The cruise we just booked for next March:
Grand Cayman
Yep, I do realize we're booking way in advance (the price was rising, so we thought it in our best interest to get the rate locked in) and that the last picture is actually Tulum (we didn't make it out there on our honeymoon, so we plan on hitting it up this time!). :)
As you probably know, we're divers. And what do divers do? Well, dive, of course. ;)
So, let's get rocking with a life post--a mini update on one of our recent adventures.
My wonderful fiancé and I obtained our advanced dive certification in September. It seemed like a great idea in August when we signed up for the class, but we sure failed to account for unseasonably cold weather. At the time of our first dive, it was a whopping 27 degrees outside--the MN lake water was 20 degrees warmer than the air temp. That sure made for an interesting romp in the bikini while putting on the wet suit. ;)
Speaking of cold, let's talk about that deep dive. On the deep dive, we were required to go to a depth of 65 feet, but we ended up going to about 74 feet. After passing the thermocline (if you're not sure what it is, check it out here --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermocline), we got to simulate ice diving. Yes, you read that correctly--the temperature of the water was the same as if we would have cut a hole in two-feet of ice and jumped on in--a bone chilling 39 degrees. Want to see what it feels like? Fill your bathtub with ice, wait a few minutes for some of the ice to melt, and take a nice 18-minute long bath. ;)
But, we persevered, my friends. 5 dives later (a boat dive, a navigation dive, a night dive, a deep dive, and a photography dive), we had our Padi Advanced Open Water Certification. We learned a lot--how to be great underwater navigators, what "depth of field" is, the difference between a five mil wetsuit (what was on numb hands during the deep dive) and a seven mil wetsuit (what was on my shockingly warm body during the deep dive), and most importantly--that I would NOT make a pretty bald person--see for yourself in the photos below. ;)
And now—some photos from the photography dive. Enjoy!
It's me. :)
Some of the beautiful scenery in the underwater forest we navigated.
Joey putting our new dive knives to use.
"Here, fishy fishy."
Yooohoooo, SCUBA Divers. If you haven't already heard the good news, I have a little something to report to you.
No longer is it necessary to violently remove skin from your knuckles. No longer is it necessary to spend 30 minutes of your precious dive time swearing. No longer is it necessary dislocate bones. The wet suit is a-changing!
Say hello to my little friend--the Henderson Hyperstretch.
The Hyperstretch is a fabulous, patented design by Henderson. The suit is designed to retain its warmth while stretching--putting one of these babies on is like putting on a snug pair of jeans. I had my full suit on in less than 3 leisurely minutes. AND you can move in it--ahhhh, life is grand!
Now, I'm not going to lie--it's not a perfect purchase. It's pricey--even by wet suit standards. AND frankly, it's not cute--sorry ladies--the SCUBA industry just doesn't seem to "get it" yet. Additionally, you will lose a tiny bit of warmth. They say a 7 in a hyperstretch is just slightly cooler than a 7 in a standard suit.
However, none of this should be enough to deter you from buying it. In fact, EVERYONE we had talked to in our area owned one and SWORE they would NEVER go back.
This was enough to make us follow suit!
Never again will I risk bodily harm to put on my wet suit...
http://www.hendersonusa.com/We are back and CERTIFIED! :) Everything went great, and we enjoyed our mini-getaway to central Minnesota. The land of 10,000 lakes has some gorgeous (and UBER expensive) lakes--we had a blast. :)
Speaking of SCUBA, we are SO excited for our honeymoon in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Cozumel, a 30 minute ferry ride from Playa Del Carmen is one of the world's premier dive destinations. We will also be diving the world famous cenotes in the riviera maya jungle, and we couldn't be any more excited about it! The Royal Playa del Carmen is a luxury all-inclusive property, but it doesn't have the luxury price tag. Of course, rates vary greatly based on season, but check out the website below to check your specific vacation dates.
We aren't hard-core divers yet, though, so we don't plan on spending our entire vacation diving--maybe a dive or two while we are there. What will be doing in the mean time? Soaking up the luxury at our resort, The Royal Playa del Carmen. We elected for an ocean-front room--it features amazing views of the Caribbean Sea, a jacuzzi built for two, and a swaying hammock on our balcony.
