My dad and I woke up at seven to get ready for our two morning dives of the day, both of which were at Dressel Divers at the resort. We got our gear together, each had a banana, and walked from our suite to the dive shop. We arrived about thirty minutes early which gave us plenty of time to sit in the sun and talk to the staff. Everyone at Dressel Divers was fantastic, all of the guides are overly qualified with each of them having their scuba-instructor certification, and everyone was extremely fun to talk to! Our first dive was at 8:15 am. While there was a variety of fish the reef was mostly dead and lacked the color and vibrancy of healthy reef, a rare sight nowadays anyhow. Our dive at 10:15 was a great deal better, the reef was a bit more vibrant, though still a majority of it was dead, and we saw many other kinds of creatures contributing to the delicate ecosystem that exists on a coral reef. There were nurse sharks and turtles, flatworms, fish, crabs, sea anemones, and a spotted eel. Dressel Divers were also conscientious about us and our gear which made them a fantastic company to dive with. They helped with weights, air analysis for nitrox, setting up and getting into your gear, and on the way out they were very helpful in getting into the boat, and placed your fins next to your next tank, your mask in the general wash bucket, and your camera in a cameras only wash bucket. They would then move your gear from one tank to the next if you were busy or, in our case, cold and huddling under the shelter at the front of the boat because it rained all morning. From start to finish the dive company impressed with its knowledge, customer service, and adaptability.
When we got back we showered and then went to the lunch buffet next to the pool. The food was gross, I couldn’t even find ripe fruit to eat and everything tasted either bland or disgusting.
We changed into swimwear and spent a couple of hours lazing about next to the pool, reading, and basking in the sun before heading into town and eating dinner at La Palmeras, while it wasn’t the best restaurant we had been to on the island it was easy to reach and served consistently fantastic Mexican cuisine.