Roatan Scuba Adventure
Day 2 � Feb 4/07
Today we had to do the first 2 of our 4 open water dives (continuation of class in Ontario - the 4 OW dives must be done before getting certified as a scuba diver). Hilda & Brooke were already certified divers, so they did not join us for this. Brooke had an ear infection, which interfered with her ability to dive, and Hilda went and did some real diving.
Class, for us, started at 9:00 am. When we went out to the Gazebo for our first dive, I panicked! Everybody else (7 people) jumped in and went down right away. I jumped in, got saltwater in my mask, felt my eyes burning, realized I was not in a nice, safe, confined pool... and just completely freaked out. Got water in my mouth cause I wasn't holding my regulator correctly, because I was in the middle of a... panic attack! :o(
The instructor came back up, and came over to ask if I was ok and was I coming down? NO! She saw the panic (I assume), and asked if I'd prefer to try again this afternoon. She had another class at 2:00 with only 3 people in it. YES! And I got the hell out of the water. I know I know... wuss some of you are thinking. Oh well, just couldn't do it. So, waited for Gary to finish his 2 dives, and took pictures of Gary doing the class withwithout me. :o(
After his course, we went for lunch, and I worried and worried about 2:00. But no need. 2:00 was much better for me. Jumped in and went down almost immediately. Had trouble equalizing my ears the first dive, so had to keep coming up a bit, and down, up and down. But with the smaller class, it wasn't a huge hold back. Everybody waited for me on their knees at the bottom (approx 40' depth). I finally got there, and it was ok from that point on. In fact, on my second dive... I had minimal trouble equalizing my ears, and got down much faster. And felt much more confident. It was so cool!
The first dive was mainly demonstrating skills we had learned. The 2nd dive was more of a scenic dive. Actually going to the reef and enjoying the corals and fish and other critters we found. The instructor showed us a flounder fish (what a WEIRD looking fish!) and a HUGE green moray eel. Lots of corals, and reef fishes. Oh, and a purple tip anemone that Gary saw in the morning dive and asked the instructor to point out to me. I even saw 2 cowfish in the distance! I tried to take off to get closer, but was quickly called back to the group. Sigh. See what I mean? Confidence (or stupidity!) LOL
That 2nd dive was probably one of the best dives I had the whole week. Probably because of my confidence levels soaring that dive, and the small group which allowed less crowding when we were enjoying the tour. The first group (Gary's) didn't see the eel, nor the flounder.
CONTINUE
TO DAY 3
BACK TO VACATIONS
[HOME]
Day 1
Day 3 Day 4
Day 5 Day 6
Day 7 Day 8