Hi John,

We regret missing you and Brooxie, and Bjorn and Chuck too for that
matter, in Coz this season.  However, I am pleased that Venture
delivered good diving for you.  I find his approach a most refreshing
change from the 'standard' Coz dive plan.  ...and he's a good guy who's
fun to spend the day with.

But don't thank me...thank Senior Hopf, since it was Chuck and Jeannie
who put me on to Venture last summer.

Let me know when you are going back, I have so much pent up dive
disorder, that even Lake Dallas is looking good with vis equal to the
thickness of a mask face plate!  :-)  After missing my New Years dive
trip, I'm ready for another soon and our Cayman Aggressor trip is still
more than a year away.

Hi to Brooxie...

Best regards,
Russ



John Nitrox wrote:
>
>         As usual, NED recommendations are big winners, and Crusty's endorsement of
> Ventura Nah in Coz turned out as well as Feeeesh's endorsement of Paul
> Padilla.  Ventura clairvoyantly anticipates his clients wishes and fulfills
> them on the boat and in the water. Simultaneously, it seemed, he would be
> futzing with the new diver somewhere up in the water column as he pointed
> out juvenile spotted drums inches away and spotted eagle rays headed in
> from the edge of visibility.  For $70 a pop an older diver gets a bottle of
> Nitrox II, two dives, and rousing ancient tales of the rock and roll
> brothers, Rudolfo and Ricardo.  Of course during our shore based, surface
> intervals Ventura was hard pressed to keep up with Pascual and Hector, from
> another dive operation, who would work to top each other with tales of the
> mythical Miyagi, and I even heard one of Luis Perez' boat drivers speak in
> hushed tones of the legendary Mr. Ling.
>
>         Following Crusty's implied suggestion, I only made one request and let
> Ventura take us where he would.  Many of the dives were reef, sand, reef
> and others like Cuevones (a new dive for me) were magical fairylands of
> great structure with enormous coral heads that made me feel like I was
> alone flying around the skyscrapers of Manhattan.  His presentation was a
> new view of Cozumel, but what I enjoyed the most was the absence of other
> divers.  Kudos for Crusty and Ventura.
>
> DPTNST,
>
> John