Vacation

For those of you who may have missed me (keep aiming) I just got back from vacation in Mexico. I'm still marveling over what a wonderful time it was.

I learned to snorkel and it was so much fun, I have convinced myself that I need to learn to SCUBA for the next trip.

We went to several different groups of ruins. One of my hobby's is history. it is amazing to go to pyramid after pyramid separated by hundreds of miles and realize that the culture did not even have horses or other beasts of burden.

While I am home now, you probably won't see much of me for a while, My grandmother has been diagnosed with cancer and has decided not to be treated. I will be spending my time making her more comfortable until she gets sick of me and tells me to get lost (a high probability).

Hey Grizz,
Glad to hear you had a great vacation! Post some pics if you are able to when you get a chance!

Sorry to hear about your grandmother, I know you will take good care of her as much as you can... don't rush yourself back, we will be here.
Take care

Glad you had a great time in Mexico. Seeing the old cities would be really fun. I like history as well, it is very interesting.

Sorry to hear about your grandmother, though.

Hope your grandmother remains at ease and happy during your visits. That must be tough

Botfodder is an avid diver.

I sure he could point you in some good directions.

First, my thoughts are with you and your family during this trying time.

Ratar_Killer wrote:

Botfodder is an avid diver.

Avid ... rabid ... something like that.

I answered questions once about learning SCUBA:
http://disastrousconsequences.com/dcforum/posts/list/1898.page#15541

The general advice is, if you can, get your classes out of the way first. Then pick your destination based on your comfort/skill level. For an example, don't visit The Revillagigedos with less than 25 dives under your belt (consider that at one site, if you're lucky, the bottom is 250 feet down, so you need to be comfortable with a lack of reference points and your ability to maintain your depth). Cozumel (2002, 2003) should be a decent enough destination for even the starting diver, as well as the Bahamas (2000, 2002, 2004).

First, look for a recognized certifying authority (SSI, PADI, NAUI, SDI/TDI). More importantly than which agency you go with, though, is your comfort level with the instructor. Talk to the person who's going to teach you before you thunk money down on anything.

I know there's places that will offer SCUBA lessons as part of your vacation, but I personally believe the classes to deserve the balance of your time and energy, two things which you shouldn't dedicate too much of to one thing if you're going on vacation - until you know you're sold on diving. Besides ... you don't really start to "enjoy" your dives until you're really certified, IMHO. Then you can relax and really get into it, instead of worrying about having to do drills or tests or stuff like that.

And start slow - don't take a camera with you until after you're certified, and even then wait until you're really comfortable. Cameras are another thing you have to pay attention to, so wait until you've gotten everything else down.

Last thing: if you've experienced claustrophobia at all, rumor has it that the combination of the wet suit and breathing through the regulator has been known to trigger the feeling in some folks.

Hey Grizz - sorry to hear about your grandmother. I hope you can spend lots of time with her.

dang sorry to hear about your grandmother..:/.. one of mine died via lung cancer...but then again she lived in enlgad and alst time i saw her i was a in diapers and babbling...well hmm still bababling now..but yeah..:/..

SCUBA ive done that...and had juniors lisece ( i say had cus is shoudl eb reneewed as im no longer junior..)..ill porlly not it renewed for another few yrs.(cus i learnt first for free form one of my older sisters who was SCUBA instuctor..she no longer instructs..but eh..)..
but yeah mexico sounds interesting...

Vacation was in a little place between Playa del Carmen and Telum, those are south of Cancun and west of Cozmel.

My Fiance' speaks Spanish like a native of Mexico so it was pretty easy to get away from the "touristy" spots and see the areas that were not groomed for travelers. I am still learning but understand much more than I can easily articulate.

as for diving, I have a few friends who dive and 1 who is certified to instruct. I was thinking about learning before the next vacation so I could have fun as opposed to have to learn on vacation time.

I do have a problem with enclosed spaces, i should say that I used to because I have not felt it in over 10 years, I have a problem with water too, but that comes from living in Alaska where the waters can be pretty deadly if you don't know what you are doing. The only good news there is that there are plenty of wrecks to dive on here. Average visibility underwater is pretty poor though.

If I get a chance I will post some pictures. Their file sizes are all pretty large so I will have to use a file sharing place and I havnt done that before.

BotFodder wrote:

First, my thoughts are with you and your family during this trying time.

Ratar_Killer wrote:

Botfodder is an avid diver.

Avid ... rabid ... something like that.

The general advice is, if you can, get your classes out of the way first. Then pick your destination based on your comfort/skill level. For an example, don't visit The Revillagigedos with less than 25 dives under your belt (consider that at one site, if you're lucky, the bottom is 250 feet down, so you need to be comfortable with a lack of reference points and your ability to maintain your depth).

First, look for a recognized certifying authority (SSI, PADI, NAUI, SDI/TDI). More importantly than which agency you go with, though, is your comfort level with the instructor. Talk to the person who's going to teach you before you thunk money down on anything.

I know there's places that will offer SCUBA lessons as part of your vacation, but I personally believe the classes to deserve the balance of your time and energy, two things which you shouldn't dedicate too much of to one thing if you're going on vacation - until you know you're sold on diving. Besides ... you don't really start to "enjoy" your dives until you're really certified, IMHO. Then you can relax and really get into it, instead of worrying about having to do drills or tests or stuff like that.

And start slow - don't take a camera with you until after you're certified, and even then wait until you're really comfortable. Cameras are another thing you have to pay attention to, so wait until you've gotten everything else down.

Last thing: if you've experienced claustrophobia at all, rumor has it that the combination of the wet suit and breathing through the regulator has been known to trigger the feeling in some folks.

Amen to that, my family's prayers and thoughts are with you, Grizzled, as well.

One thing Bot did forgot to point out (in the area of cautions) is that if you have any kind of breathing disorder, like emphysema, asthma, or even a former or current heavy cigarette smoker, you will most likely need to need to stay well within the shallower areas and not dive below 12 to 15 fathoms.

(DC)DEMONSLAYER wrote:

BotFodder wrote:

First, my thoughts are with you and your family during this trying time.

Ratar_Killer wrote:

Botfodder is an avid diver.

Avid ... rabid ... something like that.

The general advice is, if you can, get your classes out of the way first. Then pick your destination based on your comfort/skill level. For an example, don't visit The Revillagigedos with less than 25 dives under your belt (consider that at one site, if you're lucky, the bottom is 250 feet down, so you need to be comfortable with a lack of reference points and your ability to maintain your depth).

First, look for a recognized certifying authority (SSI, PADI, NAUI, SDI/TDI). More importantly than which agency you go with, though, is your comfort level with the instructor. Talk to the person who's going to teach you before you thunk money down on anything.

I know there's places that will offer SCUBA lessons as part of your vacation, but I personally believe the classes to deserve the balance of your time and energy, two things which you shouldn't dedicate too much of to one thing if you're going on vacation - until you know you're sold on diving. Besides ... you don't really start to "enjoy" your dives until you're really certified, IMHO. Then you can relax and really get into it, instead of worrying about having to do drills or tests or stuff like that.

And start slow - don't take a camera with you until after you're certified, and even then wait until you're really comfortable. Cameras are another thing you have to pay attention to, so wait until you've gotten everything else down.

Last thing: if you've experienced claustrophobia at all, rumor has it that the combination of the wet suit and breathing through the regulator has been known to trigger the feeling in some folks.

Amen to that, my family's prayers and thoughts are with you, Grizzled, as well.

One thing Bot did forgot to point out (in the area of cautions) is that if you have any kind of breathing disorder, like emphysema, asthma, or even a former or current heavy cigarette smoker, you will most likely need to need to stay well within the shallower areas and not dive below 12 to 15 fathoms.

Crap, hit the wrong button

poor viability?..hmm..well theres great visibility here

(unless of course you go diving during a hurricane but who does that anways?.)

Oh yeah - a reputable dive shop won't allow you to take the class if you have certain ailments without a doctor's release.

Independent of that, it's a good idea to visit your doctor anyway and tell him about your intentions to take SCUBA lessons.

my only possible breathing ailment is I am sensitive to Ozone due to some industrial exposure over a number of years.

they don't put O3 into the tanks do they?

Grizzled_Imposter wrote:

my only possible breathing ailment is I am sensitive to Ozone due to some industrial exposure over a number of years.

they don't put O3 into the tanks do they?

No, I dived with nitrogen/oxygen mixture but this was in the late 60's. Bot, what are you using as a mix?