beneath the surface

I finally got to go diving this weekend. I took a group of 7 students to the dive shop we work with at a nearby resort.
The owner of the dive shop was this awesomely sarcastic British guy named Adam. The students were split into two groups: one group of 4 boys were with one instructor, and the other group of three girls plus me were with Adam. He did a great job of talking a panicked student into the water when she started crying while waiting at the surface.

It was a discovery dive, meaning none of the students were certified divers, so it was a pretty straightforward dive.  After an instruction session at the dive shop and a practice session in the pool, we headed out on a boat to an area that was 10 meters deep.  I was at the back of the line  sort of doing my own thing and trying to stay out of everyone's way.  The girls were pretty freaked out, so the group of three girls and Adam swam in a group, all holding hands.  

I just swam behind them checking out all the crazy unfamiliar types of coral and little colorful fish hanging out in the coral and under rocks. There were lots of fish I recognized as being related to those from the Bahamas, but they had variations so I really wished I had a fish ID book. The one thing I was able to ID was a huge titan triggerfish. (It was too far away to get a good photo, though.)

I am now hoping to get a day off sometime where I can go on a more challenging certified dive with a group of certified divers.  I was trying to be super low-maintenance for the instructor, who had never met me and didn't know my skill level, so I was on my best diving behavior, which kept me from exploring as much as I would have liked.  After the dive, Adam said I should come back and go out with them for a real dive, so hopefully I get time for that in the coming weeks.

Interacting with a new dive group reminded me how much people in the diving community are some of the nicest, most fun people I've met.  Adam and his partner Carrie were both so great at helping the students feel comfortable.

However, it still made me really wish the dive crew I work with in Andros (Columbus Scuba) was there.  Not because Adam and Carrie and Sam (the dive shop co-owner who worked with the boys on their dive) weren't amazing-- they were totally great, completely knowledgable, fun, great with the students.  But I still wish I could share my excitement with the people who taught me to dive.  If you read this, Melissa, Andy, Jodi, Jerry, Paul... wish you were here!