YCGL - Tuesday - November 29, 2022 - Now That's What I'm Talking About

 So, today was yesterday's mañana, meaning I can neglect what happened yesterday and go on with today.  

The Cove and the Pool at the El Presidente

The Scuba Du Dive Shop

Highly recommended.

And I'm glad I did!  Waking up before sunrise means I can see the morning break as I break-fast.  Which also means we can watch the buzz of activities loading the boats that come in to take out the divers for the day!.  As I walked up to the boat, I was treated like royalty.  "May I take your bag?" "Here, grab my hand!"  "Please watch your step on the step!"  "Sit here, so you don't have to step up the step!"  It's almost funny until your divemaster/instructor tells you that he had great remorse all last night and that this is the worst accident he has had to take care of in 35 years of diving.  But soon, we are talking away like old friends laughing and joking.  He seems somewhat reassured when I tell him that we do many crazy/stupid things in life, and we have to be able to laugh at them.   

But soon, it is time to suit up and get on the gear.  I know you've been waiting with bated breath (which is better than bad breath or baited breath) to see my:

My new Bathing Suit (carefully cropped so you can see the 

pattern of the cloth and not the astonishing beefcake above it) and ....

And the Rash Guard Dive Skin!

(Now, wasn't that worth the wait?)

(Come on, be honest, how many of you would post pictures of yourself like that???

Yeah, I know, only those with less self-respect than I do..., Dr. Edgar)

Leaving the dock and talking with Alfonso

Really, with all the help, all the pieces came together fine, I waddled (just like everyone wearing dive fins) to the back of the boat, and Alfonso and I stepped off the back of the diving platform together, the regulator in my mouth, BCD (buoyancy compensator device) with air and a hand on my mask.  A couple of A-OK signs between each other and we are ready to descend.  Release the air from the BCD and down you go, carefully controlled so you can equalize the pressure on your ear drums.  Some people have great trouble with that, but I've always been able to just open my jaw and equalize.  And so down we go to a depth of 60 feet.  We stop there, signal we're fine and start to swim to the coral heads on Columbia reef, part of the great Palencar Reef system.  

The diving here is pretty unique, in that it is drift diving.  The current is usually pretty strong and you just "go with the flow."  In fact, in most places, you can't fight it.  Columbia is a little different in that the current is not as strong and you can weave back and forth along the coral heads.  Soon, we are down to 80 feet and everything is just fine.  

I'm balanced, which was a small feat, because a portion of my upper body, i.e., the potato, is more buoyant than the lower body, i.e., the toothpicks.  The weight belt, carrying the three and four-pound weights, is located below my center of mass, which means my feet tend to drag, especially as the belt slides down from my waist, past the waste, to my legs where I have to catch it with my bent knees.  (This didn't happen this time, but it has in the past.)  The solution is to put some of the weights into my BCD pockets, eight pounds there, six pounds on the belt.  

This is the first time in 22 years I've been below 20 feet (and that was on Sunday).  And it feels like it was yesterday.  I am really comfortable there, my breathing is controlled (I'm not panting with fear like some), I'm not flailing around in confusion,  its just there.  All the preparation, all the effort, just works.  And there is a certain peace, calm, you are in a foreign environment, but you are not a stranger here.  You fit (within the limitations of your equipment) in.  

When I'm drift diving, I always get the feel of walking down an uncrowded sidewalk and window shopping.  Maybe part of it is voyeuristic, you are looking into someone else's world, just not human.  The coral, the plants, the fish, the other animals are there in this great big saltwater fish tank that you are part of.  It's pretty wonderful.  

And finally, your 31 minutes are up and it's time to ascend.  Slowly, the accepted rate is 60 feet per minute (or the speed of the smallest bubble you can see), but I prefer 15 feet/minute.  We make a safety stop at 15-20 feet for three minutes to help dispel the nitrogen that builds up in your blood, and then to the surface.  And the first dive is done.  

The instructor and the crew help you remove your weight belt and your BCD with the air tank and holding on to the ladder, you remove your fins.  Then you can climb the ladder up to the platform and walk back to your seat.  You drink some water because the compressed air is very dry, and you watch the expressions of the divers coming in after you.  Great comradery because you have had a shared experience with these people from England, Montana, Michigan and Florida.  And you are off at a leisurely pace to the next dive site.  

After about an hour's surface time,  we go through the process again for the second dive.  The second dive is always shallower so you reduce the nitrogen buildup in your system.  Alfonso and I talked about that.  The hotshot divers always want to go deep.  My very first dive at Cozumel was at Palencar and we descended to 90 feet and up and down from 80 to 100 feet for 25 minutes.  It was fun and interesting, the water here is so crystal clear you can see 100 feet away (and up) but you have less light, less coral, and frankly, it doesn't feel any different than at 50 or 60 feet.  And at 35 feet, you have more coral, far more color, more fish and animals, and the potential for far more time underwater.   I would prefer that the first dives were no deeper than 50-60 feet, but many people would complain.  

Also, when we used to dive here in the 1980s and 90s, you would get picked up at 9:00, go to your first site, dive, and then go to shore and have lunch.  Then you would go back out and have your second shallow dive with more time because of the longer surface interval.  Alfonso says its because people want to get their dives in early so they can start to party earlier.  Sadly, he is correct.  I prefer the older way.  But then, I haven't done this for 20 years, so I don't get to be the king of the world.  But there was another benefit to doing it the old way.  While you were getting your surface time, the sun would pass over and start in the afternoon.  The Cozumel reefs run north and south.  The later sun provides more light on the west-facing reef, so the colors were better diving later.  Oh well....

The first animal we saw was a sea turtle, a tortuga, digging with his beak and chewing the coral.  Fish were around his face, I'm sure going for scraps.  His carapace was about 2-1/2 feet in diameter.  The green of his face and neck was iridescent.  I could have stayed much longer watching him.  Then we saw a ray off in the distance, and then a nurse shark 20 feet away.  But the color and variety of the coral is just astounding.  All shades of oranges and reds and purples and blues and browns and blacks.  Cones and fans and brain corals,  Shapes and textures.  I just hate to come up.  Especially come up early.  Which we do.  Decompression sickness is very serious, and age (and not experience) is an indicated factor.  And Alfonso is 63 and is considering retirement in 3 years, and has never had a problem and wants to keep it that way.  

It's like a fine wine.  It's expensive but enjoyable.  To enjoy it, you must consume it, and when it's gone, you have the memory.   

And I must say, one memory I'll have is of Alfonso.  We bonded in our time together.  He is the type that I'm sure many people may feel that way, but age, experience, single, quiet, education (he has a college degree), he feels like a friend.  

But, I won't dive with him tomorrow.  I'll be with Steve and Arthur and the dive shop Steve goes with, who is also supposed to be excellent.  And that will be good too.

More tomorrow.