Myles and I decided to become certified SCUBA divers to add something new to our relationship. We were approaching our 25th wedding anniversary, and all of our children were grown and building lives of their own. Now it was time for us.
It was the end of August and we had a trip to Cancun planned for the end of September that year. We’ve been to Cancun a few times before and absolutely love it there. The people we met at the resort and in town were very friendly.
We did our certification at Dutch Springs Aquatic Park in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. We took an excelled course and were certified within two weeks.
This was our first open water dive without our instructor Steve. As a beginner scuba diver, we wanted to have a good dive experience. We searched and found Solo Boceau (which means only diving) Dive Center. Solo Boceau Dive Center is located at the Hyatt Ziva Cancun Resort, just down the road from Temptations Resort, which was where we were staying.
We felt comfortable with this dive center because we did our research, and they were recommended by the resort and by guests that have used them before.
Our dive masters name was Alfredo, like the pasta dish, as he told us. LOL! Alfredo was great. Since Myles and I were the only divers, it was like having our own private guide. This being our first open water dive, was the perfect situation. We had Alfredo’s full attention and felt very lucky to be the only divers that day.
Needing to rent dive gear, show our certification cards, and sign the paperwork needed to dive, we arrived at the dive center thirty minutes before boarding the dive boat.
Myles and I were both nervous and Alfredo did his best to calm the two of us down. I was a little more relaxed than Myles because I had the resort certification experience from my trip to the Bahamas as a reference
The Boat Ride
Once we had our gear and signed all of the papers, we boarded the dive boat and headed to the first of two dive sites.
This is when seasickness set in for me. I forgot to take Dramamine before getting on the boat; a rookie mistake on my part. Focusing on the horizon is supposed to help, but it didn’t seem to help me this time.
The boat ride to the dive site took about fifteen minutes. I was very happy once we arrived, to sit still for a minute before gearing up to dive.
Alfredo described the dive plan to us along with all of the hand signals. Myles and I put on our buoyancy compensator devices (BCD’s), fins, and treated our dive masks with a defogger. We checked each other’s gear, air supply, and added air to our BCD’s. It was time to get in the water.
Entering The Water as a Scuba Diver
We both rolled off the side of the boat backwards as we were taught. If you’ve never done this before it can be awkward when you’re in the water trying to get yourself right side up. Once you have your bearings it’s time to descend.
The water was a warm 80 degrees and crystal clear. Being able to see the bottom of the sea was amazing. It seemed like we could reach out and touch the sand, but it was eighty feet below the surface. It was very exciting to take part in this new adventure with Myles.
There was a slight current at this location so we had to hold onto a rope that was anchored down below. Not realizing at the time, as I slid my hand along the rope I was getting small cuts from the things that had grown on the line. Something I will never do again.
Check out this post for 10 Tips for Newly Certified SCUBA Divers
The Feeling of a Scuba Diver
As we started our descent I started to feel so much better. Within five feet of the descent, the seasickness was gone. This is the strangest thing to experience, but I was so happy. The dive would have been terrible if I continued to feel nauseous.
Nothing compares to scuba diving. The feelings you have underwater are incredible in my opinion:
- · The feeling of weightlessness
- · Hearing the bubbles from your regulator as you breath
- · Seeing so many different species of fish, coral, and plants
- · Excitement when you see the large species of marine life like a dolphin or Eagle Ray
- · Knowing you are 40, 50, even 80 feet below the surface
- · Proud of yourself for becoming certified
- · Amazed at how SCUBA equipment works to allow you to stay underwater for 20 – 45 minutes
- · Being part of a community that shares in protecting our waterways
- · Bonding with a dive buddy that you trust with your life
- · The sense of deep relaxation where nothing else matters
- · Not worrying about what you look like during or after the dive
All of these feelings are the best part of being a certified SCUBA diver and make you want to dive as often as possible.
The Dive
Our descent was very successful. Myles and I were both able to equalize our ears and regulate our buoyancy pretty well. Our depth was 24 meters (80 feet). Alfredo led us along the reef system slowly, giving us the chance to focus on the things we were seeing, like small fish and the different types of coral.
Marine Life
I spotted this sea turtle that was on the bottom as we were descending. It swam away faster than I could finish my descent so my photo is not the best.
As we swam along, looking at the coral and small fish, all of the sudden two baby nurse sharks appeared out of nowhere.
It seemed as though they were playing. They swam over and around the reef, twisting and swimming together. They were fun to watch. If we had the time, I could have watched them all day, but we continued with the dive.
I was swimming along, taking pictures, and enjoying this awesome adventure. It was so relaxing to me. You would have thought I had more experience at scuba diving than I actually did. Alfredo kept an eye on me regardless of how relaxed I appeared.
A Scuba Diver’s Air Consumption
This being Myles’ first experience in open water, and him being understandably nervous, he used up all of his air. He signaled to Alfredo his air situation and Alfredo wasted no time in taking Myles by the arm and sharing his air. This being another skill taught while taking the certification course.
Myles wanted to stay as close to me as possible because, I found out after the dive, that he was worried about me. I am one lucky lady to have a husband who cares so much. Staying close to your dive buddy is important anyway, so I stayed close by.
Alfredo motioned to Myles that I was fine. I guess he could tell I was comfortable, even though I was concerned about Myles running out of air. I hoped he wouldn’t panic and have to end the dive early. As we were swimming along, Alfredo saw a stingray in the sand. He swam towards it with Myles by the arm. Myles tried to pull back because he did not want to be close to the stingray. This was right after Steve Irwin was impaled by a stingray while filming his show.
Myles did not want to be anywhere near this stingray, and I didn’t blame him, I didn’t either. We were taught as beginners to not touch or disturb marine life.
Alfredo used his hand to sweep the sand around the ray so that it would swim. I must say, this was a little scary because we didn’t know what the creature would do, but it was cool to see it swim away, and it made for a great photo opportunity.
Ending Our Deep Sea Dive
Soon our dive was over and we started our ascent. We were at our safety stop at four meters (15 feet) when my body just wanted to keep rising to the surface.
My lack of experience really showed at this point. I had too much air in the back of my BCD. With Myles and Alfredo holding onto me so that I wouldn’t shoot to the surface, I was upside down in the water. I must have looked like a fool. What I didn’t know at the time was to pull the dump cord on the bottom of the BCD to let the air out quickly. Alfredo fixed the problem and we finished our safety stop comfortably. I will never forget about the dump cord.
Nauseous Again
We surfaced from the dive and I immediately felt nauseous again. It is the weirdest thing to have it come on so quickly. I was dreading the boat ride to the next dive site.
We climbed onto the boat and headed to the next dive site. I reluctantly decided not to continue because of the way I felt, so we skipped the second dive.
Thinking back, I wish I didn’t give up. I think I would have been able to cope with the sickness through the second dive. But, better safe than sorry! TIP #10 – You should ALWAYS listen to your body when SCUBA diving.
Even though Myles’ air supply ran out, and I didn’t feel the greatest, we consider this to be a pretty successful first dive.
Myles was now excited and hooked on diving. He was ready to plan our next diving adventure.
Lessons to Take Away as a New Certified Scuba Diver
- Be comfortable with the dive center you choose
- Be aware of your body and health
- Know your equipment
- Be careful when using a rope
- Respect marine life
- Your dive buddy can help in a crisis
- Remain calm in difficult situations
- Relax and have fun
I hope this bit of information about my experience helps to make your dive safe and enjoyable. When we are beginners, we can use all of the information and help available.
Feel free to comment below about your experiences and include any helpful tips for our fellow divers.