...and know the place for the very first time

[WeRtheOcean]

So I see a lot of threads here about traveling to all sorts of great destinations, from PNG to the Red Sea to the Caribbean. But you always have to go home again. In my travels, I have found that the more different places I go, the less I really get to know them. So: suppose you find that "One Particular Harbor," as Buffett sang. How long does it take diving one place before you feel you have really begun to know it well?

 

[northernone]

Every so often my bathtub ledge still surprises in its placement and ferocity.

After 1000+ hours bottom time as a teen w/ surface supply plus free diving and snorkeling my home lake (doing photography) I'm almost willing to say I began to know the place well. And that's a relatively small, largely homogenous mud hole. Turns out after returning to put 20hrs on a rebreather in it this summer I really didn't know it a decade ago. Come to think of it when I discovered dive lights another whole new world opened too.

Thank you for the reminder to slow down again and enjoy the journey.

Regards,
Cameron

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I have over 350 dives at my favorite local shore dive and still find new things every now and then.

 

[Kharon]

After one 2 week trip to Bonaire you get the feel and rhythm of the island. After two 2 week trips you kind of meld. After three ... Home at last. Every dive new but familiar.

I've made the mistake of following the popular hype and been seriously disappointed - Grand Cayman "diving capital of the world" - nonsense, Coco View, yeah, right -serious money, boy scout camp food, and no fish - and on and on ...

For me there are anly two caribbean destinations - Dominica and Bonaire. Please do not go if you don't have your buoyancy and trim in total control. Go to GC, or Roatan, ar any of the other over hyped, smoke and mirrors destinations that have been crushed by cruise ships and that cater to diver wannabe's. Get your skills down first.

 

[BoltSnap]

For me there are anly two caribbean destinations - Dominica and Bonaire.

I have been to Dominica and didn't think that it was anything special. There were a couple of decent reefs and that's it. There were no "real" dive operations or dive resorts at all then (except the one we used but the diver operation owner left there because of the hotel own who was an insane alcoholic). Bonaire and Curacao are many classes above Dominica. The only truly great thing about Dominica was the fruit juices they have there, the fruit is just out of this world and their juices (including lemonade) are incredible. No need to drink soda or anything else there, just drink their fruit juices.


St. Vincent is one of the Caribbean's best kept secretes.

 

[icechip]

We often dive the same local site but it is never the same experience. Each dive is its own story.

 

[drrich2]

How long does it take diving one place before you feel you have really begun to know it well?

Hard question. Some places, like the main west coast stretch of Bonaire, have a lot of fairly similar reef structure and life, compared to what I read about Roatan (where north vs. south are different, IIRC?). But even in Bonaire, a trip to the east coast 'wild side' diving can redefine the experience (e.g.: What? Sea grass?), and if you started out only seeing larger stuff, then later learned to appreciate anemone shrimp & other macro subjects, you might discover the place all over.

Compare Bonaire, a fairly modest-sized island, to the much larger Belize, where staying on the mainland vs. Ambergris Caye vs. Turneffe Atoll or live-aboard diving would give you much different experiences.

Speaking of which, is it just the diving you're concerned about? Or is it a solid comfort level for getting around the island, familiarity with the topside attractions & where to shop, eat, etc...? Is it necessary to stay at some different resorts for broader perspective, or is hitting the same one 10 times running just fine?

I like to get in close to 10 dives in a place during good weather conditions to get a comfortable sense I've 'been there,' but that's a far cry from being like it's a 2nd home, very familiar.

Summary: It depends on the size (e.g.: Bonaire vs. Belize), complexity/variety (e.g.: Roatan), # of dives you get in, and what you want to get familiar with. I agree that about 2 weeks in Bonaire gets you a good feel for getting around on-island, and the nature of mainstream west coast diving. But there's always more you might find.

Richard.

 

[Diver0001]

So I see a lot of threads here about traveling to all sorts of great destinations, from PNG to the Red Sea to the Caribbean. But you always have to go home again. In my travels, I have found that the more different places I go, the less I really get to know them. So: suppose you find that "One Particular Harbor," as Buffett sang. How long does it take diving one place before you feel you have really begun to know it well?

The only thing that is constant in the world is change. In my local area we have seasons under water. Every year we have a cycle and every cycle is similar but unique. There are some places where I've dived maybe 300 times or so and every dive I can still see something that I hadn't seen before. A good example of this was a dive we made in a local lake a couple of weeks ago. In 15 years of diving there I had never seen the lake trout spawning, but this year I did.

In another sense, I "know" some sites after just a few dives. I can find main features and I can navigate around it with confidence. The house reef in Marsa Shagra in Egypt is one of those. I've made maybe 120 dives or so on that reef over the years but I learned everything I needed to know about navigating on it in about 5 dives. It too, has seasons and every dive there is unique in some way.

I think this is what keeps me coming back. Actually there are two things. Diving is my "down time" (figuratively and literally). I need it for stress management. The other thing that keeps me coming back is the same thing that keeps me coming back to walks in the forest. It's nature and nature is a flow. Every time you go, some detail changes.

R..

 

[TMHeimer]

My tropical experience is 5 days. My main other experience goes like this: Lots in Nova Scotia, the NY/CT/NJ area and North Gulf of Mexico. I've been to many shore sites in these places many repeated times. Yes, I think things can be a bit different at a site months or a year from now, but not by much. Not that I'm bored out of my tree, but it ain't the Caribbean.