smokinmike

Thanks.

We've never sailed on VO before - wondering if there are spin bikes in the fitness center.  Thanks.

Probably put into Punta Langosta arriving that late but it's possible that you wind up at PM - check with the ship schedule at Cozumel Insider.  For restaurants, I can suggest Rolandi's - great sunset and very near PL.  Check the sunset time and make reservations for about 30 minutes prior.  For a romantic dinner, try Casa Mission - cabs are available right outside for the ride back to the ship. Nice romantic vibe with good food - check the reviews.  Guido's is always good - romantic too with a good wine list.  Sorrisi is another romantic Italian spot downtown with very good food. Enjoy the town without a bunch of tourists!

I'm wondering about getting wine with dinner on Sunday evenings in San Miguel - anybody got any experience with that?  We'll be on Coz in less than three weeks and I guess I'll get the DL then on all this new stuff.

Reef closures, new booze rules - what else?

On 10/4/2019 at 2:01 PM, mitsugirly said:

 

That's terrible. I wonder why?

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease - it affects brain corals. SCTLD has hit south Florida pretty hard recently and apparently showed up off Coz back in 2018.

Yep - I'm very familiar with all those reefs.  Got hundreds of dives there.  My beef is that a lot off folks are gonna be crammed into a much smaller area.  This will give me an opportunity to see the stuff up north though and heck, I'll still be on Coz.

. . . and that ain't bad.

Wow - I get to Coz on 4 November and leave on 10 December.  Don't want to sound the way it sounds but godalmightydamn!  At least I'll be where it's warm, the people are nice, and the food is good.  I'll be trying the dive site out up on the north end of the island.

The brief that I received from Aldora states that the closure is from Punta Palancar to Punta Chiqueros and begins 7 October with an indefinite duration - but with tests being done in December and January  to measure the impact of the closure upon the reef system.

There will be a huge impact on the reefs that are still open in that more folks, divers and snorkelers will be concentrated in a smaller area.

I'm heading to Coz the first week of November and will be there for five weeks so I'll report my observations later.

Thanks for the replies . . . 

I haven't been to the Galapagos yet - this trip will be in the future.  I'm still trying to get views on specific liveaboards that operate in the area because that seems to be the way to dive most effectively.  For now, I'll be training on negative entries and the use of reef hooks while on Coz in November and December.

Thanks again - if anyone else has any other input regarding liveaboards that operate in the Galapagos, please relate your experience.

2 hours ago, BNBR said:

 

Because skin cancer is serious.  I'm all for environmentally friendly options.  But misleading people in to thinking they are getting similar protection is dangerous. There is a reason those chemicals are in sunscreen. And the mineral versions are not equivalent. It's not like you just simply buy reef safe and voila! That information could be deadly, literally. Not to mention the reef safe stuff contains chemicals that kill coral, so there is that...

I think we'll have to agree to disagree.

2 hours ago, BNBR said:

 

The science is WAY too young on this.  Just do more reading.  Even the mineral sunscreens have chemicals that have been found to possibly be more damaging to corals than traditional.  So the people who think they are saving the world may very well be doing the most damage.

 

I'm not convinced coral is all dying because of uncaring humans.  I'm a diver.  Things look pretty good to me, even the near shore stuff where all the tourists are trashing the ocean with their sunscreen....

 

Coral bleaching has WAY more to do with water temperatures than sunscreen.  But as humans, we love to think we have all the answers to solve everything.  Surely everything in nature is man caused.  Rain dances when there isn't enough rain... get skin cancer because some coral is bleaching... 

I think that the scuence is pretty well established that certain chemicals in sunscreens are deadly to corals - even in minute doses.  While I agree with you that temperature rise poses a potentially more harmful long- term threat to corals, why not do the FEW things that we as individuals CAN do to help the ocean environment?   That would involve personal choices regarding sunscreen use. 

On 4/22/2019 at 11:29 AM, BNBR said:

This is all great, but the mineral sunscreens are not that effective.  There is a reason certain chemicals are in the traditional sunscreens.  If you really want to be reef safe, wear clothing with an ultraviolet protection factor rating and cover up.  If you are sensitive to the sun, you should probably continue using traditional sunblock.  I am not interested in getting skin cancer by using ineffective mineral sunscreens.  Sorry.  But I do often cover up with a rash guard and avoid sun screen.  I also don't use sunscreen while diving.  I try, but when I'm in the sun, I'm using a high spf traditional sunscreen.

 

Quoting Consumer Reports:

 

"And unfortunately, in the past six years of sunscreen testing, none of the mineral products we’ve tested offer both top-notch UVA and UVB protection and meet their labeled SPF, says Susan Booth, the project leader for our sunscreen testing."

Not to be argumentative but if you find yourself unable to wear sunscreen that won’t kill marine creature, maybe you should stay away from the ocean. 

I’m getting tired of seeing coral die as a result of uncaring humans. 

If you don't mind walking about a half mile, there's a place called Sunset with a nice water view - usually not too crowded and it's away from all the craziness of the cruise ship piers.  Exit the pier, go straight out to the main road (Melgar), turn left, and walk for about a half mile.  Sunset's on the water side of the road.  If you don't want to walk that far, you'll pass Tikila - it's not bad either.

Anyone with experience diving liveaboards there?  Thinking of a January/February timeframe and 10/11 days as opposed to a week.  Opinions on operators welcomed - accomodations, operational aspects, staff, cuisine, etc.  Also, please let me know how you would rate the difficulty of the diving itself in terms of current and water temps.  Very familiar with drift diving and the currents around Cozumel and St. Lucia.  I have a 7mm suit, hood, and gloves - don’t like the stuff but I have it.  Never used a reef hook and line or done a negative entry but I can practice that stuff the next time I go to Coz. Any pointers are welcome. 

Thanks!

Try Juliana’s - it’s Patsy Grimaldi’s new place and right next door to Grimaldi’s, his old place.  FYI - no wine or beer at Grimaldi’s but both are available at Juliana’s. 

BTW - Juliana’s is named for Patsy’s mother. 

Enjoy!

Albino’s, Cielito Lindo, Pescaderia San Carlos, La Conchita del Caribe, El Pique - all in San Miguel & all safe. Google’em.

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What’s a Windsurf?

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I only said that so that you could find out the particulars of the water taxi operations - cost, times, etc. Sorry if it sounded snarky.

I’m a diver and go to Bonaire on land vacations. KB has some of the best snorkeling in the Caribbean.

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You can take a water taxi over to Klein Bonaire from Kralendijk (Bonaire) - it’s cheap and pretty close to where the ships tie up. Take your own gear, water, and snacks - there’s nothing on the island. Taxis run out to KB about every hour. Google is your friend.

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Eventually someone will push the issue and the Puritans will end up losing.

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Sgt Hulka’s line in “Stripes” would be quite appropriate here:

“Lighten up Francis.”

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Quite frankly, HAL can stand to lose a few more of it’s “Midwestern Sensibilities”.

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Another diver here who would counsel you to listen to Harris and the science he preaches.

Personally, I wouldn’t use a full face mask.

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Get over it, they're just boobs, we all have them.

Exactly so!

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Star Clippers is our favorite Caribbean line.

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