Wednesday - All dives complete
Got up this morning at 7:30. Went downstairs to the Tradewinds for a buffet breakfast. I hit the front desk to catch a taxi N. Sandy looked for a chair that was not in direct sun. She figures she's red enough for a Wednesday and didn't want to push it.
I headed off toward the NE corner of the island and hopped a boat. We headed NE to what I thought was to be a ship wreck. Instead 2 more reef dives to 55'. This makes 3 & 4 for me and completes my open water certification with PADI.
We saw sting rays, barracuda, lobsters, sea turtles, and a shark. I also got my first salvage when I picked up a weight belt some other diver had lost. The instructors have been awesome and the rest of my diving friends more than pleasant - very encouraging.
I kept a keen eye on my air, as I'm sure all noobs do. We ran our first dive, with a controlled stop right to the end of my air. We ran the second dive to the end of my air. The gauge said I had about 10 lbs left, but who knows when the last time that gauge was calibrated? All I know is that I could not get any more air out and we were still hovering about 10' from the surface. I signaled "out of air" to my instructor and took his spare regulator. Ahhh, the sweet breath of life. Amazing how easy it was to breathe. We finally hit the surface and I had no air left to inflate my BCD (buoyancy control device) and had to inflate manually. Of course, I had practiced all of these things no fewer than 5 times before, so really, no big deal. My instructor, Ronnie, was laughing. That jerk let met run out on purpose as a test.
Ronnie shook my hand and said I was an excellent student.
Returned to the hotel and had lunch at 3. We took nappers, then showered. Off to a late dinner - well late for us, as it's approaching 8 local. Purdue is currently beating Michigan so dinner may be even later.
Kids were to hit Jump It, a trampoline park in Indy tonight. We told them trips to the emergency room were forbidden.
Saw lots of pics of the snow on Facebook, email, and Channel 18 news (web). Looks beautiful, but glad we're here.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I headed off toward the NE corner of the island and hopped a boat. We headed NE to what I thought was to be a ship wreck. Instead 2 more reef dives to 55'. This makes 3 & 4 for me and completes my open water certification with PADI.
We saw sting rays, barracuda, lobsters, sea turtles, and a shark. I also got my first salvage when I picked up a weight belt some other diver had lost. The instructors have been awesome and the rest of my diving friends more than pleasant - very encouraging.
I kept a keen eye on my air, as I'm sure all noobs do. We ran our first dive, with a controlled stop right to the end of my air. We ran the second dive to the end of my air. The gauge said I had about 10 lbs left, but who knows when the last time that gauge was calibrated? All I know is that I could not get any more air out and we were still hovering about 10' from the surface. I signaled "out of air" to my instructor and took his spare regulator. Ahhh, the sweet breath of life. Amazing how easy it was to breathe. We finally hit the surface and I had no air left to inflate my BCD (buoyancy control device) and had to inflate manually. Of course, I had practiced all of these things no fewer than 5 times before, so really, no big deal. My instructor, Ronnie, was laughing. That jerk let met run out on purpose as a test.
Ronnie shook my hand and said I was an excellent student.
Returned to the hotel and had lunch at 3. We took nappers, then showered. Off to a late dinner - well late for us, as it's approaching 8 local. Purdue is currently beating Michigan so dinner may be even later.
Kids were to hit Jump It, a trampoline park in Indy tonight. We told them trips to the emergency room were forbidden.
Saw lots of pics of the snow on Facebook, email, and Channel 18 news (web). Looks beautiful, but glad we're here.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Calle Cucumatz,Cancún,Mexico
Sounds like the dive lessons were a great idea. Nice opportunity.
ReplyDeleteRonnie obviously does not know you very well ... (or perhaps he does?) ... To tell you that you were 'an excellent student' would only serve to boost your already over-inflated ego to even greater levels. But then, perhaps that was his plan so that in future if you run out of air, you can simply use your ego to boost your buoyancy! :)
I liked the weather report yesterday - snow, rain and hail. I guess it's hard to be having such a good time.
You know the difference between you and me? ... Monday will be my last day at Lilly. I wonder which of us is looking forward to Monday the most?
Keep up the good times! Dave
Poor momma too red for a Wednesday? My little violin is playing her a sympathy song!
ReplyDeleteSkyZone trampoline park was a success...and no ER! We have videos that we shall share. We even got Alex performing his first ever flip on a trampoline. We also find out how out of shape we all were.
Gator sledding tonight before poker and vball. Think we can go two nights in a row w/o ER visits??