News
Feeling crowded in Cozumel? Dive Villa Blanca!

There are countless dive sites in Cozumel, Mexico. Some you will find in a guide book, some you will not. The most popular sites are full of boats and divers by 10 a.m. Those sites are famous because they are awesome, but with several boats full of divers, the animals have often moved on to other, less crowded sites. I spent a few weeks in Cozumel during October last year, and had the pleasure of diving a few less popular spots – and had great dives as a result.
Villa Blanca is a reef north of the cruise ship port, and one does not see many dive boats in the area. Most of the “dramatic” dive sites are in the south, so Villa Blanca gets much less credit than it deserves. Villa Blanca is a wall dive, filled with sponges and soft corals and fans rather than towering mountains of hard coral. There is abundant life on the reef…much of it small, but every dive on this trip involved seeing Eagle Rays… they stayed just far enough away that taking a photo would be fruitless, but just seeing an Eagle Ray several times during a dive is simply lovely.
I took lots of photos – check them out:
So don’t be afraid to venture out of the “usual” reefs… the dive boats tend to go to the more familiar spots that everyone asks for, especially Palancar. I can assure you that Villa Blanca is worth diving, and the best news? You’ll probably be the only boat there, and that is a rarity on Cozumel’s dive sites. Enjoy the leisure of this unusual wall dive… and by the way, it is also an incredible night dive.
For more from Tam, visit www.travelswithtam.com.
Competitions
WIN a Beuchat Air Light Bag!!!

For this week’s competition, we’ve teamed up with our good friends at Beuchat to give away an Air Light Bag!
The Air Light Bag from Beuchat is a practical travel bag that takes up minimum storage space.
- Material: 600 denier and 1,000 denier nylon/PVC
- Soft roller bag, easily stored in its mesh bag
- Internal retaining straps
- Zip fastener with eyelets for padlocks
- Side compartment for fins
- Outer document pocket with coated zip and carry strap
- Backpack style straps concealed behind the foam back-plate
- Drainage vents
- Red over-moulded wheels; detachable wheel block
To be in with a chance of winning this awesome prize, all you have to do is answer the following question:
In a recent post on Scubaverse.com (which you can read here), we reported that Mexico is to host the first annual Cancun International Boat Show and Marine Expo this year. But when is the event due to take place?
Is it:
- A) 9th – 11th July
- B) 16th – 18th July
- C) 23rd – 25th July
Answer, A, B or C to the question above:
Miscellaneous Blogs
Jeff chats to… Jill Heinerth – underwater explorer, author and presenter (Watch Video)

In this exclusive Zoom interview, Jeff Goodman, Scubaverse Editor-at-Large, chats to Jill Heinerth.
Jill is one of the world’s premier underwater explorers, and the first person to dive inside iceberg caves. According to filmmaker James Cameron, “More people have walked on the moon than have been to some of the places Jill Heinerth has gone right here on earth.”
An acclaimed polar explorer, cave diver, author, speaker, filmmaker, and climate advocate, Jill is the first Explorer-in-Residence of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. She is the inaugural recipient of the Sir Christopher Ondaatje Medal for Exploration and Canada’s Polar Medal.
Jill leads expeditions into extreme environments to advance scientific and geographic knowledge. Her projects have been broadcast on the CBC, BBC, PBS, Discovery Channel, and television networks worldwide. Jill was announced as the recipient of the William Beebe Award from the Explorer’s Club and was inducted into the International Scuba Divers Hall of Fame in fall 2020.
Her bestselling book INTO THE PLANET – My Life as a Cave Diver has drawn acclaim from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and O Magazine. Heinerth details her journey into the extreme world of underwater cave exploration, where she has had to overcome fear in order to go where no one has gone before.
Find out more about Jill and her work at: www.intotheplanet.com
Rather listen to a podcast? Listen to the audio HERE on the new Scubaverse podcast channel at Anchor FM.
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