The classes were really good. There were 4. We started diving on the very first class. I think that I wasn’t very nervous since I had been diving in Cozumel and felt pretty confident about it all. So the first class was a piece of cake. The second class… got a little more difficult. We had to take out masks off underwater. I was really worried about that because I didn’t want water to go up my nose. :0/ I didn’t know how I was supposed to breathe out my nose and in my mouth at the same time. Literally at the same time. I was so nervous I didn’t even think that I could breathe out and then in and then out and then in. I had to practice by standing up and just sticking my face in the water. After standing up and putting my face under water - I did it on my first try. So I went underwater and did it. It was a cinch, I think I was just too worried underwater I panicked. We had to remove our masks and breathe for one minute and then put our masks back on. Well I was so nervous that I took off my mask and threw it! Since I couldn’t see in the chlorine, I kept trying to find it and couldn’t find it anywhere. Lucky for me, my instructor grabbed it for me. And boom, I finished the second class with no problems!
Our third class was the written final. I was super worried about this because I am not good at taking tests. I tell people this is why I became an English major. I would so much rather write a paper than take a test. We could only miss 12, and that put some pressure on and I was even more worried. But guess what – I passed it on my very first try! Na-na-na-na hey-hey-hey yahoo!
The fourth class I think I almost died! We had to swim with our snorkel’s (not hard) and then dive underwater, touch the bottom and come back up and swim back. OHMYGOSH!!!!! I really am fine diving under water and holding my breath, but for some reason, that snorkel just messed me up! I swam, I dived, I touched, I surfaced and I did awesome my first time. So I wasn’t quite at 12 feet, maybe I was at 8. The teacher said I had to do it again. Boo. I dived, I tried to breathe and I couldn’t so I surfaced. I tried again, I touched the bottom, and while surfacing I tried to breathe, I couldn’t – I thought I was going to die. But don’t worry, I didn’t. And I passed. Thank heavens. That could have been the end. Every night I called Mike on my drive home and I said, “I wanted to quit... But I didn't! I survived another class!” LoL.
With all this drama, and my fear of water, why the heck did I certify you are probably wondering. Well… I liked scuba diving in Cozumel and when I am underwater, swimming I am fine. It’s just the whole testing period that gives me anxiety and makes me nervous. But now that I am done with it – I feel like I could go jump into an ocean – in fact, I want to… time to plan a trip I guess ;0).
Anyways, after our four classes, we went to the Crater in Midway and performed what we had learned for our teachers. We performed two dives on Friday and three dives on Saturday. We did an extra one on Saturday just for the pure fun of it. The crater was pretty neat, not at all what I expected but really fun. They decorated it with plastic fish, a turtle and a snake. It’s like a cave with really warm water – it was 95-degrees on the days we went. It isn’t very wide in diameter, just one big circle. It was a fun experience but I probably won’t go diving there again. I am so happy to be done with scuba diving classes and so happy to finally have a life again! Yay for me! And FYI – scuba certification lasts a lifetime so I will never have to do it again! I do feel confident about what I learned though, I had awesome teachers who were so great to work with. They were so nice and just plain awesome. They really make sure you know your stuff and can do it which makes for an awesome feeling when it’s all over and you realize that you can!
My scuba instructor Jo Ney in front of the Crater
The entrance to the Crater
The entrance after the tunnel - into the water portion of the crater
The beautiful blue mineral water
The top of the crater has a hole showing the sky
The water is about 65 feet deep and in the shape of a beehive. The walls are all made of Limestone rock. (On our last dive we stood on the very bottom of the crater.)
My favorite pink fins underwater.
Underwater on certification dive #2
Turtle
Snake
At the certification platform
Watching my classmates certify - waiting for my turn
After becoming certified we had the option of going on an adventure dive.
Me before the adventure dive signaling "OK" :0)
