I started my advanced open water course last Monday and have been working hard ever since. the school here is fantastic; far better than where I learned in Colombia. The woman who runs the operation here has been on the island for thirteen years and done over 10,000 dives. The divemaster program is incredible and all of the trainees are so dedicated to their hobby. We have a lovely classroom on the water, which makes the theory part of it all much more enjoyable.
I had to choose two electives for my advanced certificate, and as they have no shipwrecks here that are shallow enough, it was time to try a night dive. When I first got here, everyone told me I should do it, but knowing what kinds of things are in the waters around here, I was terrified. I told them that as well. I don't mind swimming at night, I do that quite often, but something about swimming with the fishes 14 meters below the surface in the dark of night just didn't appeal to me. Everyone assured me that it would be wonderful and the things I would see would be amazing, so I signed up. Last Wednesday I took the plunge to complete my course.
We went out just as the sun was setting and Emily, my advanced instructor, debriefed us on the dive sight, White Rock. There were four of us on this dive and as we were jumping in, I seemed to be the only one with any apprehension. I did it though. I went down the line with the rest of them and had my dive light on. The dive site is just a huge boulder covered in coral. As we descended, the fishes started to come out and I could see all of their silhouettes shining in the moonlight from above. We saw huge barracuda, an octopus, giant hermit crabs and puffer fish all entangled in the stunning environment that we were in. The corals are a different color at night and they fan out as the sun goes down. The phosphorescence glows as you shake your hands in front of your face. Everything down there seemed to slow down. I used a lot less air than normal as I was more calm than I have ever been on a dive. It was an experience I will never forget, and I plan on doing another before I leave the island.
After the night dive, I completed my advanced. My two moped buddies had gotten their open water that day as well. So we were all divers now and happy to join the club. As our friend, Thue, was leaving early the next day, we went out to one of the many beach bars for a small celebration. We had a large group that joined us and it was a great night out laying on cushions at Eazy Bar. Nights out here don't tend to be late though. Usually everyone's got something important to do the next day.
For me, it was the beginning of my three day Rescue Diver course. Rescue is the last one that I needed to be able to go for my Divemaster. It consisted of two half days of theory, one afternoon practicing in the pool, and then four "fun" dives off the boat where anything can happen. My new instructor, Sarah, is American and incredibly good at what she does. She's been on the island for four years and diving since she was twelve. The infamously dramatic Blaize was my victim throughout the course. She got to drown several times, threw up on me once, ripped my mask off and reg out of my mouth while I was 14 meters down and generally drove me nuts for the entirety. It was awesome, but not easy. There were fake shark attacks and people with motion sickness. I can't even count how many times I had to jump off the boat to save someone. It seemed every time I turned around, some catastrophe had affected the boat and it's passengers. After the first day, I wanted to kill some people, but it was worth it in the end.
The water was more clear than I've ever seen it during the rescue, which made it difficult to concentrate. The visibilty was more than 25 meters and Sarah knew I was dying to get down there while not trying to save lives. Yesterday was my last day on the boat and they took it a little easy on me so that I could enjoy it. The last of the original group, Ryan, was leaving in the afternoon, so he joined me on the boat to get his last bit in. He got some good shots of me rescuing, so I'm looking forward to see those very soon. We both got to dive and the water was incredible. There were lots of little creatures and gorgeous blue water. Still no sharks yet, but I keep looking. It was the perfect ending to his trip and the best way for me to finish all of my certifications. I got a proud handshake from Sarah at the end and I feel like I've accomplished something amazing. I am a Rescue Diver now.
After our morning dives, everyone seemed to want to take the afternoon of. A Sunday Funday was in order. We had lunch and drinks while saying goodbye to Ryan. Afterwards, a bunch of us sat in the sea with Tiger beers and Singha for hours. It was a quick 10 foot move up to Eazy Bar in the evening where we celebrated my instructor's birthday. Even though my old friends are gone, it seems that I'm making new ones quickly enough. It was an early night for me as I feel a cold coming on (that would be worse than a hurt back, no diving with a cold!) and I got up early this morning feeling refreshed. Ex-students get a good price on diving here, so I've already signed up for my first two this afternoon. Even if it's cheap, I've still got to watch how much I decide to do it. If divemaster is an option for me, I need to be prepared to drop some money fairly soon. Working on tropical islands and diving as a job? I don't think that sounds like a bad idea at all. Whether I decide to go that route or not, it will definitely be fun trying.
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