Week 8 in Pez Maya – Divemasters, Scholars and Swimming with Dolphins!

Week eight (eight! Where did February go?) could not have had a better start. After a monitoring dive Friday morning two groups were on their way back in the boats when someone shouted “dolphins!”, and dolphins there were. At least seven of them, swimming around us as we got rid of our scuba gear and threw ourselves in the water. Words can not describe how funkin’ amazing it was, but maybe this video can give you a glimpse.

Saturday morning started with a shocking realization. Whilst some of us were kitting up for our fun dive, we were told that two divers were missing off shore. Everyone started worrying, but of course our trained rescue divers knew exactly what to do. After a long search and a quick tow back to shore we made sure they were given the appropriate treatments and they both recovered miraculously. Luckily, this was only a scenario set up to test our skills as rescue divers, but we are happy to say that they are excellent!

On Monday, the rescues divers took their final exam and to our great pride everyone passed, which means that we now have a base full of qualified rescue divers. The seas are safe! Speaking of new qualifications, many of the rescue divers have now started their Divemaster courses with swim tests and skill demonstrations.

Tuesday we had a special visitor; Danny, the country director for GVI. He stayed with us until Wednesday and, among other things, gave us a talk about GVI around the world and all the other expeditions and projects that are currently happening. If you would like to find out more information about GVI expeditions and projects, be sure to visit our home page for further details.

On Wednesday there was an important announcement made about the next phase. Over the past week, people have been applying for the scholarship program and we are pleased to announce that the scholars for next phase are Sam and Jessie! We wish you both the best of luck and know you will both do great.

We have been monitoring lots this week and have made some great progress. But we have also been catching more lionfish this week. Lluvia caught her third lionfish and at this rate she will soon be keeping the reef safe all by herself!

Well, that’s all for this week. Week 9 is just around the corner and we will be bringing you all the latest action from Pez Maya!

Peace and Love, Crouz & Maja

Week 8 in Pez Maya – Divemasters, Scholars and Swimming with Dolphins!