A Different Christmas

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We all woke up this morning in various states of hangover. James had not drank the night before because he wasn't feeling to well. It seems to have persisted over night and he is too sick to go diving today. That really sucks because we were such a team out there and we were all learning together. The rest of us get up and get our gear into the boat, checking it all with each other makin sure we have it all. The next thing we know, the boat is anchored over a reef and we are stepping off the boat into our first exploration dive. After a few simple instructions we are sitting 12 meters underwater in a circle going over hand signals. First we take all our gear off then put it back on, then we get with our buddy (Justin and I / Matt and Jeff) and practice using each others spare regs and such. Then we are off along the reef looking at all the fish and ground critters. The highlight of my dive was a sea cucumber and neon fish swimming around. Jeff saw a huge eel at the back with one of our instructors which would have been amazing. Matt got to see a huge fish with a beak but Justin and I were not as lucky. Still we saw a ton of amazing animals and the coral reefs were sick. After an hour we surfaced thinking our day was done. It wasn't however, as we switched to fresh air tanks and rode in the dive boat to a different reef. Again we stepped off to start a second exploration dive. We followed a wall like reef about 12-15m deep then cut up through it and back to the boat. This was also another hour dive and man what an experience. When we finally get back to the dock (where a Brit moons the boat coming in) we are all really tired. Our gear needed to be cleaned and then it was off for a shower and dinner. James is feeling better so we think it won't be hard for him to catch up quickly and join us tomorrow. We had seafood for dinner then headed back to the dive centre for an early night. This was a very unique Christmas and we are all excited about the next few dives where we will go out further and try to sea the larger marine life. As it is Christmas I think about our time and am grateful that we have this opportunity. I am also thankful for my family and friends continued good health and hope all is well back in Canada. Merry Christmas! 

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