On Mon, 26 Aug 2002 16:56:18 -0400, Reef Fish
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>I was at the Cozumel Hyparbaric Chamber day before yesterday, for reasons
>completely unrelated to my cuts and stitches.
>
>But I have to wait till after today's dives to flap my anal fins about
>it.  :-))

The LESSON in the "subject" was learned when Sue had a pin-hole puncture
in her eardrum while diving in Cozumel.  The Cozumel (DAN affiliated)
Chamber was only a block away from our hotel. There was no waiting line.
It was open 24 hours.  The physician (ENT Specialist) was there within
minutes.  She was given some medication and was told she could dive
in three days, which she did, without any further problem.  100% of
fees and medications were covered, through our primary insurance (BC/BS)
and DAN's secondary insurance.

In my case, I had a bit of ear-wax blockage in one ear, and in the
process of trying to pick it with cotton-swap sticks, hairpin, and the
little rubber suction pumps, without success, my ear canal was getting
a bit swollen and irritated.

So, the day before my Maracaibo dive, I went to the chamber to have the
ear examined, just to make sure that I didn{t accidentally punctured or
overly aggrevated it.  It was great!  No appoint, no waiting.  Within
minutes, Dr. Morales came and fixed me up (he even remembered me from
Sue's visit :-) by sucking the "dirt" out and prescribed 5 days of worth
of eardrops and oral pills, with no interruption in my diving!  :-)

A couple of diving tidbits.

The Maracaibo dive yesterday was the first I've done this year.  As in
previous times, I've noticed the scarcity of fish, crustaceans, or any
mind of marine life!  The only thing anyone "found" (besides the
recessed undercuts at depth <G>) was a fish-hook LEAD WEIGHT which
was spherical and weighed 10 lbs!!  Somebody has been doing some serious
fishing around there!

We did the 2nd dive at Santa Rosa Wall, mostly in the 60-70 ft range
until the 40 minute mark or so.  I thought nothing of it when one of
the divers dropped his Spare Air when the entire group surfaced at
the 1-hr mark and I (being the last one up) had to retrieve it from
the bottom.  I casually remarked that I've seldom dived with a group
that lasted an entire hour at the depth/profile we did.  It was only
after we got back to the hotel that Sue told me that the diver who
dropped his Spare Air had already exhausted his pony!!  :-))

That was a FIRST!  I seldom ever see anyone using a pony in Cozumel
(okay, Trumpetfish Jeff excepted), but to have one emptying a pony,
then a Spare Air on a (shallow) 2nd dive??


We had good divers today.  Two from Italy (though never heard of
Giovanni's webpage of Italian sites), two from Poland, and Chico
from Costa Rica, besides Sue and me.

When I was walking from the pier to the dive boat, Chico put on an
all-Costa-Rican grin and asked, "Do you remember me?"  That's my
most-dreaded question in Cozumel, because I've met so many divers
there, but I seldom remember any of them until they remind me who
they were.  So, I gave me gave my usual disclaimer, "You look somewhat
familiar, but I can't remember who you are or when we met."

Then came the most common follow-up to the "Do you remember me"
question.  In this case, Chico must not have heard the briefing when
we last dived on the same boat, because he said he followed me down
to about 190 ft when he suddenly realized he was between the group
at 100 ft and me below.  :-)  When he said he could hardly see me
below when he was at 190, I knew it must have been one of those times
I was down there looking for my gold chain -- which I had established
during this trip that it was lost forever!

At Chico's request (to me and the DM) to be my "buddy" (BWHAHAHAHAH ...
sorry Huw, Strike, et al), I told him I would go only to 199 fsw.
Not unexpectedly, Chico couldn't stop at that exact depth, and went
to 202.  But I was a bit surprised that Sue told me Chico was sucking
on his inflator hose (at 10 fsw) when he was completely OOA.  ;-)))
I had mentioned that being one of the "emergency OOA" techniques not
taught by PADI.  I'll remember Chico the NEXT time, for sure.  :-)


Alas, the 2nd dive at the Cedral Wall was out last for this trip, but
it was a memorable one.  A grande dark-brown seahorse was so exposed
that Sue thought someone might have planted a fake one.  :-)  The
current was rock 'n rolling but we passed two swimming nurse sharks,
several supermale and midnight parrots, but the piece de resistance
was the BIGGEST Green turtle I've ever seen in Cozumel, or anywhere
while diving, for that matter.  It looked like a smooth piece of
light-grey concrete next to a sponge of like color that I didn't
realize it was a turtle until I was practically on top of it!  A
slightly inflated tale would put it at 6 ft x 4 ft (carapace or shell),
but a more modest estimate would put it 5 ft long anyway.  :-)  It
was a young fella too -- not the near-blind one with barnacles all
over its back (largest previously seen in Coz) that Andy and I saw
at the San Juan dive after the Barracuda dive.

It may be Cairns before I get wet again.  ;-)

-- Bob.