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Scuba Forum / Scuba Locations / January 20062006 Mardi Gras in Cozumel, Anyone?
When I was working for a living, I wasn't even aware of such a Festival in Cozumel because I was always busy at that time of the year. Baited by a PSA by Dan Bracuk in 2002, Sue and I joined Dan and Patti in the 2003 Mardi Gras. Dan's report: http://tinyurl.com/8aw7a The Carnivale this year will be from Feb 27 to March 4: http://www.qtmagazine.com/travel/packages_tours_cruises/details.cfm?id=433 Because of my severely curtailed travel in 2005, I'll be losing my Platinum status on Continental Airlines for the first time since the program started in 1999, and my LAST DAY of Platinum will be 2/28/06. That was one factor that prompted us to book a week there 2/21-28/06, to take advantage of the upgrade to First Class on cheap coach tickets on CO. The other reason was that the roundtrip ticket on those days, from ATL to CZM via IAH is almost half the price of previous fares, while flight to OTHER locations increased, probably as a result of some deal with Cozumel officials to get people back to Cozumel after the island was devastated by hurricane Wilma. All 3 cruise piers became unusable; Carlos 'n Charlies and Senor Frog were both severely damaged and closed, as was the last time I stopped there in November 2005. Just an example of airfare price differences. (cheapest on CO) Roundtrip ATL/SEAttle $520; $300-$440 range in 2005 Roundtrip ATL/CZM $328; $600+ range in 2005. If Dan and Patti can join us this year, then we'll need only a couple more (non-newbie) rec.scuba divers to make a six-pax boat with Caballito del Caribe to dive anywhere, any profile, with no Micky Mouse hand-holding, or everyone-one up when the first diver gets low on air kind of nonsense uncommonly practiced by many dive shops. Greg? It definitely won't be like the Aldora you were on. :-) But you may be the first cork to ascend. :-))) -- Bob. >When I was working for a living, I wasn't even aware of such a Festival >in Cozumel because I was always busy at that time of the year. I have never been but many people enjoy that time. Your preferred hotel is probably a good vantage point. Ron Lee > If Dan and Patti can join us this year, then we'll need only a > couple more (non-newbie) rec.scuba divers to make a six-pax [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > definitely won't be like the Aldora you were on. :-) But you > may be the first cork to ascend. :-))) I'm already out of town too much in January and February and am on the Nekton Pilot for a week in March, but I checked the fares and Janna's schedule and a "long weekend" trip could be possible. I can pick Janna up in L.A. late on Wednesday night and make the Thursday 1 a.m. red-eye from LAX to HNL, arriving in CZM at 11:29 a.m. That should enable us to meet you for a couple afternoon and/or night dives Thursday, and a full day of diving on Friday. Unfortunately we have to fly out Sunday and there's no flight later than 12:15, so we'd be limited to morning dives only on Saturday. Still, for 8 or so dives and a good time, I could rationalize the $393 airfare. It sounds like a plan. Are there rooms available at the Bahia? > > If Dan and Patti can join us this year, then we'll need only a > > couple more (non-newbie) rec.scuba divers to make a six-pax [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Nekton Pilot for a week in March, but I checked the fares and Janna's > schedule and a "long weekend" trip could be possible. That would be great! Then we can finally buy each other the drink(s) we had offered but never realized. > I can pick Janna up > in L.A. late on Wednesday night and make the Thursday 1 a.m. red-eye from > LAX to HNL, arriving in CZM at 11:29 a.m. I presume you mean IAH; it would be hell of a trip from LAX to CZM via Honolulu. That would be Thursday morning Coz local. >That should enable us to meet you > for a couple afternoon and/or night dives Thursday, The afternoon dive on the 23rd is a distinct possibility. The 2nd dive of the afternoon dive would probably dive into the night, We haven't done a night dive since the last century. Too warm and cozy after dinner. > and a full day of diving > on Friday. Unfortunately we have to fly out Sunday and there's no flight > later than 12:15, so we'd be limited to morning dives only on Saturday. That should give you plenty of diving op for those days. > Still, for 8 or so dives and a good time, I could rationalize the $393 > airfare. That cheap from LAX? > It sounds like a plan. Are there rooms available at the Bahia? Normally there should be, except for the Carnivale. Send your emal to reservaciones@casamexicanacozumel.com Fernanda Aquirre is the Reservation Manager. Ask about Bahia. She takes reservations for all three hotels now, Mexicana, Bahia, and Colonial. MY room (same on I stayed ever time since 1995 was devastated by Wilma. Not sure if it was repaired yet for occupacy at the end of Feb. As of now, I don't even know the room availability there. But I expect to stay there, even if at a different room. -- Bob. > That would be great! Then we can finally buy each other the drink(s) > we had offered but never realized. That's fair. My drink will be more expensive than yours. > I presume you mean IAH; it would be hell of a trip from LAX to CZM via > Honolulu. That would be Thursday morning Coz local. You presume right. I was thinking Houston and it came out HNL. > The afternoon dive on the 23rd is a distinct possibility. The 2nd > dive of > the afternoon dive would probably dive into the night, We haven't done > a > night dive since the last century. Too warm and cozy after dinner. Ooops. Miscommunication. I was looking at the following week, during Carnival, missing the fact that you're only there through the 28th. So screw Carnival. We can celebrate my birthday instead. As karma would have it, I am disembarking from a 3-day Carnival cruise on Monday 2/20. That will give me the rest of Monday and Tuesday to recuperate, before picking Janna up on Wednesday night and heading to LAX to arrive (via IAH) in CZM at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday 2/23. We head for home at 12:15 p.m. Sunday 2/26. I've never had a problem upgrading on the ONT-IAH red-eye, but the LAX one might be tougher. HNL-CZM should be a cinch, though, and I'm probably better off in a window seat in coach anyhow for the red-eye, because in first I always succumb to the proffered "cold plate" and end up wasting valuable sleep time. I'll need to be fresh enough Thursday to try to keep up with you. > That should give you plenty of diving op for those days. Yep. I remember that Adrian was flexible enough, when we dove with him the last time, to let the other four divers off the boat after the morning dives while Janna and I stayed for two afternoon dives. We'll want to get as many dives in as possible given our short time there, but it should be easy enough to add on extra afternoon or night dives after seeing you off the boat so you can get warm and cozy. If you're e-mailing them, let me know what they say. If Janna and I could get in 8 dives, it would be worth the trip. > That cheap from LAX? Plus $195 in taxes for the two of us. That news was on the second page. They used to quote the inclusive fare up front. $981.26 total for two for just a long weekend, but it's my birthday and I'm worth it. Besides, I've got to collect on my drink someday, and what could be more exciting than diving in Cozumel with Mr. Miyagi? I hope you live up to your reputation. > Normally there should be, except for the Carnivale. We'll be safely vacated before then. I sent in the reservation form at suitesbahia.com for an oceanview. If I don't get a positive response, I'll try Fernanda. Plane reservation held until midnight tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have confirmation from the hotel by the morning. If not, I'll give them a call. Any word from Bracuk yet? For some reason, Supernews censors his posts so I never see him. > > The afternoon dive on the 23rd is a distinct possibility. The 2nd > > dive of the afternoon dive would probably dive into the night, > > Ooops. Miscommunication. I was looking at the following week, during > Carnival, missing the fact that you're only there through the 28th. So > screw Carnival. We can celebrate my birthday instead. GM> Wednesday, 2/20/02. Happy birthday to me. Trouble with celebrating your birthday is that even YOU don't know how old you are. In Nov 2005, you said to Dillon, GM> Who knows, I might like cruising just like Reef Fish. GM> Besides, it's my 38th birthday Elsewhere, you wrote GM> On my first birthday, in February of 1969 How old will you be on2/20/2006? 36, 37, 38, or 39? > As karma would have > it, I am disembarking from a 3-day Carnival cruise on Monday 2/20. That > will give me the rest of Monday and Tuesday to recuperate, before picking > Janna up on Wednesday night and heading to LAX to arrive (via IAH) in CZM at > 11:30 a.m. on Thursday 2/23. For 4 days, if you switch your schedule to 2/26 - 3/1, then you'll be able to see half of the Carnivale, and can dive with us on 2/27 and the afternoon of 2/26. > We head for home at 12:15 p.m. Sunday 2/26. > I've never had a problem upgrading on the ONT-IAH red-eye, but the LAX one > might be tougher. HNL-CZM should be a cinch, though, It's IAH -- you've got a fixation on Hawaii!! :-) It was that way until CO downsized their First Class section on several routes I've taken. Last year it was the first time EVER that I had sat in a FIrst Class section with only 6 seats. That was from IAH to LAS. I've flown in those B737-300 several times since, NOT getting upgraded. CO used to have near-empty First Class sections on the IAH-CZM leg, so much so that one time Sue and I were the only two in the 24-seat section. So, I walked back to the coach section and found Apple there and upgraded here to First Class. (We can upgrade one person each to First, if space is available). So, it all depends on the size of planes used for IAH-CZM flights now. Haven't taken that flight since 2004! But I was on 3 cruises that stopped at Cozumel in 2005. :-) > and I'm probably > better off in a window seat in coach anyhow for the red-eye, because in > first I always succumb to the proffered "cold plate" and end up wasting > valuable sleep time. I'll need to be fresh enough Thursday to try to keep > up with you. If you have the flexibility of moving your arrival till later, that'll give us more time to dive together. Nobody has to keep up with me, especially when I take my excursion to 199 fsw on the first dive. :-) > > That should give you plenty of diving op for those days. > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > enough to add on extra afternoon or night dives after seeing you off the > boat so you can get warm and cozy. I had forgotten that you dived with Adrian once. Doing 4 dives a day is never a problem in Cozumel (or most places I know). In my much younger days (15 years older than your age now) I had done as many as 7 dives in one day in Coz. But 4 boat dives in one day was common. Now I do only the 2-tanks from 10 am - 2 pm-ish, and snooze much the rest of the time. > If you're e-mailing them, let me know what they say. If Janna and I > could get in 8 dives, it would be worth the trip. There shouldn't be any problem in that. I know at least one shop that'll let you do 8 boat dives (or 10) in one day -- as long as you pay for the tanks. :-) > > That cheap from LAX? > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > got to collect on my drink someday, and what could be more exciting than > diving in Cozumel with Mr. Miyagi? I hope you live up to your reputation. Now that you mentioned the tax not included in the fare figure, it made the OTHER flights even more expensive than I had thought and the CZM flight not as cheap as it seemed, compared to prior years. The tax used to be around 50 bucks -- now nearly doubled. But $400-$500pp is still cheap for ATL/CZM or LAX/CZM roundtrips. > > Normally there should be, except for the Carnivale. > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Any word from Bracuk yet? For some reason, Supernews censors his posts so I > never see him. He has to w*rk. Bummer. Are you sure you didn't killfile him? Besides, why are you reading form SuperNews instead of Google? Try to pin down your dates. After that, I can write Caballitos and warn them about your arrival, even though those guys can take on boat loads at moment's notice. Giving them advance notice usually gets me Captain Giovanni and DM Adrian -- two of the best in that shop, and Adrian can give his briefing to other divers, point to me, "Don't follow him", :-) -- Bob. > Trouble with celebrating your birthday is that even YOU don't know > how old you are. In Nov 2005, you said to Dillon, [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > How old will you be on2/20/2006? 36, 37, 38, or 39? I turned 1 (first birthday) in 1969 and I'll turn 38 in 2006. Sounds consistent for someone born in '68. > For 4 days, if you switch your schedule to 2/26 - 3/1, then you'll be > able > to see half of the Carnivale, and can dive with us on 2/27 and the > afternoon of 2/26. Can't do it. Gotta have Janna back by Monday. She's back in school and doesn't like to miss any classes. What's really weird is that her school isn't closing for President's Day, on 2/20, so I have to drive her there directly from disembarking from the cruise ship. It will be an exciting week. I'll have already turned 38 by the time I catch up with you in CZM, but if the Mexicans can celebrate Carnival for a week, I at least can celebrate my birthday for a few days after the fact. >> I've never had a problem upgrading on the ONT-IAH red-eye, but the LAX >> one >> might be tougher. HNL-CZM should be a cinch, though, > > It's IAH -- you've got a fixation on Hawaii!! :-) I do, I do. IAH is a lousy code for an airport. I'd better recheck my tickets just to make sure I'm not taking the scenic route to Cozumel. > It was that way until CO downsized their First Class section on several > routes I've taken. Last year it was the first time EVER that I had > sat in > a FIrst Class section with only 6 seats. That was from IAH to LAS. > I've flown in those B737-300 several times since, NOT getting upgraded. A few times I've been offered last minute upgrades at the gate, often with a choice to leave Janna stuck in coach. I turned it town on an hour-long Newark-DCA flight, but gratefully accepted one on a Newark-LAX leg, when I was already seated in coach and the flight attendant came to get me. Janna is sound asleep within 10 minutes of take-off no matter where she sits. I'm not so lucky. > CO used to have near-empty First Class sections on the IAH-CZM leg, > so much so that one time Sue and I were the only two in the 24-seat [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > planes used for IAH-CZM flights now. Haven't taken that flight since > 2004! But I was on 3 cruises that stopped at Cozumel in 2005. :-) If I stop getting certain automatic upgrades with gold elite status, I won't bother trying for the extra miles and will settle for silver. What bugs me is that even the Business First mileage+money upgrades are a real pain to get, especially for non-platinums. For my upcoming Bali trip, I booked exactly 11 months ahead to as to be first on the waiting list (but trumpable by any platinum member). The four shorter legs confirmed rather quickly, but I've been waiting on the Honolulu to/from Guam legs. Finally, yesterday, the GUM-HNL (see, there I got it right!) leg confirmed for me (but not Janna), leaving me still waiting for the HNL-GUM upgrade even though that flight is leaving two weeks earlier. > If you have the flexibility of moving your arrival till later, that'll > give > us more time to dive together. Nobody has to keep up with me, > especially when I take my excursion to 199 fsw on the first dive. :-) I wish I could and I wish I could spend more time there. But that's all we can squeeze in this time. As for keeping up with you, don't worry. I'll probably get us nitrox and that will keep us nice and shallow, 100-120' max. Bottom time will be short too (50-60 minutes) unless I can rent a Greg-sized tank. I'll make sure to bring a book to read while we're waiting for you to ascend. War and Peace should do the trick. > I had forgotten that you dived with Adrian once. Doing 4 dives a > day is never a problem in Cozumel (or most places I know). In my much > younger days (15 years older than your age now) I had done as many > as 7 dives in one day in Coz. But 4 boat dives in one day was common. > Now I do only the 2-tanks from 10 am - 2 pm-ish, and snooze much > the rest of the time. I'm usually happy with 2-3 dives a day if I have to work for them (i.e., not on a liveaboard), but our trip will be so short that we can snooze when we get home. > There shouldn't be any problem in that. I know at least one shop > that'll let you do 8 boat dives (or 10) in one day -- as long as you > pay for the tanks. :-) 8 in a day would be interesting. I've never even managed six, though I've done plenty of 5/day's. > Now that you mentioned the tax not included in the fare figure, it made > the OTHER flights even more expensive than I had thought and the > CZM flight not as cheap as it seemed, compared to prior years. The > tax used to be around 50 bucks -- now nearly doubled. But $400-$500pp > is still cheap for ATL/CZM or LAX/CZM roundtrips. Yep. One thing I always liked booking online at Continental was the inclusive total fare they quoted. My previous frequent flying was done on Alaska, and the low "special" fares would always go up 50% or so with taxes added on. I noticed Continental started doing this a few months ago, when I booked my Belize flight for March. The fare sounded OK at $682 each, but then they added on $90 in "taxes/fees", making it closer to $800 total and not a great deal at all for a "cheaper" Caribbean liveaboard trip aboard the Pilot (relative to the Aggressor and Hughes boats plying the same route). Meanwhile the Nekton charges continued to mount, with a ground transportation fee, fuel surcharge, port charge, Belize government cruise fee, and hyperbaric chamber [suggested] donation, and they charge a whopping $250 for nitrox per person. I sure hope the diving lives up to its reputation. > He has to w*rk. Bummer. Are you sure you didn't killfile him? Honest I didn't. News Rules and Blocked Senders lists are both empty. He somehow killfiled himself. I can see him on Google, but I have to know when to look. > Besides, > why are you reading form SuperNews instead of Google? Because I like Outlook Newsreader, that's why. I find web-based interfaces too slow for my tastes, only resorting to them when I'm on the road. Or sometimes they're too fast: a few times I've typed long posts only to find upon clicking send that I've been logged out in the meantime and get an error message, and my post is gone forever. That's frustrating. > Try to pin down your dates. After that, I can write Caballitos and > warn them [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > give his briefing to other divers, point to me, "Don't follow him", > :-) Dates are pinned down. Plane flight is booked and paid for: CO1696 arriving CZM 11:30 a.m. on Thu Feb 23, departing on CO1698 at 12:15 p.m. Sun Feb 26. Even if we're not upgraded, we're in row 6 and will be off the plane, priority-tagged luggage in hand, through the green light, and in a cab by noon. Plenty of time to check in at the Bahia, where we have a oceanview w/balcony confirmed, and greet you at the dock on your return from the morning dives. I e-mailed Caballitos about wanting to dive with you on the 24th and the 25th, and also asked that they take us for afternoon and/or night dives on the 23rd and 24th, so we'll see what happens. I can't imagine anyone there is turning away any potential business right now. > GM> Who knows, I might like cruising just like Reef Fish. > GM> Besides, it's my 38th birthday [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > How old will you be on2/20/2006? 36, 37, 38, or 39? 38, like I said. Statistics show that the average person born in 1968 has their first birthday in 1969 and their 38th birthday in 2006. Got it now? What's weird is that I responded to this yesterday, but couldn't get an open socket to Supernews to post it. I finally gave up watching my Outbox painfully try sending, and copied the entire response to Google, which I posted last night. Google never posted it (yet), and I deleted my response from the Outlook Express Outbox, so now I have to retype it. > For 4 days, if you switch your schedule to 2/26 - 3/1, then you'll be > able > to see half of the Carnivale, and can dive with us on 2/27 and the > afternoon of 2/26. Janna is taking classes on Monday and Wednesday this quarter and dares not miss a one. She's the opposite of the sort of student I used to be, when the prof would be lucky if he'd see me at all between the first day of the semester and finals. So we leave L.A. Wednesday night/Thursday morning and return home Sunday evening. Best I can do. > It's IAH -- you've got a fixation on Hawaii!! :-) I do have a fixation on Hawaii, always trying to find some excuse to move there. IAH is a lousy code for a hub airport. > CO used to have near-empty First Class sections on the IAH-CZM leg, > so much so that one time Sue and I were the only two in the 24-seat [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > planes used for IAH-CZM flights now. Haven't taken that flight since > 2004! But I was on 3 cruises that stopped at Cozumel in 2005. :-) My last time in Cozumel was via Cancun, but we did get upgraded to Cancun. I have better luck with the Caribbean routes than I do within the states. > If you have the flexibility of moving your arrival till later, that'll > give > us more time to dive together. Nobody has to keep up with me, > especially when I take my excursion to 199 fsw on the first dive. :-) I'll deliberately keep us shallow by ordering nitrox. As for bottom time, I won't even come close unless they can rent me a Greg-sized tank. > Now that you mentioned the tax not included in the fare figure, it made > the OTHER flights even more expensive than I had thought and the > CZM flight not as cheap as it seemed, compared to prior years. The > tax used to be around 50 bucks -- now nearly doubled. But $400-$500pp > is still cheap for ATL/CZM or LAX/CZM roundtrips. I first noticed Continental's website quoting pretax fares several months ago when I booked our flight to Belize. I thought $682 was high enough, before I realized there would be another $90 in taxes added on. > He has to w*rk. Bummer. Are you sure you didn't killfile him? > Besides, > why are you reading form SuperNews instead of Google? Killfile is empty. I prefer Outlook Newsreader to Google. Web-based newsreaders are too slow for my taste, so I only use Google when I'm on the road, or when Supernews isn't doing its job right, like I noted above. > Try to pin down your dates. After that, I can write Caballitos and > warn them [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > give his briefing to other divers, point to me, "Don't follow him", > :-) Plane tickets are booked and paid for. I'm arriving on CO1696 at 11:30 am Thu Feb 23 and leaving on CO1698 at 12:15 pm Sun Feb 26. We're in row 6, if we don't get upgraded to the front cabin, so we'll be off the plane, priority-tagged bags in hand, through the green light, and in a taxi by noon. I've reserved an oceanview at the Bahia for 3 nights. We'll check in, if our room's ready, and then mosey out to the dock to meet your returning boat. I've also e-mailed Caballitos regarding afternoon and night diving for Thursday and Friday, and let them know that we want to be on your boat Friday and Saturday mornings. If you don't see us early Thursday afternoon, it's because we're out diving, but I'll at least leave you a note. I had forgotten about Caballitos' later schedule. We'll probably be in the water until 1:15-1:30, which means that we're not going to have an entire 24 hours before flying, but plenty more than the currently recommended 18. You'll likely see us doing an extended "safety" stop on the last dive for that reason, and the nitrox should make a difference as well, but it's one more reason I won't be trying to keep up with you. > > GM> Who knows, I might like cruising just like Reef Fish. > > GM> Besides, it's my 38th birthday [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > 38, like I said. Statistics show that the average person born in 1968 has > their first birthday in 1969 and their 38th birthday in 2006. Got it now? You said your FIRST birthday was 1968. That means you should be 1 year old in 1968. Only the Chinese are born a year old. > What's weird is that I responded to this yesterday, but couldn't get an open > socket to Supernews to post it. I finally gave up watching my Outbox > painfully try sending, and copied the entire response to Google, which I > posted last night. Google never posted it (yet), and I deleted my response > from the Outlook Express Outbox, so now I have to retype it. Google is really holding posts during the weekend. I had several posts made yesterday, none has appeared yet. > > For 4 days, if you switch your schedule to 2/26 - 3/1, then you'll be > > able [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > semester and finals. So we leave L.A. Wednesday night/Thursday morning and > return home Sunday evening. Best I can do. Glad to see a conscientious students once in a blue moon. > > CO used to have near-empty First Class sections on the IAH-CZM leg, > > so much so that one time Sue and I were the only two in the 24-seat [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > I'll deliberately keep us shallow by ordering nitrox. Actially for short bounces, my Uwatec Nitrox Pro did a 196 fsw dive when I forgot to set it to air, and it did fine until 10 dives later. :-) > > Now that you mentioned the tax not included in the fare figure, it made > > the OTHER flights even more expensive than I had thought and the [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > Plane tickets are booked and paid for. I'm arriving on CO1696 at 11:30 am > Thu Feb 23 and leaving on CO1698 at 12:15 pm Sun Feb 26. Got cha. I still have heard from Casamexicana reservation person about the Bahia rooms yet. Will write them again if I don't hear from them tomorrow, > We're in row 6, if > we don't get upgraded to the front cabin, so we'll be off the plane, > priority-tagged bags in hand, through the green light, and in a taxi by > noon. I've reserved an oceanview at the Bahia for 3 nights. Yeah. Cozumel airport is the only one I know that takes the CO priorty handling tags seriously. They used to have a person taking our bags in a wheelbarrel to the terminal even before the luggage cart was loaded, and we were usually the first one out of the airport. Now they did away with the man pushing wheelbarrel trick, but still meticulously keep the priority handling bags to be the first off the luggage carrier. I'll have to try your email address to see if I can get some direct action from Sr. Guilliamo Motilla. > We'll check > in, if our room's ready, and then mosey out to the dock to meet your > returning boat. I've also e-mailed Caballitos regarding afternoon and night > diving for Thursday and Friday, and let them know that we want to be on your > boat Friday and Saturday mornings. Glad you've done it. Then it's all set. We'll be there two days before your arrival anyway. > If you don't see us early Thursday > afternoon, it's because we're out diving, but I'll at least leave you a [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > water until 1:15-1:30, which means that we're not going to have an entire 24 > hours before flying, but plenty more than the currently recommended 18. All those are ad hoc guesses because no two people have the same dive profile, let along cumulative nitrogen load. I thought DAN had it down to 14 hours on their "dive until you get bet" experiment on volunteers. > You'll likely see us doing an extended "safety" stop on the last dive for > that reason, and the nitrox should make a difference as well, but it's one > more reason I won't be trying to keep up with you. Don't worry. I am with the group during all but about 5 minutes of the morning dive when I do my bounce excursion. Don't have any idea when THIS will appear. It's 7:30 pm Sunday EST. -- Bob. >> > GM> On my first birthday, in February of 1969 > You said your FIRST birthday was 1968. That means you should be > 1 year old in 1968. Say what? > Glad to see a conscientious students once in a blue moon. Not me. Wreaks hell on my vacation scheduling. At least I was able to talk her out of taking classes over the summer. > Actially for short bounces, my Uwatec Nitrox Pro did a 196 fsw dive > when I forgot to set it to air, and it did fine until 10 dives later. > :-) Maybe I'll get air for one dive and see how far I can bounce with you. Or maybe not. It would probably kill my Suunto, though I did manage to get it to 1.6 last weekend with barely a few beeps and flashing. > I still have heard from Casamexicana reservation person about the Bahia > rooms yet. Will write them again if I don't hear from them tomorrow, As a type-A gringo, I simply have no patience for mañana. I didn't get a response quickly enough for my tastes from the online reservation form, so I called the next morning and tried to confirm orally. After about 15 minutes of talking to several different people, I was advised to call back in a few hours when the reservation manager arrived. I did so, and she gave me a confirmation number, and the next morning I even had an e-mail confirmation. Only two days to do something that should take two minutes! > Now they did away with the man pushing wheelbarrel trick, but > still meticulously keep the priority handling bags to be the first > off the luggage carrier. The only trick is getting them to put the priority tags on in the first place. Ontario airport, which must lead the pack of the slowest baggage handlers in the U.S., absolutely disrespects the priority tags, often sending my bags after the rest of the plane has been unloaded. I have to beg and plead for them to put priority tags on my luggage, carefully explaining that other airports actually might take them seriously. > I'll have to try your email address to see if I can get some direct > action from Sr. Guilliamo Motilla. Whoizzat? >> I had forgotten about Caballitos' later schedule. We'll probably be in >> the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > down to 14 hours on their "dive until you get bet" experiment on > volunteers. I'm not too worried. My normally conservative Suunto was ready to let me fly something like 11 hours after my last Roatan dive. Finishing up shallow on nitrox usually cleans one's system out pretty good. > >> > GM> On my first birthday, in February of 1969 > > > You said your FIRST birthday was 1968. That means you should be > > 1 year old in 1968. > > Say what? Ok. The "8" was my typo -- I hit keys adjacent to the intended key often because I have two laptops and two desk top PCs and they all seem to have slightly different spacing of keys because I can't always have the correct orientation of where my hands should be! If you're a year old in 1969, then you would be 38 on 2/20/2006. When you posted last year: GM> Besides, it's my 38th birthday I didn't know if you meant you were 38 in 2005. We'll have your 38-year-old late birthday drink at the Large Penhous Suite at the Bahia on the 24th. > > Actially for short bounces, my Uwatec Nitrox Pro did a 196 fsw dive > > when I forgot to set it to air, and it did fine until 10 dives later. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > maybe not. It would probably kill my Suunto, though I did manage to get it > to 1.6 last weekend with barely a few beeps and flashing. First of all, I discourage anyone doing any bounce with me unless they know for sure they are not narked 50 feet above. :-) The newer divecomps make lots of noises for no good reason. So does my HyperAqualand watch. I never hear their beeps -- it's usually other divers telling me something is beeping. > > I still have heard from Casamexicana reservation person about the Bahia > > rooms yet. Will write them again if I don't hear from them tomorrow, That has been remedied since I started reading your post! > As a type-A gringo, I simply have no patience for mañana. I didn't get a > response quickly enough for my tastes from the online reservation form, so I [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > confirmation number, and the next morning I even had an e-mail confirmation. > Only two days to do something that should take two minutes! I looked at my email to casamexicana and tried to forward the same copy -- it was then the I got the message from the mailer that it was an invalid address for the DNS (whatever that was). So, I just went to the suitesbahia.com webpage, found the toll-free- number there 1-877-228-67-47 and had my reservation done in about 2 minutes. It turned out somebody had already beaten me to MY suite for the entire Carnivale, so I'll be staying there four nights (2/21-24) and a different room the last three nights (2/25-27). You may have your birthday drink on the 24th after your night dive, while you and your SO jump into the jacuzzi with or without all your dive gears. That's one reason my BCD is always ready to be an emergency re-breather because it gets a thorough warm water rinsing INSIDE, to keep it from becoming into a winery -- which is where my Aussie friend Strike makes his famous phycoplonk wine. :) > > Now they did away with the man pushing wheelbarrel trick, but > > still meticulously keep the priority handling bags to be the first [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > handlers in the U.S., absolutely disrespects the priority tags, often > sending my bags after the rest of the plane has been unloaded. That's pretty much true for most of the US airports (and foreign, for that matter). That's why I was really impressed with the way the Cozumel baggage handlers do their special priority handling. > I have to > beg and plead for them to put priority tags on my luggage, carefully > explaining that other airports actually might take them seriously. The tags are pretty automatic for my upgraded First Class -- they are just ignored by the handlers for the most part. > > I'll have to try your email address to see if I can get some direct > > action from Sr. Guilliamo Motilla. > > Whoizzat? That was your suitesbahia.com web. I learned, from the phone call to the reservation person, who knows me well, that Sr Motilla, the manager of the Bahia Suites for years, had retired in December. But my room reservation has been taken care this morning. But for the first time since 1995, I'll be staying at another room there for part of my stay. Actually all of the rooms there are spaceous, well-equipped, inexpensive, AND convenient to all the attraction in town as well as being the CLOSEST hotel (less than a minute walk) to the Aldora Pier from which all dive shops now pick up divers. We'll see you there on the 24th! -- Bob. > We'll have your 38-year-old late birthday drink at the Large Penhouse > Suite at the Bahia on the 24th. Correction: Make that and/or other nights during your stay, > So, I just went to the suitesbahia.com webpage, found the toll-free- > number there 1-877-228-67-47 and had my reservation done in > about 2 minutes. It turned out somebody had already beaten me > to MY suite for the entire Carnivale, so I'll be staying there four > nights (2/21-24) and a different room the last three nights (2/25-27). < snip > > But for the first time since 1995, I'll be staying at another room > there for part of my stay. Actually all of the rooms there are > spaceous, well-equipped, inexpensive, AND convenient to all I just received an e-mail from the reservationist Romy that I could have "my" suite for the entire stay. So, my streak of staying there every time since 1995 remains in tact. That room should be extra nice this time because it had to be completely renovated because it was the room (being on the highest floor facing the ocean) most severely damaged by hurricane Wilma. Other rooms of Bahia had already been re-opened for business on Nov 12. When we stopped there on Nov 14, the 2nd day the port was re-opened for cruiseships, during the week the Cozumel major declared the week a Festival Weej to welcome back the cruise ships, Gustavo the hotel clerk said there were only TWO quests staying at the hotel that day, and told me the bad news about MY room -- saying it might take a couple months to repair, which was why I wasn't even sure if it'll be ready by Mardi Gras. It'll be ready when we go. See you there on Feb. 24. -- Bob. > I'll deliberately keep us shallow by ordering nitrox. As for bottom time, I > won't even come close unless they can rent me a Greg-sized tank. Most tanks in Coz are AL80s, but it's easy to rig up one as a stage bottle and take the hardware with you to use on one of the extra AL80s on the boat... That's basically how I rig my sidemounts... > > I'll deliberately keep us shallow by ordering nitrox. As for bottom time, > I [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > and take the hardware with you to use on one of the extra AL80s on the > boat... That's basically how I rig my sidemounts... Greg knew that. That was why he dived with Aldora on his first trip. The Big Steel. :-) But Aldora wouldn't let him take his SpareAir filled with Tequila, and that's why his trip report was "Aldora sucks". Wanna come join us for our two dive days? -- Bob. > Wanna come join us for our two dive days? What, ya' need me to give you a lesson in statistics? <grin> 'ell, I must know something about 'em since I've cheated Darwin so many times over the years... Seriously though, I doubt that I would be able to make it... Thanks anyway... > Ooops. Miscommunication. I was looking at the following week, during > Carnival, missing the fact that you're only there through the 28th. So [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > valuable sleep time. I'll need to be fresh enough Thursday to try to keep > up with you. I posted a follow-up to Greg post this morning 1/6. It hasn't appeared in groups.google yet. Not sure if Google is constipated today. Has anyone seen my post of Jan 1, 2006? If not, than I'll have to re-write a short version of it. -- Bob. > > Ooops. Miscommunication. I was looking at the following week, during > > Carnival, missing the fact that you're only there through the 28th. So [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > -- Bob. It's up. > Ooops. Miscommunication. I was looking at the following week, during > Carnival, missing the fact that you're only there through the 28th. So [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > valuable sleep time. I'll need to be fresh enough Thursday to try to keep > up with you. My reply 12 hours ago still hadn't appeared. So here's a very brief version. I suspect the post was held up somewhere, but not lost. If you can slide your Coz windows by a few days, then you can see part of Carnivale (2/27-28) as we do and still dive the same amount. > > That should give you plenty of diving op for those days. > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > what they say. If Janna and I could get in 8 dives, it would be worth the > trip. 8 dives will be no problem whatsoever. I know at least one dive op in Cozumel that will let anyone do 8 or 10 boat dives in a day -- it's your life and your money. :) > > That cheap from LAX? > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > I'll have confirmation from the hotel by the morning. If not, I'll give > them a call. MY Bahia Penthouse was devastated by hurricane Wilma. Haven't heard from Bahia yet whether it'll be ready when we go, but we are going on those dates regardless. > Any word from Bracuk yet? For some reason, Supernews censors his posts so I > never see him. Dan said he has to w*rk this year. Bummer. Let me know when you decide on your dates. Then I can warn Caballito that you are coming while suggesting they save their best captain and DM for us. :-) -- Bob. > My reply 12 hours ago still hadn't appeared. So here's a very brief > version. > I suspect the post was held up somewhere, but not lost. I replied to the original. See why I use Supernews? Losing Dan Bracuk was a small price to pay. > If you can slide your Coz windows by a few days, then you can see part > of > Carnivale (2/27-28) as we do and still dive the same amount. If I saw Carnivale, I'd want to do Carnivale, and I'm getting too old for that sort of thing. > MY Bahia Penthouse was devastated by hurricane Wilma. Haven't heard > from Bahia yet whether it'll be ready when we go, but we are going on > those > dates regardless. Interesting that the hurricane decided to devastate YOUR penthouse. Hopefully the rest of the rooms are in working order, or at least the one we end up with. > My reply 12 hours ago still hadn't appeared. So here's a very brief > version. I suspect the post was held up somewhere, but not lost. <brief version snipped> which turned out to be the case. The original version appeared a day later, in: http://tinyurl.com/ajp3q I think Google was constipated for having made too much money too quickly. I bought 100 shares on the first day of trading this year (1/2/2006) at $415. Three trading days later (1/6/2006) it closed at $465. But that's peanuts compared to the appreciation of those bought at $290 less than 3 months ago. This reminded me of the wild ride I had in Yahoo which went from $14 a share to over $400 a share (the equivalent of $6,400 a share after several splits) before it finally crashed with the rest of the market. Since Google probably had already paid for the diving for the rest of my life, I'll excuse it for having lost (temporarily) my posts for a day. -- Bob. > My reply 12 hours ago still hadn't appeared. So here's a very brief > version. I suspect the post was held up somewhere, but not lost. <brief version snipped> which turned out to be the case. The original version appeared a day later, in: http://tinyurl.com/ajp3q I think Google was constipated for having made too much money too quickly. I bought 100 shares on the first day of trading this year (1/2/2006) at $415. Three trading days later (1/6/2006) it closed at $465. But that's peanuts compared to the appreciation of those bought at $290 less than 3 months ago. This reminded me of the wild ride I had in Yahoo which went from $14 a share to over $400 a share (the equivalent of $6,400 a share after several splits) before it finally crashed with the rest of the market. Since Google probably had already paid for the diving for the rest of my life, I'll excuse it for having lost (temporarily) my posts for a day. -- Bob. "Reef Fish" <Large_Nassau_Grouper@Yahoo.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :If Dan and Patti can join us this year, then we'll need only a :couple more (non-newbie) rec.scuba divers to make a six-pax [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] :definitely won't be like the Aldora you were on. :-) But you :may be the first cork to ascend. :-))) My work schedule means no vacations this month and Patti's work schedule means no vacations until at least mid-April. Oh well. Woulda been fun. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. |
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