Travel Agent - March 31, 2008 - (Page DS8) mexico: Get Wet, Go Wild Seas of Wonder Await From the Yucatan to the Baja peninsula, Mexico abounds with a variety of intriguing dive sites, many of which made a lasting impression on no less an authority than internationally renowned oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. When Cousteau revealed Cozumel’s remarkable underwater beauty in a 1961 documentary, the island’s reputation as a prime dive destination began to grow — and it has been a favorite among scuba enthusiasts ever since. The waters around Cozumel are so pristine that divers can see clouds in the sky from 20 feet below the surface. The exceptionally clear aquamarine conditions are virtually transparent, providing divers with up to 200 feet of visibility. Water temperatures range between a comfortable 75 to 85 degrees yearround. Factor in its status as home to the world’s second largest reef system — with more than 30 charted reefs that range from 15 to 90 feet — and it’s no wonder Cousteau declared Cozumel one of the most spectacular scuba diving areas in the world. More recently, Cozumel scored the highest overall rating of any dive destination Snorkeling in Los Cabos in Mexico in Scuba Diving magazine’s 2008 Reader’s Choice Awards, in which the island also ranked among the top five Caribbean Sea dive destinations for its marine life, healthy marine environment, exceptional wall diving and the aforementioned visibility. Drift Diving in Cozumel Known as the drift-diving capital of the world, Cozumel’s constant southto-north water current allows divers to jump from the boat, explore the dive site while drifting with the current and ascend to find the boat waiting at the surface. For clients venturing into the coral canyons and Riviera Maya shoals, knowledgeable Cozumel guides add a margin of safety and can help pinpoint otherwise hard-to-find dive sites. The multi-colored coral reefs ringing the island are sprinkled with tunnels, sunken galleons, swaying gardens, rare “trees” of black coral, limestone caves and steep walls that plunge down to ocean floor. Weaving throughout this setting are more than 500 species of fish, including sea turtles, nurse sharks, moray eels, red hinds, giant anemone, hermit crab, gorgonian fans, giant sponges, great groupers, queen angel, parrot fish, cactus coral, multicolored globes of brain coral and the island’s endemic “splendid toadfish.” Most of Cozumel’s dive sites are protected as part of the Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park underwater environment. To help maintain such protection, its authority collects a $2 fee from divers; for details visit www.aquasafari.com/marinepk.html. Cozumel’s most acclaimed dive site is the magnificent mountain of coral known as 8 DIVE SPECIALIST A TRAVEL AGENT UNIVERSITY PROGRAM http://www.aquasafari.com/marinepk.html
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