Bagheera
Guest
I'm going to Ambergris Caye in three weeks, and I can't decide on which dive shop I'm going with. They say that Amigos del Mar and Protech Belize are the two best, so I'll dive with one of those two. But which one is best for an inexperienced diver like me?
I haven't dove in the last two years. I learned to dive in Kuwait and got my PADI Advanced Open Water cert., but I logged only about 20 dives before I left Kuwait and took a break from diving.
So I'm looking for divemasters that are used to working with new divers. I really want to avoid angering advanced divers by some mistake I make, or getting a bad divemaster who doesn't have the patience for newbies. An example:
I think the worst experience I ever had was at a dive shop in Beirut. My friend and I had done only 5 dives each in Kuwait, but the captain insisted on taking us out with four technical divers. We went just past 30 meters deep in 5 meters of vis to look at a wreck, even though it was obvious that neither of us had dove that deep or seen a wreck before. The divemaster was pissed that we couldn't stay down as long as him, and later the boat captain insisted that we give him both our BC's and our fins before he would lower the ladder into the water (this in the middle of two-foot swells).
I really don't want to repeat that experience. It's a case where the divemaster might be incredibly talented, but doesn't know how to handle beginner divers. Do either Amigos or Protech have a reputation for being good or bad with inexperienced divers like me?
I haven't dove in the last two years. I learned to dive in Kuwait and got my PADI Advanced Open Water cert., but I logged only about 20 dives before I left Kuwait and took a break from diving.
So I'm looking for divemasters that are used to working with new divers. I really want to avoid angering advanced divers by some mistake I make, or getting a bad divemaster who doesn't have the patience for newbies. An example:
I think the worst experience I ever had was at a dive shop in Beirut. My friend and I had done only 5 dives each in Kuwait, but the captain insisted on taking us out with four technical divers. We went just past 30 meters deep in 5 meters of vis to look at a wreck, even though it was obvious that neither of us had dove that deep or seen a wreck before. The divemaster was pissed that we couldn't stay down as long as him, and later the boat captain insisted that we give him both our BC's and our fins before he would lower the ladder into the water (this in the middle of two-foot swells).
I really don't want to repeat that experience. It's a case where the divemaster might be incredibly talented, but doesn't know how to handle beginner divers. Do either Amigos or Protech have a reputation for being good or bad with inexperienced divers like me?