Cozumel, MX - We dove with Alison January 25th, 2006 off of the Century Zenith. This was my first "real" dive after completing my certification the previous December. DW has been certified for many years, but this was the first dive for her in a while as well.

DW had made arrangements in advance for the dive via email with Alison (http://www.scubawithalison.com). The ship's excursion had been canceled, so we talked one of our table mates, Mike, into joining us. We took a taxi to the marina from the pier - about a 15 minute ride. We found Alison easilly and proceeded to pass our gear down into the boat.

We waited a short time for two others (one diver, one snorkler) to join us, and Carlos to get the engines running, and we were off. This is a relatively small boat, but comfortable for the seven of us. Alison was available to assist with equipment set up if you wanted, but was happy to let you set up your own.

After some discussion, we decided on the first dive site and arrived there in about 20 minutes - relatively close in to the shore. This was a drift dive on Dalila reefwith a moderate current. I was too light getting in - not being too sure how much weight I'd need, but Alison had extra weight with her, so no need to get out of the water. Maximum depth was 60', but we spent most of the time in the 40's. Alison did a good job pointing out the various fish, etc and kept the group together. Lot's of fish on the reef, but you could definitely see the effects from the hurricane on the coral - lot's of sand and not a lot of color. Total dive time was around 40 minutes and Carlos was waiting for us at the surface.

Second dive was on Paradise reef after a relaxing hour and a half SI on the boat. The company was good and Alison was very personable. Started out with an extra two pounds, which made life easier. Current here was not as strong and we spent most of the time around 30'. The reef was in similar condition to the previous dive with similar fish. Saw a large (4 - 5 foot) barracuda toward the end of the dive. Total dive time 45 mintues.

A short ride back in to the marina, paid Alison in cash, and we got a cab back to the cruise terminal in plenty of time to get the tender back to the ship.

If you plan to dive in Cozumel, we definitely recommend Diving with Alison