Well the tattoo is temporary and the seal is still on our bottle of chocolate tequila but I think most of a bottle of Baileys was consumed last night. Yay vacation...
Stay tuned...can't 'splain right now...
We hauled our butts out of bed bright and early this morning to get breakfast and be ready for the boat at 8:00. All was going as planned although the water appeared a bit rougher and we could see some rain clouds off shore. We boarded the boat and headed out towards our first dive site. The ride was choppier than normal but didn't seem too bad...we discussed dive sites and then settled in for the journey. Next thing we know our captain pulled a quick u-turn and we were heading back the way we came. Apparently the port authority had called all the boats back in due to bad weather! It was a bit of a rodeo of rolling waves as we made our way home. Took a couple of tries to get the boat secured to the dock so we could get off with all of our gear...then a quick sprint to Dave & Brian's patios with our gear as the skies opened up and soaked us! We were as wet not diving as we would have been if we had been diving! Next was a waiting game...the official weather report/forecast would come by 10:30 which would tell us if we would be diving today or not. We waited around and discussed what else we could do today if we couldn't hit the reef. High on the list was hitting the Tequila store LOL.
Luckily the weather report was favourable and we didn't have to drown our sorrows in a bottle of Tequila! We did two dives like usual but stayed a bit closer to home as we'd be diving right over lunch time and didn't want to be too far from home. The first site was great. Not too much current and we saw a HUGE turtle coming down to have his lunch. There was also a big Spotted Moray Eel and tons of fish to see. When we surfaced from this dive and were getting settled on the boat waiting for Dave and Monica to come aboard we heard a call for help. Dave and Monica were floating out behind us and we were on for our next Rescue Diver Skills Assessment! Wade was quick to take action...grabbed his fins and snorkel and started swimming to to assist. He called his assessment back to us...we had a non-breating diver! So I grabbed my pocket resuscitation mask and put on my fins, mask and snorkel and went in to help. While Wade was doing rescue breathing and removing Monica's SCUBA gear and towing her to the boat, I assisted Dave who was quite tired but worried about Monica. With a good showing of teamwork we got them both back and on the boat...CPR applied and Monica was saved! Whew...rescue is a lot of work! It is much easier to be careful and try to avoid such situations! The second dive site was on our way home but once again the currents were strange. We started drifting with the current in one direction and then it switched on us and we were going the other way...it also felt a bit like it was pushing us out and away from shore. By this time I was getting pretty cold and we decided to come up a bit early and get warmed up on the boat. The others weren't too far behind us and the boat as usual was right there to get us. Thankfully the restaurant stayed open for us and fed us when we got back from our late dives...they really do take good care of us here! Then it was time for a shower and rest. Next thing we knew Dave and Brian were down getting tanks...that could only mean one thing...NIGHT DIVE! We went and got our tanks too and planned for a 6ish spash time. Once again the currents were strong so we stayed close to home but didn't see too much stuff as everyone was hunkered down out there. The highlight of this dive was BABY SCORPION FISH...OMG they are cute!!! They were about the size of your thumb. After an already tiring day we didn't stay out too long and fight the current...got some cool pictures then called it a night. Now our bellies are full of another delicious dinner and it's time for lights out so we are ready fo Mother nature stirred up some wind and waves this morning after we got on our dive boat and started heading out to our first dive site. The port authority radioed all the boats and called them all in ASAP...so we got a very exciting boat ride back to the dock where we hauled all of our gear off and waited to see what would happen. Luckily the weather cleared off right away and we headed out again
We had some exciting weather this morning that postponed our diving for a few hours but we are safely back on shore having a bit if a rest before we head in for a night dive.
Holy crap is it morning already??? Is it a sign of insanity if you get up earlier on your vacation than you do when you are home and working? Our alarm goes off at 5 AM 'home time' which is 6AM here. Very early indeed! At least we're enjoying every minute of our time here and not wasting it sleeping...right?
Yesterday was a great day of diving. We dove Paso Del Cedral and Chankanaab from the boat. They really grow some big critters down here! We saw HUGE lobster, Angelfish, Snapper, Filefish and Rays on these dives. It is cool to see the contrast between those really big guys and the teeny (so teeny you think they are silt or sand) baby fish that are in clouds in some places there are so many. There are some coral formations in colors that I have never seen before...really beautiful. There are also more Arrow Crabs here than in the other places we've been diving. They freaked me out a bit at the beginning because they really do look quite a bit like spiders but once I got some close up pics of them...they are kinda cute :-). During our surface interval on the boat between dives Dave had us do a few more of the skills required for our Rescue Diver certification. Brian was once again our victim (boy he sure gets himself into a lot of trouble it seems :-)) and we had to rescue him from the boat. It was a different experience as we had all of our gear off and had to get in to help him with only a mask, snorkel and fins. We learned that we are way faster swimmers at the surface without all of our gear on :-). It was also a bit challenging to get the boat crew to 'not' help us LOL! For one of the exercises I had to throw Brian a rope so I could tow him to the boat instead of getting in the water to save him...apparently I suck at throwing ropes...so the helpful deck hand stepped in and showed me how to do it :-)...now Dave says I have to share my certification with him! I thought we were allowed to use all of the resources at our disposal...I think one of my stronger skills is telling others what to do...so I say play to your strengths right? LOL After we made our way back to shore and had some lunch (yay TACOS!) some of us decided to head into town to do a bit of shopping. Wade was the shopping chaperone for our group of four girls while the other boys went to nap. I don't think he had any idea what he was in for...LOL...at one point one of the shopkeepers asked him if he had four wives! LOL On every dive trip we hope to see some sharks before we come home...and on this trip we sure found them...in the shopping plaza! WOW...they are hungry for your business there! Luckily we made it out alive and with a few 'very good deal, almost free, cheaper than Walmart prices'...LOL After we got back to the resort and woke up the nappers it was time to get ready for a night dive. I must say the night dives here rank among the very top of the list of my favorite dives of all time. You wouldn't think it as there isn't a beautiful reef with stunning corals off the resort...it is more just concrete chunks and rubble on a sandy bottom...but the critters out there are amazing! We saw THREE OCTOPI! Very beautiful...and not too scared of us...they'd scuttle along and hunker down but didn't zoom away like the ones we've seen in other places. There were lots of eels and arrow crabs...small shrimp and a huge hermit crab. There are so many friendly little Rays and Puffers out there it is almost comical how they seem to follow you and are asking to have their pics taken. I had to almost shoo a Puffer away so I could get a shot of something else. I've never seen them so 'friendly'. By the time we got out and got to dinner it was after 8pm...making for a very late night by the time we looked through the pictures and Super good day of diving! Two new dive sites from the boat...then lunch and a walk into town for shopping...then a night dive full of amazing critters. Too tired to blog now...must sleep as the boat leaves early again tomorrow...stay tuned...
FYI Scuba Club has a web cam...if you are online around 7am MST you may see us getting on the boats...we usually get back around 11:30 MST. http://www.scubaclubcozumel.com/webcam.html |