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What Dive Sites Will Be Closed and When

 

• Paradise and Paradise Shallows – June and July

 

• Palancar Caves, Palancar Bricks, Colombia (all) – August and September

 

• San Francisco/Shallows and Santa Rosa/Shallow – October and November

 

• Chankanaab Bolones and Chankanaab – December and

          January

 

• Paso de Cedral, Cedar Wall and La Francesa – February and March

 

• Dalila, Palancar Gardens and Horseshoe – April and May

 

GUIDELINES FOR OUR GUESTS:

                 THE NEW NORMAL AND COVID-19

We at Living Underwater have always prided ourselves on providing our guest’s with exceptional service. During this challenging time of COVID-19, that still remains our goal.

Foremost, to us is your safety and the safety of our crew as we leave quarantine and begin to reopen our doors. With that in mind, there are some new steps we all will need to take to provide a safe and healthy environment for everyone and to ensure you with an exceptional experience.

We ask that you help us by following these rules as we prepare to welcome back diving in the new normal.

 

Face Mask

Wearing a face mask on board is mandatory. A face mask may be cloth, a neck gaiter, surgical, a KN95, or a N95 paper mask. Please bring your own face mask. If you don’t have a face mask when boarding, a face mask will be provided for you and added to your diving bill. (aprox cost $10 usd)

 

Scuba gear

It is important that we minimize physical contact whenever possible. As much as we want to help you set up your gear or help you clean your mask, these are things that we just cannot do for the moment. This is for your safety as well as ours.

• Regulator (Second Stage): Assembly and disassembly of the regulator should be done by each diver individually.

• Tank valves: Please do not touch the tank valve opening, when assembling and disassembling your first stage.

• Handling and Storage: Until further notice, we will not be storing or handling scuba gear. There are three (3) pieces of gear that we are asking you to be responsible for bringing to and from the boat each day.

    -Mask

    -Regulator

    -Wetsuit

When carrying your regulator and mask to and from the boat, please use a bag that will allow you to carry these items to prevent them from touching any other surfaces.

We also recommend you think about how to protect your mask, second stage, and alternate air source (e.g. mask box, Tupperware box, pouch). In this way you can protect them from touching any other surfaces or divers between dives.

• Defogging your mask: We are asking all divers to refrain from spitting into their masks to defog them for the time being. Please come with the defogging product of your choice and a back up in case you lose it. We recommend bringing a toothbrush as well to help scrub your mask between dives.

 

Social Distancing

Please keep a minimum distance of 1.5 meters

(5 ft ) between one another when possible. Please keep this in mind when getting on or off of the boat and during surface intervals in-between dives.

Please no touching other people’s dive gear: BCD, regulator, mask, snorkel, and scuba tank.

 

Hygiene

Please sanitize your hands before boarding, after boarding, and anytime you get on or off the boat.

It is recommended that when using hand sanitizer that it is 70% alcohol.

 

Jackets/Dive Parkas

For the time being we are not able to provide jackets or parkas during our dive trips. If you get cold easily, we recommend bringing your own.

 

Towels

For the time being we are not able to provide towels during our dive trips. We recommend bringing a microfiber towel. They dry quickly and roll up and store easily while taking up minimum space in your bag.

 

Fruit/snacks

Fruit that has a peel like Oranges or Bananas as well as individually wrapped items like cookies or potato chips are what we will be able to offer.

All fruit and snacks will have been sanitized prior to being offered, and we ask that you sanitize your hands before taking a fruit or snack.

 

Water bottles

We have made the transition from using single use bottles of water to providing each diver with their very own water bottle. Divers will be expected to take their water bottle with them each day after diving and bring it back with them each morning.

 

Personal Items

Plan on bringing either a dry bag or a small backpack to store your personal items such as sunglasses, cellular phone, and/or any other personal items. Bring only what you need.

 

Given the dynamic nature of the COVID situation and the rules around it, information could change at any time. We will do our best to keep you updated with any changes that occur. Please be sure to check with us prior to coming to Cozumel.

If you have any question’s please write me, and I will do my best to write you back ASAP.

 

 

 

Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).

The proposed implementation timeline has two phases:

1. In January 2007, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport, Air NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document.
2. As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. While recent legislative changes permit a later deadline, the Departments of State and Homeland Security are working to meet all requirements as soon as possible. Ample advance notice will be provided to enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards for land/sea entries.

It is your responsibility to make sure you have the proper travel documents prior to leaving the US. We suggest that you monitor the US Department of State’s International Travel page at http://travel.state.gov/ as requirements and/or effective dates may change.

Cave divers in Mexico’s Yucàtan Peninsula have discovered what may be the world’s longest underground river, connecting two cave systems with a waterway of at least 95 miles.

A group of foreign divers exploring the area near the Caribbean beach resort of Playa del Carmen have yet to name the river but believe it could be connected to two other major systems, adding more than 125 miles to its length.

Prior to the discovery, the Palawan underground river in the Philippines and Vietnam’s Son Trach River vied for the record as the world’s longest.

Living Underwater continually strives to provide the best possible service to its customers, both on and off the boat. With that goal in mind, Jeremy Anschel is pleased to announce that all reservations will now be handled by a US based Reservations Office.

“I’m pleased to introduce Melissa, our US based Reservations Manager. Melissa will be the first point of contact for our divers. She will be receiving their reservations requests and taking care of deposits, paperwork and any questions our customers may have before arriving in Cozumel,” said Anschel.

Melissa added, “I’ve been diving with Jeremy on my trips to Cozumel over the past few years. In addition to my sales management experience, I’m also bringing my first hand insight as a repeat Living Underwater diver and Cozumel visitor to this position.”

When customers complete the online Reservation Request form or Contact form, they can expect a reply within 24hrs. Procedures in Cozumel remain the same. On their day of arrival, divers should contact Jeremy and arrange a time for him to meet with them at their hotel or accommodations. Jeremy will come and collect all gear and discuss plans for the next day’s diving.

Living Underwater would like to thank Ben Davison and Undercurrent for their coverage of Cozumel’s post-Wilma recovery. Since their writer’s visit in February of this year, the island has continued to rebuild and improve. With only a few exceptions, all hotels and resorts are now open and welcoming guests. San Miguel’s shops and restaurants, the island’s beach clubs and tourist services are back to business as usual. And the resilient Cozumel reefs have also continued to improve and rebuild. Divers who were here shortly after Wilma will be amazed to see the changes both above and below the water on their next visit.

Read about Cozumel and Living Underwater in the April, 2006 edition of Undercurrent. The article, “Post Hurricane Cozumel” is available in full online at www.undercurrent.org.