The group was gathered to discuss a future scuba diving trip in a tropical location. Many of the group were regular divers who had dove with the Hagemans, and others had been certified, but had not been diving in ages. I counted myself among the latter. I hadn't been scuba diving for 7 or 8 years, and was a bit nervous about committing to a trip in January or February of 2000 without refreshing my scuba skills.
"Don't worry, Chuck." they reassured, "it's just like falling off of a bicycle. Or sky-diving. What could possibly go wrong?"
Over the course of an hour or so, I decided that I would tenatively say yes to the trip. Mike Hageman and PADI certified dive-master Don Perrella were going on a dive trip to Lake Michigan in August and asked if I would like to come along to brush up on my skills.
|
August 20, 1999. RACINE, WI. Less than a half hour after renting dive gear and putting the air tanks into Don's topper-covered GMC scuba-mobile, Mike, Don, Clint, and I sat outside of the Racine Quarry swimming area waiting for the gate attendant to punch out at 6:00pm. The quarry was open until 7:00pm, but payment was no longer taken after 6:00pm. We would drive in and quickly get our gear ready. Hop in the water, practice some basic skills (like removing our mask) and get used to the equipment. That would make for short refresher dive. If I survived this little check-dive, the morning light would bring the wreck diving adventure. I was pretty nervous, but when all was said and done, I would eventually survive the weekend, and tell Mike to count me in on the tropical dive trip coming in the winter. |
|
February 19, 2000. SAN MIGUEL, COZUMEL, MEXICO.
At 7:25pm on a Saturday evening, Ryan International Airlines Flight 968 touched down on the
runway at Cozumel's aeropuerto international. Bienvenidos a Mexico! When Dr. Christine Hall
and I had checked in at the terminal in Minneapolis, we had arrived only two hours before departure,
instead of the suggested 2-1/2 hours. Who in their right mind...? Well, we were the last ones to
check in. Since seats were assigned on a first-come first-served basis, Chris and I ended up sitting
in different areas of the plane. I sat next to Bruce, the sporting goods store manager, and
his wife, Suzy, the medical intern. Playing cards and talking with them about their
previous scuba trips to Cozumel made the loud and crowded flight go by quickly. Chris read
Fodder's guide and often passed me notes regarding the best spots for night life and good
eating.
After claiming luggage, La aduana (Customs) procedures at the Cozumel airport require each passenger to stop at a light that looks like a traffic signal. The passenger must press a button which randomly results in either a PASE o PARE (go or stop) light. Those who get PARE, must wait while the customs officials root around through their luggage like starved boars in a dumpster. After they've determined whether you prefer boxers or briefs, you are allowed to join the rest of the passengers who by this time have been surrounded by Chevy Suburban drivers who are offering to take people into San Miguel for $6.00. |
|
|
|
| The first four days on the island mainly consisted of diving. I did two boat dives per day. The boat left the dock in the morning at 8:15 every day. Our group of 8-11 people (depending on who was diving that day) got our own boat and own dive master. Chris describes the dive master as a sherpa who does much of the work and makes sure that you won't die while diving. Our dive master was great, he pointed out the best routes to see the coral and the animals in the ocean. I got to see giant eagle rays, many huge lobsters (you wouldn't believe how big they were!), crabs, baracutta, morey eels, sea snakes, octupus, squids, etc. (I missed the nurse shark that was sneaking into a little hole in the coral, but others saw it.) The coral and sealife was very beautiful and the dives were fun. After the first dive (generally the deepest) we were on the surface for about an hour when the crew would help change the tanks and reposition the boat for the next dive. We'd return to the resort (Scuba-club cozumel) about 1:30 for lunch. I did some night dives both from shore and from the boat. They were my first night dives, and were pretty neat. |
|
|
|
| After completing her open water certification dives the first two days, Chris was ready to join the dive boat group on the third and fourth days. A photographer who was passing by captured an embarassing moment in which we had our hoses tangled together. Promptly we had the hoses untangled and the rest of the dive went well. Even before the boat had docked back at the scuba club cozumel, Chris was planning future vacations and discussing where our next dive vacation would take place. |
|
|
|
|
| After the diving was over, Chris and I turned our attention to renting a car and exploring the other areas of Isla Cozumel. Almost 1000 years before, the Mayans were busy constructing ruins throughout central Mexico. Why they would build ruins instead of intact structures that could provide shelter is beyond me! The island of Cozumel was no exception, and at one time was so overrun with Mayan contractors that eventually there was no room to grow food. But I digress.... The Mayans believed the island to be a place of great fertility. Their women would generally come and offer sacrifices (human and otherwise) in order to please the gods of fertility. Modern day tourism experts have concentrated the ruins in various interesting shapes (e.g., your pyramids) in locations that tend to be located conveniently within 10 miles from the heart of nowhere. |
|
|
In order to see the Mayan altars and surrounding communities of blanket vendors in the center of the island, we needed transportation. We got a VW/Zafari with an awesome suspension system that made the car ride like it was a Mayan Ruin. The muffler fell off during hour 17 of our 24 hour rental. We saw some of Cozumel's ruins, which have been largely ruined by vegetation growth and eroison. Following that, we drove to the Carribean side of the island and drank a couple of beers while watching the waves crash into the unpopulated and not-too-spoiled beaches. We also bought a blanket. Apparently there has been a huge change in Mexico's climate recently, leaving them with hundreds of millions of unneeded blankets. Blankets made from cactus fiber, and wool, and cotton and with various colors. Buen calidad! How much you wanna give for this one? |
| When we had traveled down all of Cozumel's paved roads (and some of the graveled ones) we decided it was time to catch the ferry to the Mainland. We arrived in Playacar (Playa del Carmen) at 4:50pm on a Thursday afternoon. The tenative plans included traveling to Tulum and Coba to visit more Mayan ruins. Seeking a vehicle that would serve as a comfortable photography backdrop, we ended up with a 2000 super-beetle VW with less than 4000 miles. It's overprotective owner checked the oil three times while we waited for the keys. |
|
|
The bug was very comfortable compared to the Zafari. We made good time to Modern day Tulum where we rented a cabin along the beach after inspecting a few hotels without thatched roofs. The morning light found us less than 2 miles from the ruined Mayan city/fortress of old-Tulum. After enjoying the view and touring the site, we left for Coba. Although it's not as well preserved as Chichen Itza, it is the site of the tallest pyramid in Mexico. It was quite impressive. |
There were twelve traveling in our group and ten divers. The weather was beautiful, just the color of the water was relaxing - water temp was 80 and the underwater visibility was 100 ft. plus.
My first boat dive took me to beyond quadruple my previous shore dive limit of 20 feet - 90 feet! So much for breaking me in slowly. Actually, I was so amazed at how un-freaked out I was. All the cliches of "flying under water" and "being in an aquarium" are true. I felt very safe and kept our dive master in sight (and almost within reach) at all times. Chuck's friends were giving him a hard time because of his degree of vigilance over me on this my first venture out - I say he was only doing what a good dive buddy should do - thanks Charlie :) !
We saw sea turtles, huge beautiful tropical fish, an octopus, a lobster that was at least 5 feet (I'm not kidding). Chuck saw a giant eagle ray and some in our group saw a nurse shark - hard to do justice with words. Suffice it to say - I'm hooked! The resort was oriented toward divers and was all inclusive - great food and service. This will be a hard to beat experience.
We spent our last few days over on the main land visiting the Mayan ruins of Tulum and Coba. And did some salsa dancing in Playa del Carmen - a beautiful stretch of coast undergoing a lot of American style condo development.
Friend and underwater photographer Alesia Hruska-Hageman has some pictures posted on the Hageman web page.
