Making the dream, reality.
March, 2009
After a week long trip filled with incredible diving in Roatan, Honduras with my good friend Wing Man I decided that this would be the place that I would finally put the wheels in motion. I was going to do it. The economy had gone to the dogs in Toronto and it was now or never. What better way to ride out the struggling economic state than by packing up and taking off to a tropical island to become a PADI Scuba Instructor?! Hard part over, my mind was set. I won’t lie, what came after was not all that easy, the packing, the lugging, the government offices, the paperwork for healthcare, insurance and the tedious job of selling my car and getting out of my apartment lease BUT I was moving to a tropical island!!! OK, ok, ya, I was terrified. I knew no one, I was leaving all my loved ones behind, I would have no income, and I might even have to live on pb sammies for a little while but again…..um…DIVING OFF A TROPICAL ISLAND!!! WHOOO HOOOO!!!! *insert happy dance here*
AOW in my PJ’s??
Thursday July 2nd, 2009
There I was 2 days before leaving Toronto to fly down to Roatan, Honduras. With my OW under my belt I had to complete my AOW next. I sat there brewing my morning tea and wiped the sleep from my eyes. I hopped back under the covers and turned on my laptop. Off to the PADI website I went, signed into my account and began the theory section of my course. It was unbelievably easy to navigate from section to section gathering the knowledge I needed and completing the quizzes. I breezed through the deep dive, navigation, boat diver, wreck diver as well as the other courses needed to complete the AOW. Each section came with detailed information, photos and quizzes to insure that I was learning what I needed to know. I had planned to do it over a few days but as I sat there I couldn’t seem to drag myself away. 5.5 hours and still in my pj’s, I had them all done!!! I couldn’t believe it! I will admit that my mind had been stuffed like a fully loaded baked potato but we all know how delicious those are with all the fixings! I would totally recommend it to anyone. At the end it provides you with a print out that you then bring to your dive centre so you can complete your actual AOW dives. Bottom line, it was a perfect way to spend my morning.
Look boss the plane, the plane!!!
July 4th , 2009
4am, the taste of a well deserved goodbye party still on my breath, and butterflies in my stomach that were celebrating a much overdue plan. I picked up my bags and headed to the airport. My 6am flight was on time and everyone seemed as excited as I was to be there. The flight into Roatan went well and when I stepped off the plane I was greeted with a heat I had not been prepared for! It was like a slap in the face and I instantly wondered if I had brought enough deodorant. The dive centre that I had made my arrangements with was waiting for me. I hopped in the van and headed to West End to settle into my new digs. The West End Hotel is simple, clean and perfect and will be my new home for the next 6 months. I couldn’t have been happier to see that it had air conditioning, as I’m sure I lost half my body weight in sweat in the short ride from the airport. I unpacked my things and decided to brave the heat and walk over to my dive centre. Sueno Del Mar Dive Centre is about a 7 min walk from my hotel along the only road in West End. It’s made of sand and my flip-flops were like 5-year-old kids flapping against my heels. Once there (after a short stop for a very large bottle of water) I met the owner Ray and the instructor Stuart who will be doing my course. I decided to give myself one day off before starting my AOW dives so I could lay on the beach and get used to my new surroundings so I booked my first AOW dives for Monday. If I had to sum up this day in one word it would be “STOKED!!!” Oh, and by the way, I had a pb sammy today. ;)