The Cozumel
Drift
Your E-Newsletter
from Scuba
Shack, Blue
Bubble Divers,
Dive ECO-cozumel & the Village Tan
Kah
Cozumel,
Mexico
July 2008
Hola ! to all of our friends and
great customers from your friends and diving
buddies here at Scuba Shack, Blue Bubble Divers,
Dive Eco-cozumel and the Village Tan Kah.
This is the 16th
edition of The Cozumel
Drift .
For our new
comers - Bienvenidos (Spanish for WELCOME). This is our
monthly or so newsletter to keep you up to date with
what is happening in Cozumel. Either with the dive
shop, hotel, on the island, etc. If you would like
to see any of the previous newsletters, go to
You can find all
of our previous newsletters here
!
And, as always, a HUGE
 thanks
to all of our faithful customers and friends, all of you who make us worth
coming to work everyday ! We are always so glad to
get to see you guys again. That's what makes
this job fun !
IN THIS EDITION:
Island
Info... interesting
ingots of island information - or something like
that.
That time of the year again... interesting bits of hurricane season info
!!!
Golden Sting rays....
also known as bat rays - you can see them too
!
Travel News...
with the price of oil, things
are changing a
bit!
International Dive Travel... where we are going to
next
!
*Island Info -
- Sunset in Cozumel - Hands down, one
of the best places to watch the Cozumel sunset and enjoy
a cool beverage is LA Palapita Bar, located right across
the street from Pap Hogg's, down on the beach. The
drinks are good and NOT high prices. The sand is
cool. And the view - to dive for ! A
great meeting place when you want to meet up with some
of the other divers on the boat and share pictures and
stories.
- Anyone remember Neptuno's Disco ?? If so,
and if you have not been here for the last month,
cherish that memory and those pictures. Neptuno's
was knocked down - all in about 4 hours ! It was
very quick. And the new building that is being
built behind is going to be a HUGE super store called
Comercial Mexicana. Kind of along the lines of a
Target Greatland or Super Wal-Mart. Great huh
??? In some ways, Chedraui has made things really
nice. But right there on the waterfront across
from the Barracuda Hotel and Margaritaville
?????
- New Marina - Some of you had heard after
Hurricane Wilma, the the city Government wanted to build
a new marina which included the current location where
we dock our boats, Caleta. Well, seems that
they finally got all of the permits in line, and a
couple of months ago broke ground and started
digging. The area that is going to be developed is
the part of jungle between the Puerto Maya Pier and the
Caleta/Hotel Presidente. In the original
plan, there would be a new marina that would be
used by locals as well as attracting in
yachts. And a number of hotels. shops, promenade
deck, etc. was to be included. Not sure if
all of that is still in the plan, but it has
started. So when you head on south,look to your
right and you can see through part of the cleared away
jungle at the progress that they are making.
- Looking
for a place on the weekends to watch sports ?? With
football  season coming up, the French Quarter will
now be open on Sat and Sun, beginning at 11 AM.
With 4 satellite feeds, they will carry all of your
favorite games. And they created a special
bar menu - featuring REAL Chicago style Italian
Beef !!!! With a beer, what more could
you ask for while watching the BEARS
! - Looks like a face lift is also going to be the
soccer field and park that was across from the City
Hall. They have boarded that entire block in and
have begun construction. A new outdoor auditorium
/ stage area for special events and the such.
Like, the big Independence Day celebration on the
night of Sep 15. That gives them 2 months to
complete it........... hmmmmmm !!!
- Coco's - Yes, they are still
closed. Still the same sign in the window
indicating that they are closed until further
notice.
- Restaurant Review -
 -
Taco-mania
-
Los Seras - this is a favorite of
many of you. And now, after much
prodding, even the taco pizza is on the top
of the list. If you are not familiar with this
place, Los Seras is one of those night time taco
places that serves tacos al pastor (seasoned pork
cooked on a spit, similar to gyros), alambre (a
delicious combination of pork, beef, onion and green
pepper), served with or without cheese. Melted
cheese and chorizo. The list goes on. If
you have not tried it, you need to make a point of
this the next time you are in town. A group of 4
can eat for about $30 USD ! Also, they do not
serve beer, but you can certainly bring your own
!
-
Las Tres Marias - for you beef
lovers, this is another local place. There
arrachera is fantastic ! Order 3 tacos, and your
frijoles charros are on the house. Located a
little bit farther back, but actually closer to the
hotel, this is another one of those places that should
not be missed.
-
Las Otates - a good back up when
you are in town and not able to get to either Los
Seras or Tres Marias. Their tacos al pastor are
not as good, nor their arrachera, but they make the
best pozole (soup with pork and hominy) on the
island.
 *Yes, it is
now.... Hurricane
Season
Yes, we are now right back into Atlantic
Hurricane season. Can you believe this?
Seems like just yesterday that we got out of the
hurricane season. And it has started again.
But we really don't have it that bad here in the
Atlantic. With a bit of research, did you
know..........
There are 2 different words that are used to call
tropical storms.
1 - Hurricane - used for the Atlantic
storms as well as the northeastern Pacific storms.
It is derived from the
name of a native Caribbean Amerindian storm god,
Huracan, via
Spanish huracán.
2 - Typhoon - used in the rest of
the Pacific and Indian Oceans. "Typhoon" may be
derived from Urdu, Persian and Arabic "Tufan", which in turn
originates from Greek "tuphon", a mythical
monster responsible for hot winds. The work for a
hurricane in the Pacific Ocean is .........
typhoon.
The Pacific Ocean is divided into 5 separate
areas in regards to their Typhoon Season
- Northeastern, Central Pacific,
Northwestern Pacific, and Southwestern.
Atlantic Hurricane season begins on Jun 1 and
ends on Nov 30. Now, that does not mean that there
have not been hurricanes earlier or later. This is
just the "general" time line (it covers 97% of
hurricanes in history).
Northeastern Pacific Hurricane Season - May 1 -
Nov 30..... 1 month longer than ours......
Northwestern Pacific Typhoon season - all year
long ! Definite minimum in Feb and part of March,
but other than that, all year long. Yikes
!!!!
The Southwest Indian and Australian/Southeast
Indian - Oct 1 - May 30 - 7 1/2 months
The Australian/Southwest Oct 15 - May 15 -
still 7 months
And globally - the most active month of the year
is .................. September. And the least Active -
May.
Kind
of makes only 6 months of a hurricane season look
not so bad .....................
*Travel News.... looks like some things are going to
be changing.
Who has NOT heard
about the price of oil and
how it is affecting the airlines. It seems
that a different airline is in the news every day
! And in some regards, it is getting stupidly
crazy. Charging now even for your FIRST piece of luggage. With
all of this, everyone has to be really smart when
traveling to get here. Here are some tips and
tricks -
1 - It seems like those last minute specials are
really getting back to LAST MINUTE. We had seen
the trend for the last year that those specials were
extending 2 - 3 months out. Not any more. It
is more and more a last minute issue. So, if you
can be slightly flexible, then you can score big.
2 - Take a look at coming through Cancun.
Yes, it is some of an inconvenience, but when you are
talking about a group of 6 or more people, a $200 USD
per person savings on a ticket can really add up fast
! Take the extra cash and splurge then for a
private transfer for the group to Playa del Carmen and
the ferry. For about $100 USD, you can take 8
people in a nice air-conditioned van, and still come out
ahead of the game.
3 - If flying into Cancun, take a look at
some of the smaller airlines that are flying in there -
Spirit Airlines, Jet Blue, Alaska Airlines,
USA3000. Yes, USA3000 is primarily a charter
airline but they are now selling some of the trips
themselves as well. You just have to take the time
to look.
Also, for Austin, Vivaaerobus.com is offering great
fares to Cancun and
Cozumel(seasonal).
4 - Be careful of what you need to pack.
Divers - you do NOT need to bring your weights with
you. We have them here for you, so save your
weight for good stuff. And, if all else fails,
when they weigh your piece of luggage, make sure a small
bit hangs over onto your side of the scale so that you
can use your foot to prop it up a bit and make it read
less - right Doug M. ??
5 - You need to get yourselves on to the
mailing lists for the airlines that service your
area. In addition, check out these web pages and
get on their mailing lists as well. And then read
their E-mails for the weekly specials.
6 - Check out the
charters - they are having some great deals and they offer them
weekly. These ones just ended yesterday (sorry,
It tried to get this out on time) right
now -
Worry Free
Vacations - MLT Vacations
----- This past
weeks specials -----
Funjet Vacations - Right now they are offering
a GREAT prices from the US to both Cozumel and Cancun
-
Specials usually come out on Tu, and you
have to purchase by Thu. And this was the first
week of really good specials that will cover the rest of
the summer, as well info the fall. So, get on it,
come on down for another visit !
 Village Tan Kah Fall Specials
With the purchase of 4
nights, get your 5th night free
!!!!!
Groups of 4 or more, we are
offering -
7 night plus 5 standard 2-tank
dives for 6 = ONLY $ 379 per person ! CASH ONLY
!
NOTE - please understand that this
discount applies to groups of 4 or more people staying
at the Village Tan Kah and diving together with
Scuba Shack.
*Golden sting
rays....
Only a few of you have been lucky enough to see these
gorgeous animals. And the schools are
HUGE. We did see them last year in August in
Holbox. And we have begun to see them this year as
well. Here is a very interesting article about
them (thanks so much Mike for sending the link !).
If you would like to see them, come on down for one of
our whale shark trips ! You never know when you
will be lucky !
*Our next group trips.......
We have organized international dive trips to the
following locations -
Fiji - May 2009
- Taveuni Island diving Somo Somo straights
- Apr 30 - May 9.
- Viti Levu Island diving the Bligh Waters - May
7 - May 16
or both weeks if you would like.
Wakatobi, Southwest Sulawesi -
Oct 23 - 30,
2009
Wakatobi is their own island with diving
in the Banda Sea. This is a photographers paradise
! Hands down, some of the BEST
diving in the world. Yes, better than Cozumel,
better than Palau, better than most places in the
world.
There are a few
spaces still available on
each of the trips. Send an E-mail if you would
like more info on either of the trips ! I know
that you guys love to come and visit us, but sometimes
we just need to get to see some of the other great
places in the
world.
*
Closing Captions.......
Without all of
our special friends and customers (and this means you),
we would not
have
a reason to work ! So thanks to
much for coming and visiting and diving with us.
We
appreciate each and every one of you ! We look
forward to showing you the
underwater wonders
of Cozumel again soon !
Thanks ! 
Hasta Luego,
Amigos!!!!
Roberta , Robert
and All of the staff
of Scuba Shack, Blue Bubble Divers and Dive
ECO-cozumel and All of the staff from the Village
Tan Kah hotel !
================================================================================
 CUBA
 HACK (011-52-987) 872-4240
On the beach between Casa del Mar & Park Royal Hotels
ROBERTA'S
 IVE
 CO-COZUMEL (011-52-987)872-4187
 LUE
 UBBLE
 IVERS
(011-52-987) 872-1865 and 872-4526
 ILLAGE
 AN
 AH (011-52-987) 872-6142
TECHNICAL
STUFF:
This
newsletter is produced by Roberta
Cwiertnia, sponsored by Blue Bubble
Divers, Roberta's Dive Eco-Cozumel, Scuba Shack &
Village Tan Kah. We welcome all
contributors, although we reserve the right to cut and
paste. To be removed from this
mailing list, simply reply to this an e-mail and
write "Remove From Mailing List" in
the body portion of
the E-mail. Thank you
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