Jillapalooza

IM IN UR OCEAN. EATIN UR CARDZ.

Turneffe Wall, Dive 75

Dive: 75
Belize Dive: 9
Date: 12/5/12
Site: Turneffe Wall
Avg/Max Depth: 45/66
Temp: 79
TBT/CBT: 0:48/61:52
Buddies: Nick, Curtis

This dive started out with a bit of a glitch. My inflate button got stuck and I went rocketing to the surface. Okay, maybe not rocketing. I managed to keep a reasonable pace. It’d been so long since basic dive training that I really wasn’t sure what was happening or what to do about it (unhook it). It’s a good thing it happened right at the beginning of the dive in 40 feet of water as opposed to later on at greater depths.

Martin was waiting on the boat when I popped out of the water. He jumped in to turn off my air, then replaced my tanks since I lost a lot of air to the free flow. I had to manually inflate for the rest of the dive. It took a few times to remember which button to push while exhaling, and a mouthful of water, but I got it figured out. I’m happy to say that my buoyancy was just as stellar as always.

The wall was one of the best I’ve seen. It reminded me of diving in Cayman. Here’s a picture over the edge.

Nick speared another lionfish on this dive as well.

Loidy also pointed out this little gem. This was right in the beginning, before the mishap.

View all of my photos from Turneffe Wall below.

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The Elbow, Dive 74

Dive: 74
Belize Dive: 8
Date: 12/5/12
Site: The Elbow
Avg/Max Depth: 54/78
Temp: 79
TBT/CBT: 0:46/61:04
Buddies: Nick, Curtis

Our first dive in Turneffe was fantastic. The coral structures were very neat.

Apparently the marine life was scarce because the current was strong. That didn’t stop us from seeing this giant pufferfish. It took a while for me to see it when Nick first pointed it out. It took Curtis even longer, camouflaged as it was. The picture does a poor job at showing its size.

Here’s some video I took of a bunch of random little stuff.

View all of my photos from The Elbow below.

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Belize – Wednesday 12/5

I got up at 4:30AM on Wednesday. Someone had to make coffee.

Martin picked us up on the dock at 5:30 and brought us to the dive shop. Rudy had breakfast waiting. Shortly after we were on the big boat and on our way to Turneffe for a full day of diving.

There were the three of us, Rudy, Martin, Loidy, and 9 other divers. The way there was rainy, so that sucked as we all huddled in the front of the boat to stay mostly dry.

After the first two dives the weather cleared up. It turned out to be a beautiful day.

We did three dives, and our surface intervals were all spent on the boat. Rudy fed us snacks and lunch consisting of stewed chicken, rice and beans, and potato salad. After we completed our dives we got beer and rum punch! I forgot to try the lionfish ceviche Martin made fresh that day. Damn.

My camera battery was dying, but I was able to snap a couple photos of the rainbows, Nick’s shirt a day, and this one of the boys.

Before dinner I started fading fast. I took a quick nap. When I woke up I felt like a zombie. Also, because we were on a boat or in the water for almost 9 hours, I felt like I was still on one. The whole world was moving around me whenever I sat still, to the point where I got dizzy.

After wanting to eat at Wild Mango’s for forever, Kristen finally got her wish. I’m pretty sure this is the place Matt and Dan raved about on our Lamanai Jungle River Adventure back in 2007. It was pretty good. I had a shrimp pasta dish (spicy!), black bean soup, and a virgin banana daiquiri.

I felt pretty woozy by the time we got back. I was just going to lie down for a minute, just to see how the pillows felt, but I ended up passing out the minute I was horizontal.

View all of today’s photos below.

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Belize – Tuesday 12/4

The sound of Kristen tossing her cookies kept us up all night. Poor Kristen. In the morning Nick made a comment about how he felt bad for her. A few minutes later he made a comment about eating breakfast. I said, “Nick, Kristen is sick. There is no breakfast.”

“Damn it, Kristen!”

I managed to make coffee, but just barely.

Kristen bowed out of today’s dives, which was most unfortunate because we saw dolphins.

Nick, Curtis, and I moseyed to Caliente for lunch. I had a Caliente Splash and a Mega Chicken Burrito.

After lunch I wasted no time getting to the pool to catch some rays. I was able to find a good spot just before the sun dipped behind the building. Damn it. I stayed poolside anyway and caught up on some reading.

Kristen was up and about when I got back to the room. She was going to brave dinner with us, but by the time we were ready to eat, she was back in bed. Poor Kristen.

The three of us ate at Elvi’s Kitchen. I had a mojito, coconut curry shrimp, and coconut pie for dessert. It was delicious, as expected, because it’s Elvi’s. Hopefully Kristen will feel up to eating soon so we can go back.

Tomorrow we are diving Turneffe. Sounds like it’s going to be a long day. We’ve got to be on the dock at 5:30AM, and it’s a two hour boat ride one way. I’m both looking forward to it and exhausted just thinking about it. Unfortunately BRK is sitting the trip out. I hope she gets out of bed and cleans this dump. Or at least finishes her 30 Days of Thanks posts. (Kidding, Kristen.)

View all of today’s photos below.

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Esmeralda, Dive 73

Dive: 73
Belize Dive: 7
Date: 12/4/12
Site: Esmeralda
Avg/Max Depth: 47/66
Temp: 79
TBT/CBT: 0:56/60:18
Buddies: Nick, Curtis

It was tough getting back in the water, knowing this dive probably wouldn’t live up to the last. Fortunately the water was less choppy the second time around. This dive site is the only one I recognize from previous years. The surge made it hard to take photographs; video really is the way to go. Below is a compilation video of the dive.

Nick spotted this turtle. It’s probably as up close and personal as I’ve been to one. I got some good photos and videos of it.

View all of my photos from Esmeralda below.

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