We spent three days on a "live aboard" boat. They picked us up, with all our
luggage, at the hotel, took us to the shop where they stored everything we
didn't take on the boat, then bussed us to the boat. At the other end they
picked us up at the boat, took us back to retrieve our luggage, then bussed us
to our next apartment.
Paula went snorkeling three times. She can't wear fins due to the arthritis in
her ankles, so the boat staff threw out a rope for her to hang on to. The
first time she didn't get far from the boat, but was in the water for about
ten minutes and really enjoyed it, despite getting a major bruise on her leg
from climbing up the ladder out of the water. The staff were really great at
helping her get out of the water. This was the only time she wore a wet
suit--a "shortie," which came down to her ankles. The biggest problem with it
was that it made it even harder for her to bend her knees.
The second time she snorkeled was at night, with a flashlight. She loved it,
especially seeing all the sharks, some a meter long, swimming around her. I
guess the light attracted them.
The third time was again a daytime snorkel. This time the captain of the boat,
Angus, decided to put on a wet suit and tow her out to the reef, where she saw
absolutely everything. Steve went out with her. They were out perhaps half an
hour. When she came back, I've never seen her so excited.
As for me, there were eleven scheduled dives. I expected to go on maybe half
of them, only made it to four--two on the first day, one on each of the second
and third days. The first day was actually the hardest, because of the heat;
not that the other days were cooler, but I was better able to cope. I thought
I was in good shape, but 50 pounds of gear on my back convinced me otherwise.
Anyway, in general the first part of the dives was great, but by the end I had
too much trouble staying down, and for some reason my mask leaked more and
more the longer I was in the water (I've always had a great deal of trouble
keeping my mask clear), so none of the dives was as long as it might have
been.
My first dive, one of the instructors took my arm and guided me almost all the
whole way. That was more babying that I felt I needed, but I'm certainly not
complaining about it. The other dives I went with Isaac and Steve, and Isaac
was really great about guiding me and not being annoyed when Steve and I were
done before he needed to be.
The staff of the boat, the ProDive II, were absolutely wonderful in every
possible way. I think this was too ambitious for me at my age and skill level,
but they did everything they could to make the experience enjoyable, and were
largely successful.
Incidentally, regarding the pictures: I like to put them two-by-two, but
Blogger hates it and will rearrange them every chance it gets--for instance,
if I ever hit Undo. Maybe I'll try to clean it up later.
Sunday
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| Lower bunk |
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| Upper bunk |
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Paula with the gear
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| Some of the divers |
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| Gear |
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| Paula in wet suit |
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| Paula in lounge |
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| Sunset |
Monday -- Night Snorkeling with flashlight
Tuesday
My first dive was actually about 30 minutes, in the wetsuit which actually came well beyond my ankles! a Wetsuit pulled up in bags and sags so your arms and feet can actually get out is not really to be recommended. The second and third dives I didn't bother with the wetsuit; the water was warm enough to be comfortable without it. The second (night) dive the water was very rough, and getting back into the boat afterwards is where I bruised my leg. One advantage of a wetsuit, I suppose. As Dave said, the third dive was wonderful!
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