Today I am a rescue diver. For the past two weeks, our class has been working non-stop to 1) finish advanced open water training, 2) get our First Aid, CPR and emergency oxygen certifications, and 3) finish rescue diver training. All of this makes me a highly qualified recreational diver, and gets me thinking about going on to get divemaster, diving at a professional level. In order to get advanced certification, you have to complete so many dives including: a deep dive, a night dive, a boat dive, a peak performance buoyancy dive, and a navigation dive - all of which were great dives! Yesterday we finished the rescue skills, which entailed working through various scenarios on the beach. Yesterday a cruise ship made port, meaning we had an audience of tourists watching as we dragged each other out of the water, rescued panicked divers, practiced CPR, towing tired divers to shore, putting pressure on gushing wounds, calling out for help, etc. I'm sure we freaked out more than a few tourists, before explaining that we were all in training. This certification is kind of a big deal for me, and I almost wish I had done these things earlier on.
But it wasn't these certifications that have had me stressing for the past week, it's been the fish, coral, algae and invertebrate identifications. Bonaire has great biodiversity, it's amazing really; this means that there are a ton of species to see and to memorize. We do this mostly above water, but can ask questions during our dives using underwater slates. The reason we work so hard to learn the names is because soon, we'll start doing biodiversity surveys for the marine park, and start our own independent research projects - but also because it makes diving so much more fun, because you know what you're looking at. Needless to say, the effort has totally been worth it, and I can now identify about 100 different species with some degree of confidence. It's always a good feeling to know what you're doing out there.
Before I left, I did a little preliminary research on the Bonaire; honestly, I had never heard of this island until Ilooked at the study abroad catalog. All I kept reading about the weather was that it was hot and windy, but still humid. I think it's safe to say at this point in my trip, that Bonaire must be having an unusually rainy rainy season, as it has rained sporadically throughout the day for the past week. When I visited Saipan, snf I guess Hawaii for that matter, we would get a light, quick shower around noon nearly everyday, and in Okinawa it could rain heavy non-stop for days. To clarify, this rain is not like those, these are heavy like the rains of Okinawa, but only last about as long as the ones in Saipan. And they usually happen just as we're getting out of the water. But sometimes we do get those light midday showers when the sun is still shining and they just make me so happy; sunny rain has got to be my favorite weather.
A few weeks before I came to Bonaire I was talking to one of my friends and I was telling him how jazzed I was about getting to come down here and spend 15 weeks in the water, diving in some of the best waters in the world, when he asked me if I ever thought I would get sick of diving. I just don't see that happening anytime soon.
But it wasn't these certifications that have had me stressing for the past week, it's been the fish, coral, algae and invertebrate identifications. Bonaire has great biodiversity, it's amazing really; this means that there are a ton of species to see and to memorize. We do this mostly above water, but can ask questions during our dives using underwater slates. The reason we work so hard to learn the names is because soon, we'll start doing biodiversity surveys for the marine park, and start our own independent research projects - but also because it makes diving so much more fun, because you know what you're looking at. Needless to say, the effort has totally been worth it, and I can now identify about 100 different species with some degree of confidence. It's always a good feeling to know what you're doing out there.
Before I left, I did a little preliminary research on the Bonaire; honestly, I had never heard of this island until Ilooked at the study abroad catalog. All I kept reading about the weather was that it was hot and windy, but still humid. I think it's safe to say at this point in my trip, that Bonaire must be having an unusually rainy rainy season, as it has rained sporadically throughout the day for the past week. When I visited Saipan, snf I guess Hawaii for that matter, we would get a light, quick shower around noon nearly everyday, and in Okinawa it could rain heavy non-stop for days. To clarify, this rain is not like those, these are heavy like the rains of Okinawa, but only last about as long as the ones in Saipan. And they usually happen just as we're getting out of the water. But sometimes we do get those light midday showers when the sun is still shining and they just make me so happy; sunny rain has got to be my favorite weather.
A few weeks before I came to Bonaire I was talking to one of my friends and I was telling him how jazzed I was about getting to come down here and spend 15 weeks in the water, diving in some of the best waters in the world, when he asked me if I ever thought I would get sick of diving. I just don't see that happening anytime soon.
2 comments:
Katie,
Always fun to read your latest updates. For some reason i don't see you settling permanently in the frozen north. Actually I don't see you settling at all. Too much the vagabond.
good luck w/ your surveys
love,
Becky
PS What kind of pens are used on your underwater slates?
We actually use a graphite pencil on a white slate, it's waterproof and the only way to clean it is to scrub it with comet powder.
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