Night Diving
It all starts on the boat. Hopefully, you’ll be watching the Cozumel sunset as you cruise out to the reef. Once you reach the dive site, you begin to put on your gear and finish watching the beautiful sunset. Now it’s dark, it’s time to roll of the boat and discover the ocean at night. While you might think diving at night could be scary, somehow the darkness becomes soothing. Perhaps because the ocean seems smaller as you can only see with your flashlight or, it’s all the creatures lighting up before your eyes.
The most famous of the night is certainly the Octopus. It’s amazing how it glides across the sand stretching its tentacles in every direction while changing color to fit its surroundings all in the same moment. Lobsters and king crab are also popular visitors, you would be surprised by how big some of them look in person or by their curiosity. You also may think you know what a lobster looks like, but the Slippery lobster has flat claws and a flattened body, you might say it’s the biggest cockroach you have ever seen. Of course, let’s not forget the nurse shark, nocturnal in nature and can reach up to 14ft long but not to worry they are bottom feeders.
While some sea creatures are more active at night, some are trying to get some sleep like the parrot fish who wrap themselves in a fluorescent bubble of their own mucus to help mask their scent from predators. You might be saying that’s nasty but we promise it’s pretty cool. Or you may have the chance to come across our personal favorite, a sea turtle sleeping near or under a coral structure or coming up for air during the night.
Endemic to Cozumel is the sudden sound similar to a croak, you turn looking for a frog but a fish is staring you straight in the eyes, it’s a splendid toadfish using its mating call.
While no one ever wants the dive to end, eventually it is time to come up but the fun is not over then. Everyone turns off their light and we move our hands through the water to enjoy the bioluminescence. The water glistens with organisms and bacteria we can’t even see, but it is a spectacular site.
We left out our eel friends, rays and other little guys that grace our presence but all are equally as beautiful. Come join us on a night dive in Cozumel, we promise you will love it!
