Another week has passed and it was full of lots of diving and cool sightings! This week all of those who were taking their open water diver worked very hard in the water doing skills and getting used to diving, and we now have 12 new open water divers on base. Meanwhile those who were already certified spent time doing coral and fish “spots”. That’s when the dive master will point at either a fish or a coral (depending on which you`ve been assigned) and you write on your slate which species it is. It is difficult at first, but very rewarding because we actually know what we are looking at. Then beyond the typical coral and fish, we saw many out of the ordinary sightings. We`ve all seen lots of lionfish, which is cool, but at the same time we now realize how much of a problem this invasive species really is. Crabs, octopus, lobsters and Southern sting rays (one was over 2m long!).
The most exciting sightings were a nurse shark at Barracuda Jazz and dolphins on our way to and from the same dive site! When we saw the dolphins, we were all told to jump in the water with our masks and we actually got to swim with wild dolphins – my highlight of the trip so far!
Among all the amazing diving this week we`ve had lots of fun on land as well. We had a pub quiz the other night and I am proud to announce that the “we Johnny Depp” won, and will be bringing us a new quiz next Wednesday evening. There was also, as usual, a lot of studying and test taking. Nearly everyone has passed their coral or fish tests, and is now working on their juvenile fish and point intercept (algaes, sponges, tunicates etc) tests. As a reward for all our studying, we now have 3 hammocks set up by the beach under the palm trees. Needless to say they are frequently occupied. We are also kept busy with more jobs and duties such as filling tanks, boat push, recording incidental siting`s and manning the radio. And while some are hard at work others are relaxing on the beach, flying kites and feeding the many iguanas that live around base. And now we look forward to a fun weekend in Tulum!
2nd week in Pez maya- More diving and cool sightings!!
Another week has passed and it was full of lots of diving and cool sightings! This week all of those who were taking their open water diver worked very hard in the water doing skills and getting used to diving, and we now have 12 new open water divers on base. Meanwhile those who were already certified spent time doing coral and fish “spots”. That’s when the dive master will point at either a fish or a coral (depending on which you`ve been assigned) and you write on your slate which species it is. It is difficult at first, but very rewarding because we actually know what we are looking at. Then beyond the typical coral and fish, we saw many out of the ordinary sightings. We`ve all seen lots of lionfish, which is cool, but at the same time we now realize how much of a problem this invasive species really is. Crabs, octopus, lobsters and Southern sting rays (one was over 2m long!). 
The most exciting sightings were a nurse shark at Barracuda Jazz and dolphins on our way to and from the same dive site! When we saw the dolphins, we were all told to jump in the water with our masks and we actually got to swim with wild dolphins – my highlight of the trip so far!
Among all the amazing diving this week we`ve had lots of fun on land as well. We had a pub quiz the other night and I am proud to announce that the “we Johnny Depp” won, and will be bringing us a new quiz next Wednesday evening. There was also, as usual, a lot of studying and test taking. Nearly everyone has passed their coral or fish tests, and is now working on their juvenile fish and point intercept (algaes, sponges, tunicates etc) tests. As a reward for all our studying, we now have 3 hammocks set up by the beach under the palm trees. Needless to say they are frequently occupied. We are also kept busy with more jobs and duties such as filling tanks, boat push, recording incidental siting`s and manning the radio. And while some are hard at work others are relaxing on the beach, flying kites and feeding the many iguanas that live around base. And now we look forward to a fun weekend in Tulum!
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