Where's Waldo? - Can you pick out the peacock flounder in this photo? He takes up most of the frame, but his camoflage is outstanding. This was shot at El Castillo, a dive site that is about a 10 minute boat run from Pro-Dive Mexico's slip at the Suncape Puerto Aventuras. 

Mellow Spade Fish and Happy Divers - the reef off of Suncape Puerto Aventuras rivals cozumel with the number of species, and sheer quantity of fish to be seen. But unlike Cozumel, Puerto Aventuras has not been overwhelmed by crushing numbers of divers over the years. The soft corals and gentle species are actually more numerous here. The down side is that the visibility is a little less than Cozumel, but who's complaining? I'd rather see more fish, corals and surprises, like turtles, rays and sharks than have great visibility of a bunch of novice divers kicking up sand and breaking soft corals.

Reef gossip.

I love this shot! The two fish look like they are neighbors talking through a picket fence.

The trip to Puerto Aventuras was incredible. I swam with three whale sharks - there were eight of them in the water at the time. And for the first time in years I was so excited about a dive that I was actually shaking before I hit the water. (It really was snorkeling, not diving.)

Sunscape Puerta Aventura got hit by Hurricane Emily three days after I left - and that knocked out the Underwater Photo Contest for the time being. Truly a shame.

I will have reports on the spa and the resort in short order. As usual Pro-Dive Mexico was fantastic. On one dive, just a couple hundred yards from the resorts beach area, I saw a huge nurse shark, swam with a sea turtle, and spotted a gorgeous eagle ray, all in about 20 minutes.

It just goes to prove that the Riviera Maya is probably the most underated dive destination in the hemisphere.

Here's where I'm headed tomorrow... ProDive Mexico for Whale Shark Photography and to put together a Cenote Diving PADI Distinctive Specialty. While there we are going to work on the Pro-Dive Underwater Photo contest for August. I'll have a report on the INON UWA 100 wide-angle lens adapter when I come back.