That's a remarkably intelligent approach.  On my one trip to Cozumel, I
don't recall a lot of opportunities for shallow dives.  Cozumel is, at least
for me, about drift diving on walls.  While not the most complex of diving,
it's considered advanced diving for good reason.  You have to monitor your
depth closely in an environment where the normal signals of changing depth,
things like reduced light and a bottom that's getting closer, are absent.
The best answer I can come up with is to get your shallow water experience
someplace else.

In the continental US, Florida is almost certainly the best place for the
kind of diving you're talking about.  Much of the east coast of the state is
blessed with three reef lines, on quite shallow, one somewhere around 30
feet and one somewhere around 100 feet.  There aren't many, if any, very
sharp, deep dropoffs.  There is no shortage of operators willing to take you
to these dive sites for a fee.  While the diving fees can seem a bit high to
the uninitiated, they're a hell of a lot less than what it would cost me to
do the same thing in my 32 foot cruiser.  In the Florida Keys, there are
more nice shallow patch reefs than you can shake a stick at, but to find
them, you sometimes have control of where the boat goes.  Rental boats work
well if you can't bring a boat of your own.  I have a 15 foot boat I trailer
to the Keys specifically for shallow water diving and, on the rare occasions
that I have the cruiser in the Keys, my dinghy works acceptably.  Kayaks
also work pretty well and have the added advantage of letting you access the
no motor zones.

Something does not fit right.  Sorry, but getting past this is going to
require the purchase of new fins.  You may be able to reduce the problem
with some kind of barrier protection.  Ordinary white socks are OK if you
have room for them.  I don't.  Thin socks don't stand up well, but there are
lycra footies (is that a word?) that are made specifically for diving.  I
have a couple pair of them I use when I'm diving a lot.  They're cheap and
last quite well.

Lee

Villablanca Shallows might be your ticket. Papa Hogs is about midway. There
are dive shops in that area.

http://www.papahogs.com/

Why not consider another destination besides Coz.

I wear socks to protect my feet from the fins.

One place not yet mentioned is the airplane behind the La Ceiba hotel,
aka El Cid Resort.  This area isn't a public beach, but non-tenants of
the hotel can still rent a tank/weights from the hotel shop and dive -
they'll hold your C-card until you return.  The upturned airplane
(what's left of it) is just off the hotel pier in 35fsw with little
current as it's sheltered from the international cruise pier to the
south.  OTOH, it's been a while since I've been there, so non-tenants
may not have the fortune of going there now - maybe someone can offer
more recent info about this.

Thanks to you all for helping me out here. I had on "footies" but they
didn't work. I'll try socks next time.

As for the shallow diving, I'll keep looking. Maybe the plane. Actually, I
went on a cruise ship so didn't have the advantage of staying at that hotel
that was mentioned. Now that I'm such an experienced diver (haha) I will fly
there and dive the whole time.

Thanks again,
Rick