Rule #1 of Life: Take advantage of the opportunity. I love to scuba dive, the only problem is I don't have a dive buddy. I have had several opportunities to dive and have chosen not to simply because nobody I was with was certified. What a lame excuse! I got my certification when I was 16 and have only been on 3 dives! I finally decided I needed to take advantage of my opportunity while on vacation in the Bahamas.
I originally signed up to go on the "Shark Feeding Frenzy" dive (a month in advance before our trip!) I was so excited/pumped/exhilarated and if you know anything about me you know that sharks are my favorite animal & I have wanted to get up close and personal with them ever since I can remember. Turns out the night before the dive I was the only person signed up for the dive and they needed at least 4 people to take the boat out. I was SUPER bummed out but I decided to do the next best thing and sign up for the Dolphin Dive (which is something I've always wanted to do as well, just not as high up on the list as swim with sharks).
The dive was through Underwater Explorers Society (UNEXSO) located in Port Lucaya, Grand Bahama Island. They did a fantastic job and I would highly recommend them! My dive group included 2 guys from France, a couple from Italy, a couple from Fort Lauderdale...and me. I was pretty nervous; not only was I the least experienced diver, but also nervous about just being by myself! At first it was a little aukward but I got over it quickly when we introduced ourselves and I made sure to announce (very loud so everyone could hear) that I was in town for a bachelorette party to be sure that I didn't look like a complete loser :) To prep for the dive we were taught a little information about dolphins and some basic hand signals you could use underwater to get the dolphins to do what you wanted them to do. Our first stop was a cove where 12 dolphins lived and were trained. Next, we geared up and headed a couple miles off the coast of Grand Bahama Island.
What an experience!!! We were 60 feet underwater, the temperature was a chilly 75 degrees and the visibility was about 100 feet! 3 dolphins ended up following us out to sea where we were able to interact with them in their natural habitat and then we swam around the reef with them. I run out of adjectives to describe this experience but the pictures speak for themselves...

With Kayla McCargo, Lindsay McCargo, Victoria Bennis, Lindsay Britt, Logan Moore, & Jowanda Jones
So happy for you (and Charlie!) & can't wait for your wedding May 26th!
Little Girl, you are as distinct as the Mona Lisa herself....you will never simply be just a face in the crowd.
ReplyDeleteMelanie here! I enjoyed this piece, please email me--I have a question about your blog. MelanieLBowen[at]gmail[dot]com
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