sep 17 - 19

Wow. I wish I had started this diving thing sooner..
Saturday morning's dive was at a wildlife sanctuary, one island to the east. There were at least ten outriggers there already, obviously a popular spot! We used nitrox - enriched air, 32% oxygen instead of 21%, so we could stay under longer.There is a bit of a current, so we started diving into it and then drifted back along the "wall". The islands have some shallow water around them, and then it plunges down along a wall full of corals, sponges, anemonies, fish, crabs and shrimp, nudies (*giggle* no, that's short for nudibranch, heehee), etc etc. One of the cool fishes we saw is called "sweetlips", it has big fat lips, obviously. Also bright blue fish, yellow ones, rainbows, striped, flat, round, triangles, needles... yellow sponges that look like bananas, itty bitty bright blue tubelets, large - eh, looks like an upside down dress?, with lots of sleeves?, and a tiny lavenderblue jellyfish. Just one, luckily.
We floated over a small wreck with larger fish, andat this point my tank was almost empty so I had to go up. I still need to get my bouyancy better under control, I think my natural bouancy layer, ahem, is making me float up too much ;), so I waste air moving my arms to control my balance. Should get better with practice. After rest time (excess nitrogen has to be breathed out), the second adventure was at the pier. Lots of coral on the poles, with their own little ecosystems around them. We floated with the current along the wall until our air was up. The third dive was along our own island where we hunted for more nudies. We saw one 4" long, and also a few of 1/2", the others in between. They are absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. The dive masters are very good in finding such tiny creatures.
Sunday we took off on the big outrigger with four other dive passengers, for two dives. We went around the north end of our island. the sandy bottom slides down gently to the wall, which plunges to 70' where the sand bottom continues. First we saw an old tire with zebra-striped needlefishies in it. Oliver, one of the dive masters, found a 3" scuttlefish with 1/2" babies - I saw the three-inch one, never could spot the tiny ones. I did find a few small zigzag clams, when they notice you're looking, zip! and you cqan't even find them back because of the corals growing on them. When I ran low on air I floated at the surface, looking down, until it was all gone. Fantastic.
After making my next appointment for Tuesday, we went back to the hotel in time for a birthday party at one of Opa's co-workers. Then changed the Tuesday date to 11 A.M. Monday. But then I was the only one and that costs more, so Opa moved a meeting and this morning we both went for a lovely weekday dive. We didn't go far, just north and just south of the dive school, for more floating in the current. A current is something to practice with. Opa made more pictures, we have to download them soon, I'm curious about the results, and besides, by the end of a dive I can't remember what we all saw... I got 70 minutes air out of the tank this morning, and Opa finished his course requirements for his advanced certification. We're done with courses for now though. They costs a good bit more than the fun dives do.