“No one really knows what’s in the deep ocean in Antarctica. Now we have the technology to reach into the ocean depths, we accompanied scientist and deep-sea explorer Jon Copley and became the first to descend to 1000 meters underwater in Antarctica for Blue Planet II. The exotic creatures we found there will astonish you.”
Ok, we have all been at home too long! Spring and summer are finally arriving and it is time to start thinking about getting back in the water. I know that the Twilight Zone episode is continuing and its effects can still be seen and most of the islands are not open to tourists right now. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t start dreaming of being underwater!
One of my favorite spots to dream about is Cozumel. Because of its relative location to Houston, it seems more like a local dive spot than a foreign destination. In two hours, I can be there and in four hours I can be checked it, changed into dive equipment, and jump in the crystal blue water just off the beach at the El Presidenté Intercontinental. Or better yet, I can be racing off in a boat with our friends at Scuba Du to do a dive further down the reefs.
Diving in Cozumel is a real treat. No matter what you are looking for, they have it. The reefs offer a wide variety of marine life and formations. There are vertical walls at Palacar and coral bommies in twenty feet of water nearby at Columbia. There are gently sloping walls at Chankanauub and fast-moving fun at Passo Cedral. For snorkelers, there are sites up and down the coast with beautiful fish and healthy corals just out of reach but easy enough to swim over. For the hard-core diver, you can do four dives a day plus a night dive right off the beach or off a boat with your own guide.
I have been going to Cozumel for over thirty years and I never tire of the diving or the island. My home away from home is now the El Presidenté. The staff at the hotel make me feel so welcome when I arrive and they are truly happy I am there. But it is not just me; they go out of their way to make everyone who visits feel welcome. Last December, Ann and I spent our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary with a group of divers at the hotel and it was a very memorable experience.
Another of the things I love about the island is the food. I know, I am supposed to be there for the diving but you have to eat. Cozumel is fast becoming a foodie destination with a number of well-known restaurants serving creative dishes that draw on all of the senses. But there are also some hidden gems serving very traditional Mexican and Yucatecan dishes.
Because things are still a little in flux, I can’t hop on a plane right now but we can sit back and dream. I can also try and recreate a little magic myself by making a special dish or two from my favorite hotel. Chef Sergio Turriza, the Executive Chef for El Presidenté sent me a couple of suggestions that I could make to bring Cozumel to Houston.
So my suggestion is to make one or both of these recipes and sit back and imagine yourself having just completed a beautiful dive and relaxing at the Palapa bar and watching the sun slip slowly under the horizon with its vivid reds and yellows dancing across the blue sky. Think of the day dives and the joy of anticipating more diving soon…
There is a lot of discussion these days about the best method of sanitizing our homes and at some point in the future, our diving equipment.
Just after Hurricane Harvey we looked into the best way to sanitize scuba equipment that was underwater in the flood. What we found was that a product we had already been using to sanitize our rebreather lungs would also work to decontaminate the equipment exposed to Harvey’s flood waters.
Now comes the next wave of concern COVID-19. In looking at the EPA’s recomendations for sanitizing our homes we find some of the same recomendation we found then — Bleach being the leading recomedation. But looking at it a little further, we find that the same product we recommended for Harvey can also be used to help combat COVID-19 in our homes and with less harmful effects than bleach solutions.
The manufacturers website states “Our tablets are used to sanitize food contact surfaces and equipment in Restaurants, Bars, Daycares, Gyms, Assisted Living Facilities, Hotels, Schools and other industries. This product fulfills the sanitizing criteria of the U.S. Public Health Service.
STERAMINE SANITIZING TABLETS are approved by the EPA and accepted by the USDA as a safe and effective sanitizer for glassware, countertops, tables, utensils, beverage equipment, frozen dessert machines, scuba equipment and any other food contact surfaces and equipment to kill:
The active ingredient in Steramine, quaternary ammonium, is on the EPA list of antimicrobial agents that meet their criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 novel coronavirus). Steramine has a long history of use that meets the public health and regulatory criteria of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). New York lists specific products that meed these guidelines and you will find Stramine on the list.
With all of this in mind, We think Steramine is an alternative in the fight against COVID-19 and other viruses and bacteria. It is an item regularly stock.
One of our Scuba Rangers, nine year old baker Ana Coussirat, decided that with everyone in her household working she needed to do something for herself. Her answer was to shoot her own cooking video series.
According to her Mother, Ana decided she wanted to show people how to make some of her favorite bakes. “She was very serious about this video. She told us she need quiet on the set so we set-up the camera and went out on the front porch and had a glass of wine while she shot her video.”
Ana’s first video is pure Julia Childs. When things go a little wrong, she works through it and keeps on going until the end — which sadly was before the bread was finished and out of the oven. I really wanted to see how they turned out. So, if you need a little inspiration, why not try making a loaf of chocolate chip banana bread?
Dave has been in quarantine in New York for over two weeks. He called and said, “it is like a String of Saturdays.” In another conversation he remarked that he was not sure his apartment would survive the level of cleaning it is receiving!
Dave has also resorted to searching the internet and even looking at Facebook! He has sent down some really funny things that we thought you might enjoy…
Options…
In New York, the Subway lines are noted by colors with all of the stops. When you can’t get out, commuting changes. Here is one New Yorker’s interpretation of their quarantined life…
Dave is also concerned about my not being able to exercise so he found a new routine that I could use while being quarantined here in Houston…
Your New Exercise Program
To help you feel better about your new home office, here is a photo of someones home office…
As his String of Saturdays continues, it is good to know that Dave is still in good humor. However, I haven’t heard from Martha.
Dave has been in quarantine in New York for over two weeks. He called and said, “it is like a String of Saturdays.” In another conversation he remarked that he was not sure his apartment would survive the level of cleaning it is receiving!
Dave has also resorted to searching the internet and even looking at Facebook! He has sent down some really funny things that we thought you might enjoy…
Options…
In New York, the Subway lines are noted by colors with all of the stops. When you can’t get out, commuting changes. Here is one New Yorker’s interpretation of their quarantined life…
Dave is also concerned about my not being able to exercise so he found a new routine that I could use while being quarantined here in Houston…
Your New Exercise Program
To help you feel better about your new home office, here is a photo of someones home office…
As his String of Saturdays continues, it is good to know that Dave is still in good humor. However, I haven’t heard from Martha.
