Freediving Isla Cozumel, Intercontinental Presidente

Intercontinental Presidente by Andre Navarro

Beautiful Isla Cozumel ! Returning to freedive Intercontinental Presidente has long been on my to do list. This fancy resort has much to explore out front, along it's shallow reefs and ship pieces turned into fish filled reefs. In Part 1, we'll focus on the beautiful shore reefs and all the life you'll find there. From the many colorful and diverse fish to corals, sponges, sea fans, whips, plumes and amazing ocean views.

For this underwater exploration, we entered from the south of the resort. To enter from their property, you either have to be a paying guest or pay an expensive beach day use fee. To the north of the resort is a busy port leaving the south from the empty shore reefs the best option. The land leading into the ocean here is extremely jagged. Entering at the edge, I had to climb down into the water which varies from 2' to 5' in depth. Normally this is an easy task, but here you have to be extra careful not to rip your clothes or damage your fins on the rocks and especially to not cut yourself.

Isla Cozumel Shore Reefs by Andre Navarro

Immediately upon entry, you'll notice how clear the water is in this area. The clear iconic turquoise waters you expect of the Caribbean. This area is towards the middle of the island, about 15 minutes south of Centro right before you head into the secluded southern half of the island. Due to it's location, it doesn't get effected as much by the murky current that flows from north resulting in great conditions. Also upon entry, you'll see lot's of Blade Fire Coral all along the shore. And where ever you find lot's of coral, comes lot's of fish, crustaceans and occasional eels.

Blade Fire Coral and Sergeant Majors by Andre Navarro

As we explored along the pristine shore reef towards Intercontinental Presidente, we saw many colorful Parrotfish, the majority being Yellowtail and Stoplight Parrotfish. There are also many striped Sergeant Majorfish and Bermuda Chubs in the area. One of my favorite finds of the day was a large Spotted Moray Eel hanging out under a bunch of Blade Fire Coral and juvenile Sergeant Majorfish. There are many Eels to be found along the rocky shore reef as long as you know where to look. They usually have the majority of their body hidden in or under rocks and crevices. You'll just see their head sticking out and if their mouth is open, you'll also see their huge fang like teeth. Thank goodness these Eels are not aggressive as long as they are not harrassed.

My second favorite find of the day was a tiny Banded Coral Shrimp which is a cleaner shrimp. It's so small and thin, it was confusing and did not register what I was looking at. You'll usually find these small colorful and unique looking shrimp like their name implies, in or around corals. The first thing you'll see is their long white antennae and long red banded arms with tiny claws. You'll also notice it's long white antennae slowly waving, which is an advertisement to passing fish that it will remove parasites, fungi and dead tissue from partakers. At first I was amazed the passing fish weren't eating the small shrimp, until I later found out through a Wikipedia search these shrimp are an asset to the fish as cleaners, worth more than an easy meal.

Also along the shore reef to and in front of Intercontinental Presidente, you'll see many colorful and interesting Sea Fans, Plumes, Whips and Sponges. Which are all interestingly animals, not plants. Even though they resemble from bushes to odd looking land plants, they are not. Some are even Soft Corals like Sea Plumes. Usually these types of animals are clustered together along with corals creating mini cities of life attracting many diverse fish. One of the oddest looking fish I always observe cruising the shore reef are Grey Triggerfish which to me, look like swimming space aliens. Especially the way they swim with their and top and lower fins creating a waddling type stroke. Their eyes are tiny along with their mouth. But as odd as they may look, they are sufficiently fast swimmers when they want to take off.

The views and above and below the surface here are amazing. From the dense and lush green forest leading to the ocean's edge to the big bright blue sky that appears to be so much larger than everywhere else. The sun shines through the clear warm water broken up by the gentle surface into a disco ball like effect. Everything you see along the shore reef will be well lit up by the sun, no flashlights necessary. At times, the light is so intense and shiny through the water, it feels like I need sunglasses below the surface.

By now, we were at the southern edge of Intercontinental Presidente's shore reef. Ready to head out into the deeper area to explore the ship wreckage reef filled with hundreds of fish. To explore here is a long beautiful life filled day. In part 2, we explore the wreckage and immerse ourselves in hundreds of fish.

Fish Life at Intercontinental Presidente Shipwreck Reef by Andre Navarro

The accompanying Youtube videos are first hand footage captured by Andre Navarro while freediving Isla Cozumel, Mexico. The first "Amazing Cozumel" is the new series. "Diving Cozumel Mexico" series is from 2020 exploration with 11 locations.  Subscribe and sign up to our Newsletter to not miss future adventures !

Published by: Andre Navarro of Ocean Earth Green

I’m Andre Navarro, Southern California freediver and underwater videographer. I create ocean life adventure videos to connect viewers to our amazing underwater world to motivate stronger conservation and ocean life awareness. You can follow my ocean adventures here at OceanEarthGreen.com and view all my current and past videos at Youtube.com/OceanEarthGreen.

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