Another early start, but I did allow myself an extra 10 minutes before getting the taxi. Sod’s Law dictated that therefore there was a long queue at the check-in desk at the Vallarta Adventure’s scuba desk at the Maritime Pier as a result with hundreds of hashers wanting to go diving. I was off Las Ilas Mariatas for dives 3 and 4 of the PADI Open Water Certification – if I got through these I would be a fully qualified diver!
This time I was going on a smaller boat, Boat I. Once on board I quickly met up with Carissa and Roger who got us once again to prepare our diving gear and briefed us on the two dives we were to make. We were to do some more scary things like total mask removal and replacement while breathing underwater (holding of your breath not allowed) and CESA – emergency ascent without breathing in from 20ft as well as more buoyancy exercises and navigation. We were both given divers compasses and shown how to use them. Carissa had a real problem understanding how to count her kicks (an important part of underwater navigation apparently).
Once again as we were going along the crew put on a show. I think they were surprised by the response by the Hashers on board who joined in with enthusiasm. As we headed due West (I know because I was wearing a compass!) out across Bandaras Bay we saw a swordfish jumping out of the water, not once, but about 4 or 5 times. It was about 1.5 metres long and made quite a sight. I didn’t even try to get a photo of it, as I knew as soon as I reached for my camera it would be gone.
(not my photo)Carissa and I prepared our equipment. I noticed that everyone else on the trip had their equipment prepared by the Dive Masters – all part of the PADI certification process I suppose.
Eventually we arrived at the Mariatas Islands a set of long low rocky desert islands – scrub and cactus, seabirds and nothing else. The boat anchored about 50 metres off shore and then the divers (and that included us) transferred to one of the two small open boats that we had been towing. I had expected that we would then go somewhere to dive, but Roger almost immediately told Carissa and me to put on our gear and get ready for a reverse roll into the sea. Putting on a very heavy tank, BCD and weights in a small boat is not easy but somehow with a little help from Roger we managed it and within a minute or two were in the beautifully clear sea. Roger immediately joined us and said he had to move a buoy. He immediately descended and then signalled back up to me to take the top of the line to help him. It was very odd swimming along on the surface connected by a rope to someone swimming along the bottom of the sea some 30 feet below. After about 100 yards Roger found another anchor and tied off the rope and ascended to rejoin us.
We did some surface navigation using the compasses and then descended. The sea was beautifully clear after yesterday's soup like visibility. The exercises were decidedly tougher this time. We spent a long time on the ‘fin pivot’ especially as Carissa had particular difficulty with it. The underwater navigation with a compass proved to be a lot more difficult than on the surface. I had to swim out on a compass baring for about 100 metres turn and swim back to the spot I had come from using only the compass and the fin kick counting to guide me. To my surprise and annoyance I ended up about 7 metres away from my starting point, but I suppose that was due to the current.
The CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent) was unpleasant as you have to breath only outwards as you swim upwards from 20 feet down (a lot harder than it sounds). Once all the hard work was done we then had a swim around exploring the reefs and rocks that made up the coast of the island. It was like swimming in an aquarium there were so many fish of all sorts and sizes. I spent a lot of time just getting close to the rock walls and staring at the myriad of life that encrusted them. I really wished I had an underwater camera as it was so beautiful. After a bit of a swim around we then made our ascent making a precautionary 3-minute safety stop at 15 feet as we had been down two 60feet (20 metres) during the dive. Back at the surface we took off our kit and climbed aboard the small boat to be taken back to Boat 1just long enough to collect our lunch, which we weren’t allowed to eat, but had to give to the barman to look after as we couldn’t eat until we finished diving. Then it was back on the small boat and back into the water.
Once again we had work to do first of all was the buoyancy control – hovering in the water with legs crossed neither ascending nor descending – a piece of cake, but after one or two other easy exercises the worst moment of all the dives was to follow… the mask removal. Kneeling on the bottom, about 40 feet down when Roger signalled I took my mask off (with my eyes tight shut because of my contact lenses) and then tried breathing only to have gallons of seawater shoot up my nose. I managed not to panic and to keep breathing and coughing and complete the manoeuvre getting my mask back on and cleared it, but it was a horrid experience!
When we had both done that Roger signalled that we had both successfully completed our PADI Open Water Diving Certification – handshakes and high fives all round.
I was ecstatic; a long held ambition finally had been achieved, I was a qualified scuba diver!
For the rest of the dive was once again an explore including a very exciting swim down a narrow channel, almost a cave, between two rocks close to the shore. The waves made the timing of the swim really quite difficult.
It was all over far too soon as far as I was concerned. When we surfaced after our 3 minute safety stop we found we were about 200 metres from the small boat which had to come over and fetch us. We had to disassemble the equipment and empty the BCD of the water that had gathered in it during the dive then had quite a wait for the other divers who were on a different tour. Once they were aboard and had their equipment disassembled and stowed for them we were off on a rather bumpy, cold wet and windy 20 minute boat ride across to the northern shore of Banderas Bay to find the big boat which had relocated there. First order of the day when aboard was to get the dive log completed, then a beer and then finally lunch.
Carissa and RogerWhile I ate my lunch I decided I would take another dive on the Tuesday or Wednesday after the IAH07 to celebrate my certification. Unfortunately that wasn't to happen. The nasal lavage I received from the mask removal left my sinuses wide open to infection and as I was partying with over 950 other people I inevitably and almost instantly caught a cold which turned into a cough by Monday, so diving was out for the rest of the holiday
The rest of the tour joined us (they had been ashore on the beach) and then we were off on a long party cruise back to PV. I was jubilant and tired. There were conga lines, limbo dancing and a really good party atmosphere all the way back.
As well as the taking pictures of the partying I had my camera ready to take pictures of any dolphins or any other aquatic wildlife, but all I managed was a series of photos of a couple of seabirds that flew alongside us for a while
When we docked at the Maritime Pier and I took the beach route around to the Krystal Hotel. The party round the pool was in full swing when I got there. Satan’s ‘Lill Helper was in the pool playing ‘Tippy Cup’ and Yark Sucker, Rumple Foreskin and Dr PP were sunbathing. I sat and chatted for a while and had several more beers from the now plentiful beer stations before deciding it really was time to go back to my hotel. I was too tired to piss around and got a taxi directly from the hotel and was pleased to find there was no premium for taking it from there. Back in the hotel room lethargy (and the beer) overcame me and I had a snooze before changing and showering and going out for something to eat. I decided to give the beach bar that I had visited for coffee and brandy a try. I got a table right on the beach; the service and the food were excellent. The food wasn’t fancy; I again had shrimps (a local speciality) but the portions were large and the cooking good. Once again the sunset was great. I took these photos over the period of a few minutes on my mobile phone
I moved in off the beach when it got dark and once again sat in the bar for a coffee and brandy before revisiting the fishermen on the pier. I must have spent over an hour watching them fish. This time they were being a bit more successful catching several large fish including a pipe fish identical to one I had seen earlier in the day.
Friday 31st August 2007
Check out and check in day. I found a note under my door reminding me that I had to check out by noon when I got up at 8am. I discovered that despite not having a full suitcase when I left home it would now hardly shut. I had a brainwave and took all my dirty washing around the corner to a nearby laundry I had seen. There was some confusion at first as the lady who took the laundry bag spoke very little English and I speak even less Spanish. “Today five” she said when I asked when the washing would be ready. I assumed that she meant it would be ready in 5 days from today, when I obviously looked worried she started said “You need sooner?” and shouting around at the staff who worked for her to see how much work they had got on, and then the penny dropped. She meant the washing would be ready “today at 5 o’clock” – it had never occurred to me it would be done in a day, so I managed to tell her that it would be fine and I would collect the stuff tomorrow morning.
Having got rid of the laundry bag the suitcase closed easily and I was checked out and in a taxi to my next hotel, The Hacienda by 11am.
I had decided not to stay at the Krystal Hotel (the venue for the IAH07) for a couple of reasons. Firstly it struck me as rather expensive and secondly I felt the need to be able to get away and do my own thing without being surrounded by hoards of drunken hashers if necessary. The Hacienda was a great compromise, being cheap, next door, but a world away from the madness and excess of the next few days.
So that is the end of Part One of my time in Puerto Vallarta. I will be covering (some of) what went on during the IAH07 in the next posting
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment