Scram Bulleggs
Contributor
After many years of snorkling I finally got under the water. Did all my class and pool work in NY. Got to coz and did my check outs with http://www.pelagicventures.com/. Troy the owner was my instructor. He has to be the most laid back Canadian I have ever met. After 10 minutes it felt like you were diving with a friend.
Once my cert dives were done we got to go chase the fish around. Troy was great. Stayed right with me the whole week and really made sure I saw as much as possible. A couple from Texas joined us on some of our dives and they were great, very patient with me the newb on the boat.
We saw so many things that I never saw from teh surface it was amazing. Troy found a tiny pipe fish on the sand bed and we were looking at it through a magnifying glass he handed to us. We saw many turtles on our dives. Got to see a Splendid Toad Fish. Amazing creature. Had an eagle ray swim right up and under us.
Got to see a large Nurse shark slowly swimming in the open. A giant green moray made a distant appearance but was heading the other way so we only got to see him for a short time. Our last day we saw a school (I know they don't really school) of black tips. They were every direction we looked. One stayed below us for awhile. It really was great. I still could do without the curious cuda's following my heals heh.
It was a shame to see the island so empty. I guess people assume its as bad off as New Orleans after the storm. We had the awesome weather. It did shower a couple of times but it lasted a few minutes then dried up. We only went to one reef that looked in bad shape still covered in sand. The rest of teh reefs really looked great. Its amazing how quickly the coral make a come back. Saw very few softies though.
One thing we did notice was that the island was showing signs of westernization(sp). We did all of out meals in local resteraunts and they were great. The smiles you receive are great. Makes you feel very welcome where ever we went. The only exception was a place right where we stayed. I guess it was more for teh cruisers. Was a coffee/dessert place called rocken java or the like. Very unfriendly it fealt like a cafe' in NYC, everyone seemed to be in a rush no time for an hola ect.
If you do go with Pelagic Ventures request troy or Alex. Great guys and they make sure you enjoy. Both have many many years of experience and it showed.
Once my cert dives were done we got to go chase the fish around. Troy was great. Stayed right with me the whole week and really made sure I saw as much as possible. A couple from Texas joined us on some of our dives and they were great, very patient with me the newb on the boat.
We saw so many things that I never saw from teh surface it was amazing. Troy found a tiny pipe fish on the sand bed and we were looking at it through a magnifying glass he handed to us. We saw many turtles on our dives. Got to see a Splendid Toad Fish. Amazing creature. Had an eagle ray swim right up and under us.
Got to see a large Nurse shark slowly swimming in the open. A giant green moray made a distant appearance but was heading the other way so we only got to see him for a short time. Our last day we saw a school (I know they don't really school) of black tips. They were every direction we looked. One stayed below us for awhile. It really was great. I still could do without the curious cuda's following my heals heh.
It was a shame to see the island so empty. I guess people assume its as bad off as New Orleans after the storm. We had the awesome weather. It did shower a couple of times but it lasted a few minutes then dried up. We only went to one reef that looked in bad shape still covered in sand. The rest of teh reefs really looked great. Its amazing how quickly the coral make a come back. Saw very few softies though.
One thing we did notice was that the island was showing signs of westernization(sp). We did all of out meals in local resteraunts and they were great. The smiles you receive are great. Makes you feel very welcome where ever we went. The only exception was a place right where we stayed. I guess it was more for teh cruisers. Was a coffee/dessert place called rocken java or the like. Very unfriendly it fealt like a cafe' in NYC, everyone seemed to be in a rush no time for an hola ect.
If you do go with Pelagic Ventures request troy or Alex. Great guys and they make sure you enjoy. Both have many many years of experience and it showed.