• 11 years ago
• Posted in:--Jamaica, -Caribbean, Destinations
• 1
• Author: Pettie
• Tags: PADI, Scuba Dive

It wouldn’t be a Caribbean trip without scuba diving and exercising our PADI knowledge.  Though there was a scuba diving shop via the ScubaCarribe on the resort we were staying at (Riu Club Negril), we decided we didn’t want to go with them.  Most of the reason was that the people that was running the booth on the resort didn’t seem like they give a damn, nor do they seem to know what they were doing in terms of paperwork.  didn’t give us a lot of confidence.  though i assume the actual divers and guides would have been just fine.  but nonetheless, we started googling some of the island’s scuba shops.

We queried many via email/web forms, and what caught our attention when we came across Marine Life Divers was their responsiveness.  As we were planning to do the dive a mere 1 day from when we were researching – having someone respond to your questions really matters.   The owner of the shop picked us up in the morning and a short 5 mintues ride from the resort was their base camp.   They had all the equipment and gear we needed, and friendly guides introduced themselves right away.  A cute small boat took us away into the ocean.

a 2 day (4 tank) dive was schedule.  The first day was to Throne Room & Shark Reef.  I was quite hesitant at the name of the 2nd dive site.  but they assured me it was only in name – to my relief and to Nick’s disappointment.  The coolest part of this dive was descending into the depth of the ocean via this vertical drop and through a tunnel (ie the name sake)  throughout the dive, the guide would lead us into various spots where we would swim under archways and under overhangs.  it was quite neat – definitely tested your buoyancy skills!

2nd day, we went to the Gallery & shallow Plane wreck dive – Our first wreck!  We were excited and though it was only a small plane, it was still fascinating to see something that really didn’t belong in the ocean, but the ocean had embraced it and more or less created a home for many sea creatures.   I actually went in with a full wet suit this time (not just a shorty) – I found that I was cold on the 1st day, and I mentioned it to the owner of Marine Dive shop, and lo and behold, the very next day he brought me a ladies full wet suit!

After this trip, we are now wondering if we should continue our PADI skills and do advanced divers…hmmm.