LR
Travel Report
Cozumel, Mexico: ©Susan Campbell
Scuba & Snorkeling Nirvana
I
was so excited to visit Cozumel because I’d heard that Jacques Cousteau had declared part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System to be one of the best places in the world for spotting marine life – and I’m a snorkeling fanatic. I was also traveling with a certified diver who was excited to experience it. But you need not be a diver to see plenty of marine life there. In fact, you barely need to swim when you stay at Secrets Aura Cozumel. Wading into the water right off the beach you’ll see tons of juvenile fish, maybe even a lobster and some baby stingrays! Also, at the end of their private pier you can look down and see lots of big fish that make their home there. But we were out to find even more, so we booked a snorkel boat trip with one of their on-site operators, Dive Palancar. We saw starfish, small sharks, manta rays, barracuda, moray eels, a slew of colorful tropical fish… and I even had the chance to snorkel along with a loggerhead sea turtle
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awhile. Incredible! I then decided to tag along as a snorkeler on my friend’s dive trip with another on-site operator, Dive House, which, incidentally, is owned by ex-pat Canadians. For our first stop, I snorkeled along on top. What was surreal was that the water was so clear that I could follow my friend’s dive from the surface, and see them clearly enough at 40 feet below to even take decent underwater photos of their progress. They were excited by their finds, which included three spotted eagle rays! At our second stop, where the reef wall was quite close to the surface, I encountered so many fish near the top that some even ran right into my mask! It was like submerging into an aquarium. Amazing on all counts for both of us. I’m happy to note that as a totally protected marine park region, it will stay pristine for future generations to enjoy. There are 20-some dive sites around Isla Cozumel. For more information visit: divepalancar.com and divehouse.com. SUSAN CAMPBELL Twitter: @suectravel