The advanced scuba certification involves a series of 5 adventure dives along with the online training I already completed. The two required dives are deep diving and underwater navigation. The other three can be chosen from a list or chosen for you depending on the area and what the dive office can offer. My three additional dives will specialize in fish identification, shipwreck diving, and peak performance buoyancy.
Today’s first dive tested my ability to float and glide seamlessly through the water. Essentially, I needed to learn and show that I could manage correct buoyancy throughout the duration of the dive including descent, at the bottom, and ascent. I needed to show that I could attach appropriate weight depending on the depth of our dive site and needed to compensate for using oxygen (adding small weights toward the end of the dive). Perfect buoyancy occurs when a deep inhale will cause a slow rise and exhale a slow decent. Once at the bottom, no air should be in the BCD vest and I needed to control my depth using only breath and small movement from the fins. The less you exert yourself, the less air us used and you can increase bottom time. Total time for this dive was 47 minutes.
The second dive was pretty unique as the dive guide would point at different species of fish, I would write down brief notes on a water-designed slate, and we would review the characteristics of the fish when we resurfaced. I learned about the defining features of some fish native to Cartagena. It was fun to try to be a biologist for the 50 minutes of bottom time for this second dive. Tomorrow, I will experience the deepest dive I have ever done (90-110ft) and also explore a shipwreck, another first for me.
Here are some of the underwater stills I captured with a gopro. Wildlife we saw included an eel, rays, a seahorse, a lionfish, and schools of other tropical fish. The 45 minute boat ride to and from the dive sites was also relaxing as we watched the outer most area of Cartagena, Boca Grande, pass by with its towering hotels.
Afterwards, I treated myself to a large brunch:) Total time from embark to docking was about 5.5 hrs. The post-dive nap was admittedly 2.5 hrs.
That’s such a cool dive class! I’m guessing you were around 40 feet – so the 90-110 tomorrow will be a great contrast. Awesome ones to add to the logbook!