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Larry's LogSunday was spent studying again and filling out forms for the diving course starting tomorrow. Ray, our instructor, stopped by in the morning and dropped off the forms for Diane to complete (mine were in the book package we bought) and we asked some questions and then went back to reading the PADI book. There were 5 sections and a test after each one that had to be completed. I printed the test forms with no answers for Diane and I filled them in on mine and then printed them. There were no really difficult parts but using the dive planning (Recreational Dive Planner or RDP) tables took some practice. Diane had an offer to go to Halliday Girl to watch a 'chic flick' (girl's movie) but had to decline so she could finish reading the book. We had planned to go to a slide presentation at 7 but decided that we would just stay on the boat and finish everything. We could go next Sunday anyway - that particular show was the same from week to week. The only other we did (I didn't even lower the dinghy into the water) was run the engine again. We had gotten some wind today but it was in gusts and only to about 12 knots and there was about 50 percent cloud cover all day so the batteries were pretty low by the end of the day. Monday morning we started our dive course when Ray came over at 9 to go over the tests we had done and to collect the paperwork about medical information, liability waiver, etc. We then went to pick up the equipment and came back to the green dock near the boat. We both did well although Diane had a problem with taking the mask off and then replacing and clearing it. We had a small dive out to 18 feet and even just under the boats it was great. We stopped around 2, exchanged the tanks for filled ones and went back to the boat to eat lunch. Ray was coming back at 4 to continue for 'confined water dive 2' and the first open water dive. We continued our class in the afternoon and Diane managed to do the 'remove mask for 1 minute' skill, as did I. We did some other things and then went on our first open water dive. We went down to about 40 feet, swimming out from the green dock to just past the line of boats and it was great although the light wasn't very good by then since it was almost 5pm. We did see 2 more new species for our list though and lots of interesting other fish. Diane, however, was having a problem with her snorkel that we would have to address or replace. We finished the dive, got the gear into the dinghy and brought it back to the dive shop. After rinsing everything off, including ourselves, we thanked Ray and went back to the boat for a light dinner - we were both pretty tired. Our second day of scuba lessons went very well. We started again at 9 and went over a number of underwater skills until about 1pm. We then went back to the dive shop, dropped off the tanks to be refilled and went back to the boat for a quick lunch. At 2:30 we went over to get the tanks but Ray had already picked them up so we went to a dive mooring for the afternoon's exercises. We went down about 20 feet and did some more mask flooding skills, 'fin pivots' and some other things before our second open water dive. We had already seen some interesting things like a sea turtle and a small moray. There was also a large French Angelfish that seemed to be annoyed that we were intruding on his domain and appeared to be trying to chase us off. The second dive was also to about 40 feet, although we did wind up going a few feet deeper. Another new species and lots of other fish that we hadn't seen many of before, like a Tiger Grouper, which didn't seem to be afraid at all. Overall it was great. We finished about 4:30, returned the equipment, took quick showers and went back to the boat for a little while until we left for the Tuesday night fish identification slide show. We followed Ray and his wife Gail to the Plaza Resort Marina and left the dinghy there. The exit road left us less than a block away from the restaurant where the presentation was - considerably easier than walking 25 minutes from town. The show itself was again very nice and pretty well attended, about 12 people. She concentrated on shallow water fish this evening and although we had seen many of the species she pictured, there were plenty we hadn't - something to look for. We got back around 7 from the show and had a nice dinner but unfortunately had to run the engine again - still little wind and only partial sun. Our third day of scuba classes started at 10. We picked up the tanks and equipment and went to another dive mooring where we did some skills we had done before in shallow water. We then went on the third open water dive to about 60 feet. We saw lots of fish and a large Spotted Moray. We started again after lunch at 3 with some more skills practice and ended with the fourth open water dive to about 60 feet. It was 5pm when we got out of the water and Ray said we passed the course, assuming we passed the final he had given us yesterday morning. Once we got to land Ray very kindly bought us a beer and we talked some more about doing the advanced course - 5 dives in different specialty areas; I think we will probably do it. We thanked him again and we each went to our boats. Back at the boat, we just had a drink, ate dinner and relaxed - it had been a very tiring day. Thursday, November 27 - it's Thanksgiving today and this is one of the few times that I miss being back in the States and seeing family. Diane's Mom is an excellent cook and I certainly miss the feast she prepares. Oh well. Ray came over at 9 to go over the final exam with us and we passed the test and the course! We were now certified PADI scuba divers. We went into town a little later to run some errands and so Diane could call her parents and get some food for the Thanksgiving dinner we were going to on Halliday Girl. They had invited Skyus (coming in today) and us so Diane was going to make a nice snack and some other things. On the way back to the boat, we stopped at Precocious Gale (Ray's boat), paid him for the courses and picked up our dive logs, temporary ID cards and Open Water Diver certificates. Now we just need equipment! After lunch on the boat, we just relaxed since we were both tired from the week's activities and since we had been woken up several times during the night by rainstorms on different nights. Around 6 we went to Halliday Girl and Bruce and Suzanne, from Skyus, came over shortly after. We all had some wine and snacks and then had a very nice pasta dinner with some ginger cake (homemade by Vicky) for dessert. We all had a very nice time and although the dinner wasn't exactly traditional, it was in keeping with our current surroundings (eclectic). Friday morning Diane went into town with Suzanne and Vicky to do some shopping and was going to stop at Immigration for us as well. I would have gone to Immigration also but my foot was in pain - somehow (yesterday I think since it started to hurt a little at dinner) I had really smashed 2 toes on my right foot and one was all black and swollen and it was hard to walk. If she couldn't do Immigration for both of us, I would have to go in sometime that afternoon after she got back. As I relaxed and put ice on my foot, I was glad I didn't go. Walking was tough and I was very tired for some reason - maybe just the cumulative effect of taking the PADI course and then going out visiting but I could barely keep my eyes open. Diane came back around noon in the pouring rain. It had rained on and off all day and they picked the wrong time to leave the dock. She had gotten some provisions and did the Immigration process with no problem. After we got everything aboard, she put the food away and we both just rested. The rain was almost constant and it was a good day to just relax. By 5, the rain had let up but we'll see if it rains overnight again. Well, it did rain again overnight but just for a minute or so at a time and we didn't even close the hatches in the main cabin. Of course, the music from the local hot spot went on until the early hours and there were some locals out splashing with their kids in the morning. Still we slept fairly well. My foot was pretty bad in the morning - still weeping and swollen so I didn't do much the entire day, although I did have to fix one of the awning lines and put the water we bought yesterday into the tanks. Other than that, I just read and worked on the PC a bit. Diane though, went to a couple of dive shops to get prices on rental equipment and also picked up a BCD that another cruiser was selling so I could look at it. It was too small for me and also the design and accessory plugs were different since it was bought in England. She brought it to another dive shop, recommended by Allen, and he said that he wouldn't recommend it because of the problems of getting spare parts. Diane got back around 4:30 and Ray, Gail and Ashley (their daughter), from Precocious Gale, came over around 5 for snacks and drinks. We talked about diving and other things for a few hours. When they were in Porlamar, Ashley worked for a while as the operator for 'Waterbaby', the large inflatable that delivered water to the boats in the anchorage and we remembered her for that. I hadn't really known Ray until he taught us the PADI course and I had met Gail only briefly once before, but we enjoyed their company a lot. Sunday my foot was still bad and I didn't do much today at all, except we did move moorings one more to the north to get a little more space between us and another local boat that ran the engine every day, twice a day (probably for refrigeration). It also put some more space between us and another boat that came into the mooring right next to us that had an Airmarine wind generator - the worst for noise. Other than that, I just relaxed, took care of my foot and read although I hoisted the dinghy in the afternoon after Diane got back from the marina, running some errands. I think its getting better but if I don't see some more improvement, I will go to the doctor here. Monday morning we went to a doctor to look at my foot. Although it actually looked a little better, I felt if I wanted it to heal quickly, maybe he would be able to speed the process. So we went to shore, found the doctor and waited about an hour until his assistant came out and said he was called away to the hospital for a delivery. She did recommend another doctor about 2 blocks away, which we went to. He was there, and we waited about 10 minutes and went in. He looked at my foot and said I needed to take some antibiotics both topically and orally. Diane asked about using Ampicillin, which we had on the boat, and he said that would be OK although he gave us a prescription for another. He said the Bactroban ointment we had already would be very good for the topical use. We thanked him, paid his assistant and went to the pharmacy to see what the cost of the drug was that he recommended - 75 Guilders, about $43 for a one week supply! We decided to use the Ampicillin we had already. We then went back to the boat and saw Andy, from Its Good, on the way. We talked to him for a bit and then went to the boat. After lunch, we went with Bruce, from Skyus, to look at some dive equipment at the Carib Inn, where Diane had been yesterday. They only had new equipment and I bought a new snorkel and we all bought some other little things, and I looked at the BCDs he had. Diane then went to another place while Bruce dropped me off at the boat since she was going to walk some distance to see about some dive tanks for sale and I couldn't walk that far. She came back quickly however since she found out that they had a dock she could tie to; the owner needed to see if the tank's valves could be repaired. After Diane came back, Suzanne and Bruce, and Diane and I then went to another dive shop north of the marina but they had nothing for us and little else. We went to another very close by and had better luck - Bruce and Suzanne found a pretty good used BCD and regulator at a good price. Unfortunately, they didn't have the sizes for Diane and me. The staff was very nice though and called several other dive shops around to see if they had used equipment for us. There wasn't much but we still had some possibilities other than buying expensive new stuff. Of course, it started to rain while we were there and it poured for about an hour. By the time we left, our dinghies had about 50 gallons of water in them. We had all been invited to Halliday Girl for drinks that evening so we could see some pictures that Peter and Vicky had taken for a Christmas card. They hired an underwater photographer to take pictures of them underwater in their dive gear. They were really pretty good and the best was excellent, with nice color and composition. The title of the card was going to be 'I'm Dreaming of a Wet Christmas", and we all agreed it would be very cute. |