After a docile first week, settling in to the office and the environment, my second week was the complete opposite. Hiking up the biggest hill to work for 7am daily, doing 2 dives a day on most days, going on a night dive with Brad and Lauric, as well as cramming to complete the Knowledge Reviews, knowing that one of these days I would be tested. I would be given the exams and I had to pass.
It’s not that you can really fail, but I set myself a goal and was committed to completing it… I want to become the best divemaster there is, no buts. And whaddya know! I did it! A 92% and 75%! Whoop! If you’ve ever taken/read a PADI book you’ll know that they don’t always use language that is easy to understand, and they will throw in questions I’m sure to trick you up! But despite this… I did it… one step closer but still a long way to go.
With theory out of the way I focussed on the practical skills… assisting with dives daily. Helping fun divers gear up, supporting them in the deep and being an all round help to the team. And this is what its all about, getting out there and diving! With a lot of surge but relatively good visibility I had a great week of dives. A chance to see Snaps, our HUGE Snapper, getting to meet a 5ft White Tip reef, completing my underwater naturalist: checking out all the symbiotic relationships that dwell in the deep and of course the highlight of my week, swimming with dolphins! I’m not sure it happens regularly or not but we had the pleasure of scouting some dolphins, eager to jump in we cleared it with Georgia, had a quick brief by Gina about how to observe passively and in we get. Everyone seemed to huddle in one group, heading toward the direction of the dolphins. Me on the other hand, I held back and started floating away from the group of divers; this was great. One came so close. Glided beautifully by me and then off they went. What a treat!
And that’s not all the treats we had. Having completed the IDC course, the newbie instructors and the team were introduced to the scrumptious rib restaurant, Coqui’s, just outside of Quepos. Barbequed to perfection and smoked for hours you will not find a better rib here! Such a great night, but also a chance to say goodbye to the new instructors and my two housemates.
Having made quite the friendships in these 2 weeks, it was a shame to say goodbye to Lauric and Kristi whom I shared accommodation with and Robyn too. But I know we’ll see each other soon and there’s so much going on here at the dive shop to keep me amused. I’m looking to organise a #divefordebris soon and maybe even go on some more night dives, hunting for lobsters! And whatever emotions I’m feeling, I am always surrounded by beauty here in Quepos, be it in the water or out! Life couldn’t be better!