Breathe in, breathe out, repeat.

After eating Dramamine with a side of eggs for breakfast (totally kidding, I only took two), we waited for Luis to pick us up for our second day of diving. After having made two successful dives the day before, I was more excited than anxious for this round.

After previously mentioning to Luis that we were interested in renting a moped for touring the island, Luis brought a friend with (I was not expecting this) to coordinate the delivery of a moto to our posada (lodging) the following morning. I discovered after the fact that Luis did not know this guy particularly well, but was trying to do him a favor by acquiring some business. However, said-friend, whose name was Ronald, ended up being a bit of a shyster. And I don’t appreciate shysters.

More on that in the next installment.

Divers gathering before making our descent

For me, diving was incredibly relaxing ­– especially after ditching the sea sickness and vertigo. As I breathed in, the air made a life-sustaining hiss as it traveled from the cylinder, through the regulator and into my lungs. The bubbles that rose to the surface as I exhaled made gurgling crackle-pop sounds around my face.

I had to make four open water dives to complete my certification, so on this particular day I only had two more to go. After arriving at a dive site, anchoring the boat and taking the plunge into the water, divers gather at or around the anchor line to make a descent. Depending on the current, certified/experienced divers can make a free descent, letting the air out of their BCDs (buoyancy control devices) and sinking slowly into the depths. Continue reading →