Travel — Page 19

Leslie’s Curl, dive 26

December 1, 2008

Dive: 26
Cayman Dive: 2
Date: 12/1/08
Site: Leslie’s Curl, North Wall, Grand Cayman
Avg/Max Depth: 47/66
Temp: 79
TBT/CBT: 0:32/20:53
Buddies: Nick, Kristen, Curtis, Ted

For our next dive, Jon didn’t come with us. He gave us a run down of the area and a couple options for our game plans. Melissa dove with us though, tagging along with her camera. This was to be a short dive. Maximum depth of 60 feet and 30-35 minutes tops. There were much more schools of fish on the second dive, and when we were just about finished we saw two Spotted Eagle Rays swimming around 80 feet down. Almost better than seeing the rays was seeing Kristen trying to signal to everyone that there were rays among us. Melissa hovered right over them, recording their graceful journey. I think they were the deciding factor for buying the DVD.

After another safety stop and another [unsuccessful] attempt at air rings the dive was over. And shortly after I was on the boat it was raining and storming. That’s one of the best things about diving. Even when the weather is crappy we can still enjoy vacation to the fullest!!

Black Forest, dive 25

December 1, 2008

Dive: 25
Cayman Dive: 1
Date: 12/1/08
Site: Black Forest, North Wall, Grand Cayman
Avg/Max Depth: 59/115
Temp: 79
TBT/CBT: 0:37/20:21
Buddies: Nick, Kristen, Curtis, Ted

Our first Grand Cayman dive went off without a hitch. The shuttle arrived at noon, this time to actually pick us up. We made a quick stop at the dive shop to fill out paperwork before the quick drive to the marina. We waited on the boat for a little bit, first for our divemaster Jon (swoon) to arrive, then for Melissa, a videographer.

The boat ride to the dive site was about 25 minutes. It was overcast which made the splashes of water feel a bit chilly. Jon explained the terrain and our plan. Hearing that the wall dropped off to 6,000 feet was pretty cool. Our limit for the dive was 100. Getting in was easy enough. No wetsuits (for Nick and I anyway). We just sat down and put on our flippers and mask, let Jon throw our BC on our back and rolled forward into the sea.

Much warmer than back home.

The coral seemed the same as what we saw in Belize. Most notably the purple fan coral and the bright green coral that looks like cacti. There were some parrot fish that caught my eye, as well as giant lobster, but other than that not much exciting for marine life. I bought a new wide angle lens for my underwater camera, but it blocked part of my flash so I pulled it off half way through the dive.

(note the funky flash)

The deepest I got to was 115. I don’t think I was narced up, but I did feel a little dizzy at one point before I realized how deep I had went. I think it was because I descended quickly from about 60 feet and not from the nitrogen.

After the “official” portion of the dive was over we were able to swim around the reef until our computers told us to ascend. It was nice to be able to go deep enough for a long enough amount of time to see how my computer reacted with things like warning beeps and safety stops. I used my safety stop as an opportunity to practice air rings, but they weren’t very good.

The boat, or should I say double wide pontoon?, was much easier to climb into than the small boats in Belize. And since the the bottom was flat and spacious the surface interval didn’t feel so confining.

Grand Cayman, Mon 12/1

December 1, 2008

I was the first one up this morning. 7:30am never felt so late in my entire life. I made coffee, fixed a bowl of cereal and patiently computed until Cindy and Kristen woke up and kept me company.

It was overcast and rainy again this morning. We spent the morning chillin’ in the condo. Around 10:30am we hit up the grocery store for some supplies, sans Nick, who slept in (surprise, surprise).

At noon we went outside to catch the shuttle, hoping for good news. The diving for the day was on!!

~~~

When we got back to land it was raining pretty steadily, along with the occasional lightening and thunder. Going out for the evening looked dismal. We made some drinks and decided on Chopstix Chinese delivery for dinner. The idea of walking to Haagan-Daz for dessert was entertained, but the off and on (more often the latter) rain seems to be putting a damper on that plan. Right now we are all chillin’ inside again. Hopefully we’ll be diving again in the morning, 7:15am.

Grand Cayman – Sun 11/30

November 30, 2008

When it rains it pours. Or at least it sounds that way when you have a tin roof.

It sprinkled on and off throughout the night. When I got up at 6:30 it was overcast again and the sea was very choppy. We all ate breakfast and (minus Cindy) readied our dive gear for our 7:20 pickup. When the guy came to pick us up he delivered some disappointing news. Because of the choppiness and the direction of the wind, there was no where for us to pleasantly dive at. With his sexy Australian accent he could have delivered any sort of bad news and I would have stood there with a stupid smile on my face.

We headed back to the room to lounge for the morning. I got out to the beach around 10ish. It was hot and very windy. The waves were rough, but the layer of shells at the entry way had disappeared so entry and exit was easy enough. The heavy waves washed away part of the beach, so there was about a foot tall drop off at the water’s edge. It was very windy so sitting in the sun was quite comfortable. After lunch I opted for a shady spot for the remainder of the afternoon. The wind picked up a bit, so I tried to shelter myself behind a tree so the sand wouldn’t blow in my face.

I had enough of the wind and heat at 3:00 and decided to head inside to cool down and shower. A case of the munchees consumed me so I had a bowl of cereal, some pineapple and popped some popcorn. I was feeling a bit antsy, and I’m pretty sure it was because I hadn’t had any pop in 48 hours. I don’t like to think of myself as dependent on substances as such, but there was nothing else I could chalk it up to. At least we have coffee!!

There are lots of iguanas here as well. All different sizes and colors. There are really tiny ones that like to sun themselves on the stone walkways, then they run back to the bushes as you walk down the path. It’s funny. Unfortunately the snails don’t move as fast and I accidentally squished one between my toes (gross). Woops. I will try to get a video of it later in the trip. The iguanas running, not the snail smooshing.

We headed out for dinner around 5:30, Nick referred to us as 70-year-olds. There was a diving shop Ted wanted to stop at, so we headed in the general direction (there are only two directions) without a specific plan for food. We decided to eat at Cimboco because it was right next to Antica Gelateria, a block past the diving shop. During dinner we had a nice discussion on body shapes, pear vs. apple-with-a-grape-on-top-and-pea-for-a-head.

Curtis and I were the only ones who indulged at AG since everyone else ordered dessert at Cimboco, but there was no way I was going to miss out on AG when it was (a) right next door, (b) a half hour walk away and (c) closed tomorrow. I couldn’t decide on a flavor, so I ordered half dark chocolate and half coconut/pineapple (last night I went with pistachio) and if I didn’t mention it in yesterday’s post, it’s a Gelato (a.k.a. Italian Ice Cream) shop. It was delicious. The dive shop was uneventful, only because I didn’t get any treasures for myself.

Our diving for tomorrow is scheduled for noon since there were no morning openings. Hopefully it won’t get canceled for poor weather again.

Grand Cayman – Sat 11/29

November 29, 2008

I went to bed around midnight last night, probably the earliest I’ve turned in in months and the latest I’ll go to bed for the duration of my stay here. I woke up this morning to an overcast sky. Good thing we had nothing planned. After enjoying breakfast I computed for awhile before deciding to go outside. I decided not to put on any sunscreen since there was no break in the clouds. I left my book inside and put my camera and iPod inside my mask case in case a downpour started. There was an occasional sprinkle, but nothing the pine trees on the beach couldn’t shield me from (yes, I said pine trees on the beach). It was hot out, but after a while it started raining a little harder. Not hard enough to soak anything, just hard enough to feel like really cold needles on the skin. Cindy and I decided it would be a perfect time for lunch. It seemed like once we got inside the sun came out and it became blazingly hot. Nick finally woke up. I stayed inside for a little while, avoiding putting on sunscreen for as long as possible before venturing out again.

The majority of the afternoon was spent with us all at the beach, although I tried to stay in the shade most of the time. The beach was pleasantly empty, hopefully because no one is here and not because everyone made alternate plans for the rainy day. The water here is really calm so, other than the line of shells at the entry point, it’s easy to get in and out of. The bottom is sandy and doesn’t get stirred up at all, even though it’s super fine and soft.

At one point Nick started lazily digging a hole in the sand while lounging on a chair. It turned into a big digging event until a nice gentleman expressed his concern for us if the hole caved in. Since a pictures is worth 1,000 words:

There are 10 videos total, check them out (as well as more of our Grand Cayman videos) on YouTube.

After the beach we showered and headed out for dinner. We ended up eating dinner at Deckers and dessert at Antica Gelateria. I believe it will end up being our dessert hot spot for the next week.

Tomorrow we go on our first dive!!

~~~

Also, we are staying at The Villas of Galleon. We think it’s pretty great here, so I decided to make a list of specific things I like over the next week and a half:

1. High speed internet in the condo. The key points being “high speed,” and “in condo.” I can actually stay in touch with the parts of the world I want to, at a reasonable speed, in the comfort of my living room. Nothing like taking 5 minutes to upload one photo while on vacation. Eeesh.

2. Ice maker. The freezer has one. Maybe I’m only excited about that because our ice maker at home is broken and sitting on the counter.