Lanzarote - Scuba!!

Nov 1st
Lanzarote

Scuba Diving Today!!! After picking up my gear from the dive shop on the ship the previous day (free because we’re all friends here on the ship), I met the group out on the peer around 8:50 AM. The diving company eventually picked us up and drove us to the shop, and later to the dive site. At the shop we filled out the necessary forms to give them an idea of experience, picked up our weights and tanks, had some tea, and then got in the van to go to the site. They had this awesome dog at the shop though, Thad said it was a Rhodisian Ridge Back. I’m sure I’m spelling that wrong, but the dog had this Ridge of hair on his back that grew in the opposite direction, making a very distinctive line, almost like a racing stripe. Thad said his brother has one, and that the dogs are highly aggressive and were traditionally used to hunt lions…this one was a nice dog though. So we left the shop, and instead of hopping on a boat like I’m used to, we were driven to a beach where we suited up and walked into the water. It made things really easy, and the dive site was still really cool. I learned to dive 5 years ago in the keys, and haven’t dove for at least 2 years. But it was nice going with a few people from the band, two of which have higher certification levels, and then the dive instructor onboard was there as well, so I knew I had people around to help should I have questions. Everything seemed to come back though, I felt really comfortable in the water, and had a nice dive. I didn’t see anything too exotic, partially because it wasn’t the correct season for it, but did get really close to this huge grouper that is known to live in that area, and then a cuddle fish as well. I dove down as far as 105 feet, mostly because I didn’t think I was as deep as I really was and saw a starfish below me and wanted to get closer. At that point, the instructor from the ship, Martin, chased after me, checked my gauge, and told me to start going back up. I didn’t know I was at 105 feet till that point, oops. But…I felt totally comfortable there, so no big deal. The bottom was sandy with large volcanic rocks spread around where things would grow on. There were some really nice schools of fish that wouldn’t move till you literally swam through them, and then the usual collection of sea life around the rocks. Not as exciting as I hoped the Canaries would have been, but still a great chance to get back in the water. We probably spent 45 minutes in the water before getting out and making our way back to the van. The water was about 70 degrees, and I had a shorty wet suit (one that doesn’t cover most of your arms or legs, so I was ready to get out by that time. It got a little cold towards the end of the dive, but I was really glad I went. We eventually made our way back to the shop, rinsed everything off, and packed up to go back to the ship. The whole thing ended up costing 20 euro, or $30. Originally, I was told a single dive was 27 euro, but because of the group, he gave us a discount. We had our ride back to the ship at that point, and I took a shower and fell asleep. I woke up later to return the gear, and then just kind of chilled in my room the rest of the night because we had the day off…nice! Sea day tomorrow as we sail out of the Canaries toward Vigo.

Side note: I’ve been thinking about doing another ship and emailed the office the other day to check openings and let them know what I was looking for. My top ship that I want to do is the Rhapsody, which is smaller than what I’m on right now, but is going to be in China, Japan, and other areas of Asia around the time I’m looking for. Well, I got an email today saying a spot opened up for 2 months, a vacation break I’m sure, so I sent the email back to get on it and should hopefully be booked for it by this point if all goes to plan. Look it up online though, it’s a really amazing itinerary. And then, towards the end of the 2 months, we cross the northern pacific, go through Alaska, and then make a home port in Seattle. At that point, I do one Alaskan cruise and would be flown home May 30th. This would mean I would get to check both Asia and Alaska off my list within a single 2 month period. So I’m going to keep hoping that this lines up as I’ve planned it, and with any luck, I’ll have another ship to play after a couple months at home, and a ship in a totally different area!

By the way, is it really already November? Jeeze, time really goes fast. I’m so glad I’ve been keeping up with these posts and keeping my now 5550 pictures organized. I hope everyone’s great at home, miss ya!