How could you say “no” to going into a wreck? Well, I was assured it was safe (relatively– there’s always risks inherent in wreck diving) so I figured why not have a brush with death!? Just kidding…!
Ah, Blue Footed Boobies! My spirit animal! They’re my favorite bird, and I never in my life thought I would ever see them in person.
I was finally able to dive at Gordo Banks! 3rd time’s the charm. The first time I cancelled because I was afraid I’d get too cold, and the second time I got sick…
Scuba certifications, depending on the area, are sometimes strictly followed and sometimes ignored completely. For example, I’ve heard Egyptian dive shops are notorious for bringing divers to sites with conditions/depths that are far too advanced for a diver’s certification level as long as the diver is willing to pay!
In Baja California, it seems like familiarity is very important to dive shops and guides. If they don’t know who you are, they’ll stick closely to your certification level and depth rating. But if you get to know the people more personally, they’re willing to do more exciting things (safely!).
In the United States, it’s a completely mixed bag in my experience. Some guides have been very lax about things, while others have been very strict.
When it comes to approaching the limits, I do try to be careful. I have a dive computer that has features that are super useful for these circumstances, and I’m good at monitoring my air consumption. I like to think I’m pretty good under pressure, literally and figuratively (I think I’m funny).
130ft is the absolute maximum for recreational diving, because once you go farther down, the risk of injury dramatically increases. That’s not even taking your air consumption into account: at 130ft, you use it up really fast!
Of course, a girl can dream about going even deeper… Technical Diving certification courses teach you how to go past that limit. I guess I’ll put that on my To-Do List too.
This year has been an exciting one for scuba! I’ve gotten back into diving after a 10-year break, taken 5 PADI specialty classes, reached 50 total dives, and seen some incredible locations and wildlife. So what better way to celebrate than to make themed Christmas cards for friends!
Unfortunately the color and glitter don’t come through well on camera, but I swear they look awesome in person.
From top to bottom, we have the vaquita, the thresher shark and common seahorse, the humpback whale, the hammerhead shark, and the orca. Most of these are the favorite aquatic animal of the friend receiving the gift. I always love hearing what people’s favorites are– I think mine are tied between sea lions and gobies.
Merry Christmas and Keep Diving!
I had the excellent fortune to see humpback whales breaching the water off the coast of San Jose del Cabo, and got to hear them while underwater! They were too far away to be seen while diving, but their calls reached us from a surprising distance.
The musical notation is not standard, having been invented developed by several musicians and mathematicians over decades specifically to encode whale calls. You can read the Smithsonian article about it right here!
This was also a bit of an artistic experiment for myself. I tried watercolor and gouache on marker paper and produced some interesting results!
What happens when you pair bad chocolate with choppy seas? Well, you can find out for yourself in the comic below!
Luckily, my next scuba outing was not a disaster!
Someone got a fantastic photo of me having a staring contest with a sea lion.
It got right up in my face and looked at me with its big ol’ eyes for a surprisingly long time! I think the sea lions enjoy the feeling of bubbles, so this fellow got right up to the source: my regulator.
Some more questions and answers, and a very simple explanation of what it takes to scuba dive.
I get questions from friends, family, and sometimes even other divers I meet on excursions. I was sharing these comics with friends, and asked if they had any questions for me… and I got quite a few!
I could probably talk about scuba all day and all night, so it’s a lot of fun to test my knowledge and see what more I need to learn and where there are gaps in my knowledge. The best way to test that is through teaching/explaining concepts to others!
The sea lions of La Paz are famous! Los Islotes is a well known scuba location, and the sea lions are beloved by many for their friendliness. I see folks online–influencers, travel bloggers, etc.– all the time talking about how much they love diving the site.
There is actually an infection that humans can catch from seals, aptly called Seal Finger. Since I haven’t turned into a seal or sea lion (yet), I think I’m okay. I haven’t heard of any instances around La Paz, so maybe it doesn’t affect sea lions?
Some people, especially online, will complain that specialty classes are a waste of time in general. I can’t tell you how useful all the classes I’ve taken have been so far! And in looking over all the offered classes through the various scuba organizations, every single one of them sounds like a fantastic learning opportunity.
The Peak Performance Buoyancy class in particular has been the most useful for myself. Since taking the class, I’m not perfect by any means, but I’ve dramatically improved my ability to move around underwater. That means I can get super close to some amazing things without worrying that I’ll crash into them!
I really enjoy seeing the small things, like little sea creatures and tiny surprises, and now I can do that so much more easily. Every dive has become a new opportunity to practice my skills.
This was a productive, and very scenic, trip. And the very best thing of all …
No Humboldt Squid!
And hey, if you think I’m exaggerating, you can see what other people have to say about these funky guys on YouTube! The video is a bit dramatized, but it’s a pretty fun watch.
Open Water Saga 