All, first thanks everyone. Second, my apologies if I ramble here.
So Cozumel/Isla Mujeres/the cenotes were amazing. I wish I spent more time in Cozumel than PDC. Isla Mujeres was great too. And the cenotes! Oh were they amazing! This trip brought me up to 37 dives (started my OWC in late June). It was a great learning experience too. Had a few minor mishaps, but I stayed calm and dealt with them. On one of the drift dives in Cozumel, I was late in putting my regulator in my mouth (started to descend with my snorkel - ROOKIE MISTAKE!). It took a bit to get all the water out. It was a little annoying. I just got the divemaster's octopus (over my dive buddy/girlfriend, as I wanted him to know what was going on, and we had 2 divemasters, so I went to the one who was behind everyone). It surprised me how much water was in there. I kept trying to clear it while in my mouth. Just took a bit. Fortunately, I quickly cleared it up and went along for an amazing drift dive. The other thing was during that same dive, I had a bit of water leaking into my mask. That water was pretty salty and it sure stung. I'm used to diving with a hood which keeps my mask from riding up, regardless of where I put the strap. Though without it..... So I learned to have the strap cradle my head. What a gorgeous reef though!
Also, I have a dive slate that fits comfortably out of the way on my upper left arm. I'll always dive with that. Sometimes I left it on the boat, and a couple of times, I regretted it. Other times, I had it with me and made good use out of it.
Like I said, minor stuff. But it has made me think more about my equipment and also that of my dive buddy.
I also had a bit of trouble of my octopus getting loose. I have a mouthpiece holder (one where you tighten the string around it). But occasionally, the octopus still popped out. I now picked up some hose clips that I hope will do the trick: keep it close to my side, but allow my dive buddy to have access and disconnect from the clips.
I did pick up my AOW certification with PADI in November. I have a rescue diver course starting this week. I hope to get 3 more PADI specialty courses before June to qualify for Master Scuba Diver (is there a dive minimum?). Over the summer, I hope to just dive. I'm hoping to get to at least 60 dives by June (in July and August, I would like to get 10 dives per month). In the fall I hope to get 3 more specialty courses with SSI to get AOW certified with them too. Sure, there is overlap between SSI and PADI, but they do teach some different techniques, and I like to combine them. I figure it will make me a more skilled/safer diver.
I'm pretty serious about training, as I want to be able to handle virtually any situation for myself, my dive buddy, and anyone I dive with. I know I'm a rookie with not many dives. I want to mix diving for pleasure and diving to learn (which is also a pleasure).
And I have so much to learn. Again, I look forward to learning from other people's experiences, regardless of whether they have more dives than me or not.
On a side note, guess how many merit badges I earned while a boy scout. If you guessed zero, you guessed right! Today I try to be prepared. Had a hose leaking on one of the early dives. No problem! Just swapped it out with one of the spares I brought.
Oh, and picked up a dive scooter. I was in Oceanic Optical where the owner was selling his lightly used one. Hope to put it in the water soon. It was just too good of a deal to pass up.
I'll definitely check out the dive club. Though I think I might need to be a late joiner in summer, as traffic from the eastside can be a bit rough. I'll have to look into carpooling.
Karla,
I hadn't seen your post early. I saw now your reviews, and I will look you up for when I go back. I can't promise anything right now, but I'm hoping to go on a diving vacation with a group of friends next year too around New Years. I feel that I need to see more of the area before going on (I'd like to do Loreto in September for the Humboldt squid). Basically I want to do cenotes, Cozumel, and wreck dives. I'll contact you directly if my friends agree on the Yucatan.
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