You can Count on Fantastic Diving in Cozumel in February. And why is that? One of the reasons is Eagle Ray Season! The Eagle Rays are in Cozumel every February and March to mate and eat, so it is a great time to dive. You can also see Eagle Rays in the spring and summer, but it is a rare sighting as Eagle Rays prefer water temperatures under 80 degrees. With climate change, the summer water temperatures are 83-85 degrees. Of course, diving in Cozumel is always worthwhile.
On a dive in St Lucia last week, our group had a visitor. We were all thrilled to see an Eagle Ray, but when we saw that it had a hook in its face and was trailing fishing line, the group went into action. Fortunately, one of the divers had a pair of scissors, and our dive master, Errol, managed to cut a huge amount of line off of the ray. The Eagle Ray made a second pass, trailing only 10 feet or so of line compared to the 100 feet of line it had just moments before. I only wish we had been able to help with getting the hook out, but the animal did not come close enough to allow that, unfortunately. However, the Eagle Ray will manage much better with only the short amount of fishing line left….and I hope somehow, that the hook comes out.
There aren’t the best photos, but from the distance they are the best I could do!
Seriously, Seriously! Really? Really. I think I just had the best dives I’ve ever had on Cozumel. Thank you, We-B-Divin-Cozumel and the best dive master, Yasser Rosado! My daughter came into Cozumel, and she hadn’t been diving in two years. Off we went to Palancar Caves, and Cedar Pass, her LEAST favorite dives on the island. Allycat really does not care for too much current, and Cedar Pass is usually a high current dive. Yasser knows we don’t like going through the “swim throughs” at Palancar Caves, so we stayed above the corals…and we are so glad we did! We sighted 2 Black Tip Reef Sharks above us! They were small, and darting around the top of the reef. I took video of them, they were just a little too far away to take photos. We saw them several times on the dive, always above us. During the next part of the dive I sighted a glorious Eagle Ray across the reef, and began swimming toward it. I was ready with video because usually Eagle Rays see divers and head the other direction, but this one just kept on coming and kept on chewing whatever it was it was eating, and I ended up swimming right next to it for a bit. They are so incredibly beautiful, with beautiful wide wings with Cheerio shapes, and a long, beautiful tail. What a gift, just to be with it for a little while.
We also saw two big Green Moray eels, and one of them was sleeping! Kind of spooky, they look dead lying there with their eyes open.
A nurse shark made an appearance, as did turtles who were awake! Also, Southern Stingrays. Really, just incredible, wonderful, perfect dives at Palancar Caves and Cedar Pass. Cozumel is generally what I term, “relaxation diving”. Yes, all dives are drift dives and sometimes the current can be a little strong, but for the most part, the dives are easy going, with incredible visibility (100 ft plus) with gorgeous coral, tons of fish, and some exciting animals once in a while. It is not challenging diving (very rarely, anyway), and in 20 years I never saw any shark except Nurse Sharks (though last year we did see a Black Tip Reef Shark’s head with no body floating around). Pilot Whales and False Killer Whales made a one day appearance last year as well. No humpbacks, whale sharks or Manta Rays. It is always a true pleasure to dive Cozumel, but if you are looking for big Pelagic action, this is not the place to look for it.
The follow up to these dives were the next day, when I took photos of a family posing with a large-ish Hawksbill turtle. Rays, sharks, eels….great dives. Francesa and Santa Rosa Shallows never fail to delight with its variance of color, fish, and animals. Not to mention all the cool little things like shrimps, Christmas Tree Worms, Fireworms….you could spend forever under the ocean and never get bored.
Never been diving in Cozumel? THAT is something you should rectify immediately! Check out Villa Coronado!/
