Day 3 of an already memorable trip. In some ways… worse than others. I woke drenched in sweat from the lack of the comfort of air conditioning. I’m having issues with getting the hotel to fix the problem. I’ve reported it 6 times and even asked for a new room. I’m not getting much luck as the only other rooms are on the other side of the resort and I don’t plan on lugging dive gear across the resort. If I must, I’ll make due. In the mean time, I’ll keep bugging them. I took an early morning stroll to get myself up and running and headed to breakfast for a nice bite to eat.
Our first dive of the day was at 9:30am. We headed out to one of the top sites called Paradise 1. Imagine a canyon underwater. It was a unique dive, swimming in-between the reefs as if it was and underwater canyon. In a way, I can see why it is called paradise. So far the reefs have all been very healthy. They are a lot duller in colour compared to that of Cozumel, Mexico. There is not as much marine life as I would have expected but there are still lots of beautiful fish to look at. We spotted a barracuda that was cautiously watching our group, lobster’s, various groups of tropical fish and the invasive Lion Fish. One thing I have noticed is that there are very few Lion fish, which is a great sign. Hopefully it stays that way. I hit a max depth of 100ft and had a total bottom time of 36 minutes, which was more than perfect. This time around I surfaced with a respectable 1000psi compared to the 100psi mix up the previous day. On our return back to the hotel I had a one on one with the dive guide and we exchanged stories. He was very curious about Tobermory and the cold temperatures of diving. I explained how we do it back home and some of the features people opt for (such as a heated vest) which spawned a whole load of questions. Manuel, our dive guide, has only ever dived in Cuba. It was nice to exchange experiences and shed some light on the differences in diving that goes on around the world.
On arrival back at the resort, I headed straight for food, loading up on carbs and water to make sure I had enough fuel in the tank for the afternoon dive. Our afternoon dive was back at Sponge City. I must say, the second time around was a lot more enjoyable. I was so fascinated by the various sponge corals. Mainly tube corals. Each coral was so unique in its own way. Whether it is the overall shape, size, or even colour. The most interesting ones to me were the iridescent corals as they stood out in the sea of coral. On the reef there was also plenty of brain coral. I spent a great deal of time taking in the different shapes, sizes and varieties of coral. I’m not a huge fan of reef diving but today gave me a refreshing new perspective on the beauty of reef diving. I’ve found that rather than just “looking” it’s a lot more interesting to spend time analyzing the details of various corals, as they are all unique in their own way. We had another 30 minute dive with a max depth of roughly 80ft. The current picks up in the afternoon and we could feel it on the dive. Even down at depth you could feel and watch the sway of the ocean as the fan coral’s all yield to the force of Mother Nature. It was mesmerizing in its own way and really makes you realize the power of Mother Nature.
The rest of the day I spent harassing the front desk for the repair on my air conditioner, relaxing and enjoying the company of fellow divers. The lobby is an enjoyable place to hang out as it’s open on all sides and there is always live music being played throughout the day. Nothing beats the sound of live music, good company and being on vacation.
—
Justin Steele
The Green Ranger