When we were planning our honeymoon to Bonaire - the biggest factor involved in the decision to go there was Chris and his past experiences with the island. He’d been about 4-5 times before.
The island is known for it’s diving. As a matter of fact, Bonaire is one of the premire dive locations in the Caribbean.
Problem? Neither one of us were certified as scuba divers. When Chris travelled to Bonaire, he snorkled, but never dove.
Me? I’ve never really had an interest in scuba diving - - I guess it’s just something that never occurred to me. Once I thought about it - I thought it might be fun. But, you see - I have this small problem of claustraphobia. It’s not so small really - - it’s a factor. It’s not the fear of small confined spaces, specifically - but rather a fear of small, confined spaces with limited air supply that freaks me out.
I know - I’m weird. I’ve always had issues with air, for whatever reason. Example? Want to freak me out? Put a blanket or something over my face and leave it there, even lightly - - I freak out. Breath into a paper bag? Forget it, not me! Nuh uh!
I had some worries that I wouldn’t do well with scuba diving because of my air issues. I mean - - a tank with a little tube with a mouthpiece - - immersed in water and that is your ONLY air supply?
I was concerned.
Yet - see that picture of me? That’s me. I did it - overcame the whole air supply issue (note - why is the song “I’m All Outta Love” going through my head at the moment?) and went through the 4 day course and am now a PADI open water certified diver. Yay me.
Not only did I do the course - but I LOVE scuba diving! We spent almost all the rest of our honeymoon under the sea communing with the fish, jelly fish, octopus, sea turles and what not. We did some really awesome diving on Bonaire and saw all sorts of wonderful creatures under the water. We went down as far as 100 feet during a dive that involved a ship wreck that sat at the bottom of the reef we were diving at the time.
It was truly awesome. Diving also gives you these incredible moments of relaxation and meditation - I think it would be impossible to stress about life’s matters while floating around the beauty that is found beneath the surf. It’s simply incredible.
We’re looking to plan our next dive vacation again - we can’t wait!
I...
9:14 pm on July 18th, 2006
Congrats on overcoming your fears and diving! I was certified back in college, but sadly Minnesota doesn’t offer many good dive spots. I thought about doing a little when we were in Maui last year, but sadly nobody else was interested.
11:54 pm on July 18th, 2006
Thanks, Astro - it was truly something to overcome, I just can’t explain the breathing thing!
No diving in Minnesota? What’s wrong with you - don’t want to do any Great Lakes diving? *teeth chatter* Brrr!
We had a chat about the certification and if our honeymoon was the only time we’d use it. It would be a shame not to dive on a semi-regular basis now that I realize how much I enjoy it. We’re already looking into what it would take to do a few dive weekends in Miami sometime over the next year - I don’t think we are able to get away from a long vacation for awhile (I think this past month did us in on that for awhile!) - - but maybe a few weekends here and there, in the country if there are any decent dive sites here.
6:21 am on July 19th, 2006
Not NEARLY enough detail, kiddo! What sites? Which ones did you love?
10:12 am on July 19th, 2006
Balb! I am preparing a second (pictoral) Bonaire post in honor of you, your DVD (which was phenomenal, by the way) and all the incredible advice that you gave to me prior to my trip
I’m trying to pull together the pictures we took down there (we have thousands!), all into one post… just to give you a little… what do they call it… Post-Bonaire Depression (PBD).
In the meantime - you should know that Chris and I toasted you on the eve of our last dive. It was Wednesday evening, we planned to fly out Friday morning, so we knew this would be our last dive (sniff!), so we opted for a night dive (our first and only) at Bari Reef.
Balb, it was incredible - like absolutely nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Did you ever do a night dive and shut your light off at about 60 feet (or whatever footage you’re at). It is pitch.. I mean pitch dark. If you move your hands around in front of your face - the little creatures illuminate and glow and it looks like you’re standing in the middle of a solar system of stars. Just incredible.
Afterwards, we had dinner at Den Laman right there at Bari Reef. Ordered a bottle of champagne.. we toasted many things that night - - you were among them because I said I would after all the great advice and ideas you provided!
More to come in the post I’m putting together one of these days
Thank you, Balb!
10:12 pm on July 19th, 2006
Cool pics on your site. Come visit and bring a flag. You’ll see what I mean when you get there.
Thank you in advance. NC - Debbie
8:49 am on July 20th, 2006
I’m just catching up. It appears you had a perfect wedding and honeymoon. Without even knowing you I couldn’t be happier. Enjoy the ride and the rest of your lives.
11:20 am on July 20th, 2006
I couldn’t do it. Scuba diving scares me as much as elevators do. I’m afraid I’ll get stuck down there and die, just like I’m afraid the elevator will get stuck and I’ll sufficate.
7:42 am on July 21st, 2006
Blush. Can’t wait! But mostly can’t wait for the dive stories. Being a diver is like being in the armed forces: it gives you a million stories that bore the shit out of everyone else, but are of trememdous interest to other divers, even the minutiae.
So don’t be shy with the pix and yarns…the non divers can skip’em, and the rest of us will eat it up!
1:38 pm on July 22nd, 2006
Hello,
I’m a freelance writer doing a story about the obsession many women have with purses. I noticed a few years back that you commented that you never have carried a purse. Is that still true? Is there any reason why you don’t? Can you share some words of wisdom to other women on how to get along without one?
Thank you very much!
~Sarah McCarthy
Email: McCartsw@whitman.edu
2:22 pm on July 24th, 2006
Wouldn’t mind diving in Superior at all, you just need a thicker wetsuit. There’s a couple really cool shipwrecks to dive on that I guess are pretty easy to get to there. The only things that get in the way are nobody to dive with (mrs. knight has absolutely no interest) and the 5 hour drive to get there.
If you’re looking for dive vacation spots, check out Micronesia. One of the guys we used to work with a bunch was way into diving and that was their #1 place to go in the world. Said it wasn’t too bad to get to and was dirt cheap when you got there, IIRC…
5:43 pm on October 28th, 2007
[...] New York. We then flew to Bonaire (only after spending 7 hours in Aruba) for our honeymoon where I took up scuba diving for the very first time, and got some great underwater [...]