So, after several days of Kris taking me through the steps and techniques of diving, and drinking a lot of pool water, mask clearing, that’s a whole other story, I became a certified diver. Two months later a group of us flew into Cozumel to do some warm water diving. I was so excited, if nothing else, then to dive without a dry suit. The first day we got there, we had to do a weight test out in front of the hotel. It was a little nerve racking to get into the water as the waves crashed into the rock alcove and snorkelers were hanging out not giving much of a consideration that we were carrying the extra weight of tanks, not to mention fins and masks.
After finally getting the nerve and the right timing, I slipped into the water. It was so warm. Quite a difference from Washington’s cold, green water. I put my face in and looked into a blue, clear world, filled with the most colorful fish. WOW!! This was great! I may never go home. We swam in the shallows , only about twenty feet deep with the yellow tangs and the spotted drum fish. I wanted to keep swimming out farther and farther just to see what else I could find. A little bit of a habit I have, much to Kris’ aggravation.
The next, day bright and early, we were on the boat heading out to see what was waiting for us on the reefs. Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous, just excited to see more of what I had seen the day before. We descended down to the reef and it seemed that you could see forever. The fish were amazing. Huge parrot fish and groupers, silver barracudas and giant lobsters just to name a few of the amazing creature that we saw. And the best part, you just glided through the reef letting the current take you. Which did make it a little hard when you needed to swim back to see something that another person found and you had missed.
All of us had talked about wanting to see some turtles. But alas, none were seen after a few dives. We thought it wasn’t going to happen and then there one was above us heading up for a breath of air. I had almost thought we had lost him when I came around a corner of the reef and nearly ran into him. I had to do some quick maneuvering as the current pushed me towards him. I made my way around and back to him as I watched him chew off chunks of coral, as a large grey angel fish stayed by his side to eat up the leftovers. After that we saw several turtles. On one dive we came upon a sleeping nurse shark. I had expected that I would be nervous to come upon one of these, but I came up quite close to it. Close enough that I considered petting it. Surprisingly, I was able to keep my hands to myself. I figured I should err on the side of caution incase the shark decided it was snack time. It didn’t take to long though for the shark decide it was time to move on.
Doing a night dive came up. Everyone wanted to do it, so I guess I was on board. Truthfully, this I was nervous about. With all of these big fish, I was afraid I would come across something in the dark and totally freak out. Down we went, into the dark this time. I stayed close to Kris. It was so strange to have such limited visibility, especially after being able to see “forever” during the day dives. Alas, nothing scary happened and we were able to see some creatures that we were less likely to see during the day. There was an octopus, eels and a Spanish lobster to name a few. All in all, I would do a night dive again.
The trip as a whole was wonderful, and we all look forward to going back again this April. Though getting me out to dive is still a little difficult, especially in the cold water, I can say that learning how to dive has been the best thing I have ever done. I stepped out of my comfort zone and discovered another world that most people will never see. I feel so lucky that I am a small part of this world and I thank Kris for introducing me to it and being forever patient with me as I still grow and learn.
Brigette Townsend
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