Scuba Dive Review from Acapulco, Mexico

[cruzegirl]

This review is from a vacation I was just on in Acapulco with my family... Not cruise related at all..... But thought I'd share as I never see anything regarding Acapulco and diving...My background is I've been diving almost a year.. I have my O.W. & Adv. O.W. I've been diving mostly in California and in Hawaii last year..

I was there from April 9-16, 2006... Stayed at the Century Resorts where my family has a condo there.... My family is very familar with the city... I didn't find many dive centers listed for Acapulco.. Started wondering if anyone dives there.... lol... But I found Acapulco Scuba Center at this web address...

http://www.acapulcoscuba.com/ingles/about%20us.htm

I spoke with Jose after my dad did some of the legwork for me to get info. due to the language issue or so I thought...Jose, the owner, speaks wonderful english as does most of his staff... So our communication was very good and prompt by email as well... I also wanted to do the Underwater Digital Photography class.. I got the book ahead of time and did that prior to arrival to Acapulco.. I already have done some photography but wanted to learn to make my photos better:p

I was picked up on April 11 by Luis from the Condo.. Then taken to the Scuba Center which is right on the ocean front.. It was a small dive shop but adequate.. I brought my own gear as I'm a newer diver and much more comfortable with my own things... They loaded my things and away we went... There were several divers.. A family of 5, a couple of newer divers and 1 student... My photography instructor, Antonio, was also certifying an O.W. diver.. I was to dive with him on this day just for fun while he certified the other diver.. I wanted to "get my feet wet" and just dive a little without the class..

Antonio was very good.. Very comfortable for me... and the student excellent.. Very into safety yet with that said, the common thing is that they don't check C-cards.. That still surprises me when centers don't check that...

Our first dive was to 40+ feet...Water temp. 70+ degrees. Smaller boat (but adequate) like I had in Hawaii... Giant stride off the back.. Sandy and Rocky bottom.. No walls or regular reefs.. but I saw my first Sea Horses... Three of them... But did I have my camera to capture it, NOOOOO>.. I was very angry at myself at that.... lol... I'm hoping Antonio will send one of his photos to me...We did an hour+ surface interval..Then did our second dive... went to 60 feet at one point but mostly in the 40 foot range.. Same temps.. Saw Stingrays, Pufferfish, Balloonfish, Eels... When the dive ended we came to the surface only to find no boat.. I'm like where's the boat?? Found out we did a "moderate" drift dive... I knew there was some current but not bad...So I finally got my driftdive experience in.. yeah.... Then returned to the shop and was taken home..

 

Did my photography class on April 13th... Same routine in the a.m. Luis came and picked me up.. My gear was already on board as they were nice enough to rinse my gear from the previous day.. Went over the syllabus on the ride out... First dive was in the 40 foot range to practice what we talked about.. Practiced photos with flash, without flash.. Some were good now that I've seen them but alot are crummy... Poor visibility with all the plankton.. Did our surface interval and tried to view some of the photos but hard with the bright sun on the LCD viewfinder...Then did another dive in the same area... Saw some of the same culprits fish wise... lol.. But no Sea Horses again.... Made me very sad... fair amount of current.. It was hard to concentrate on photos with the current.. Buoyancy a little difficult due to current.... So must work on that... Loved the diving, warm waters and felt very comfortable with my instructor.. Did I get as much out of the class as I wanted, no... Mainly due to the plankton, not many would get good photographs.. No one's felt there.... I would have loved some classroom time to go over things prior to the dive.. but I have the book to refer too and now it's Practice, Practice, Practice time.... Now the kicker of the dive that day, the boat broke down.. the battery died... lol... But by the end of the second dive, it was fixed... Another thing with these dives is that Antonio worked with me on my surface issues.. I've always been a little antsy on the surface for too long and after an incident in Feb. with another diver, I was quite insecure.. But Antonio was great.. And I feel really good about it all.... Plus no kelp helped....lol...

Overall impression of Scuba Center?? Very good.. They have a couple of different boats that are sufficient for the diving... No galley or liveaboard like I'm used too... But still good... The equipment for rental was very good equipment.. Regulators in excellent shape.. I would have used their's without hesitation if I didn't have my own.. They provided food (sandwiches) and drinks for the 2 tank dive... And the best part, they don't leave at sunrise...lolll They leave about 0930-1000 in the a.m.... very cool for me....Also, they rinsed my gear again after the 2nd day and dried it for me then brought it to me at the condo... That was absolutely awesome... Didn't have the facilities at the condo.. Would have had to take my gear in the shower with me:eek: lol... So, that was great......

I'm going to post a photo here... I wish I could have viewed these on the computer back at the shop to have Antonio view them... But they are REALLY green... Now I have to try to adjust them in photoshop... Bruce-r or Scubaran, any ideas????

Any questions about the diving, just ask... I will try to answer...

 

[Hilary]

Great trip report, thanks for posting! Even if it isn't a "cruise related" report, Acupulco is a common cruise stop, so anyone on a cruise who is thinking whether or not they can dive there, will be happy to read your report and know what to expect (and who to dive with).

 

Sorry your class wasn't as good as it could have been...and that you didn't have a camera when you saw the seahorses. I am sooo jealous that you saw not just one, but THREE!!!

[cruzegirl]

Hey Hilary,

I was pretty excited to say the least to see the Sea Horses.. Almost lost it in excitement....lol... It was so cool.. Some of my friends that have been diving for over 10 years haven't seen Sea Horses... Hopefully my instructor will send me one of his photos so I can include it in my album...

I hope the review is helpful to others.. I know when I looked for information, there was nothing for Acapulco.. And cruise ships do go there.... Guess who was there visiting after my dive on the 13th... Norwegian Star...

So hopefully it will help someone else.. I'm going to try the photo thing again.. They are so green..... Wild....

[cruzegirl]

Here's the Porcupine Balloonfish

[cruzegirl]

Here's some coral... This isn't too bad...

 

[JodiBB]

cruzegirl....great review!!! I couldn't see the pix, so I'm sad about that, but seeing seahorses in the OW!!!! How cool is that?!?!?!

[cruzegirl]

Hey Jody,

Sorry the photo won't post.. But click on my webshots link and look at the Scuba Diving album.... All my scuba photos for my first year of diving... What great times..... And the Sea Horses were great.... I'm so anxious to get a photo or 2 of them...... Teach me not to take my camera:rolleyes: lol

[w&k]

What was the water temperature while you were there?

 

Thanks for the wonderful review!

 

Wendy

[cruzegirl]

Wendy,

the temps were from 74-76.... Still much warmer than California right now..lol.. So glad it should start warming up now.... yeah.... :p