 ph balloonfish eyes — Balloonfish are very well camoflauged!

Since I was a lone diver I was buddied up with Martin, who turned out to be an excellent diver. It was a pleasure diving with him and the dive master.

An Arrow Crab...this little guy will fit in your palm. — An Arrow Crab…this little guy will fit in your palm.

2015-07-08 10.46.34 sr wall — There are mountains of coral! A photo cannot capture the wonder of it.

After our first dive, we went to dive one of my favorite reefs…Francesa. Francesa Reef is full of life…you never know what you might find, and we found quite a bit!

A Banded Butterflyfish, a small but crucial fish on any reef…it is a cleaner fish.

Beautiful Green Sea Turtle with a gorgeous shell

The greatest finds on the dive were these two Porcupinefish! They are usually very shy, but obviously they are in love and weren’t going anywhere. At least, not during mating season!

The two of them were together, and would not be separated. So sweet!

fr 15 porcupinefish 2 of them — They are fascinating fish.

Travels with Tam gives Pro-Dive Mexico two thumbs up for their professionalism, friendliness, and dive skill. From top to bottom, they are a smooth operation. (Plus, all Nitrox is free on both Cozumel and the Riveria Maya! No extra charge!)

If you are looking for a great dive vacation, be it with your family, your dive group, or just you, you can’t go wrong with the Ultimate Dive Experience at the Occidental Allegro in Cozumel. There is something for everyone!

Let them know that Tam sent you!