Barbados holiday, Post 10: Scuba diving

On Thursday (May 27th), our second last full day in Barbados, we went scuba diving! We were collected from our guesthouse in the early afternoon and driven to the scuba instructor's office in Bridgetown.

The dive company was Eco Dive Barbados, which is ranked the #1 "thing to do" in Barbados on TripAdvisor (although this wasn't why we chose this company - we just came across them while researching our diving options the previous day!). The company is run by a man called Andrew, and a younger guy called Mikey works with him.

As I don't have my PADI certification, I had to start by doing an introductory course in Andrew's office, and a shallow water practice with the equipment before getting to the dive site. A guy from Toronto, Paul, was also doing the introductory course. This plus a one-tank dive cost USD $100. And because Ben has his PADI certification, he could join in on the actual dive for $75. He also got to sit in on the course (basically just Andrew talking to the three of us around a table), so that was great.

Once we'd finished learning the basics in Andrew's office, we boarded the boat and set off for Brown's Beach, where Paul and I could practice in shallow water.

Andrew casting off...

At the practice site, Mikey got into the water with us to make sure we could breathe, remove and replace our regulator, and drop and recover our regulator. As it was only 6 months since we went diving in Hawaii (my first time), I felt fairly comfortable with all of this.

It was good for my underwater confidence that I felt a bit more responsible for myself this time too, due to Paul being a complete newbie and therefore needing most of the instructor's attention - that was me in Hawaii! I'm definitely keen to get certified so I don't have to keep doing these introductory courses every time I want to dive. :)

Ben took these photos from the boat at the practice site...











Scary photo...



And here's Ben...



After that, we headed to the dive site for The Real Thing!! Mikey stayed on the boat while Andrew led our underwater adventure. Ben got a few extra minutes, as Andrew let him descend the rope before Paul and I had even been tipped backwards off the side of the boat (the easiest way to get into the water with all that gear on). Ben later said it felt like he was down there for ages by himself before we arrived!

The main attraction for scuba divers in Barbados is the abundance of sunken wrecks, and we saw two of them (the Berwyn and the Bajan Queen), plus an old pier, during our 40 minute dive. Unlike last time, there was no underwater camera, so we can't share with you what this looked like! The visibility wasn't too good - a recent influx of plankton gave the water a murky green tinge - but we saw lots of schools of colourful fish up close. At one stage there was a whole wall of little fish just a few inches in front of me!

One of the most amazing moments of the dive was when we held on to the top of a sunken ship with our fingertips, and floated there for a minute watching the abundant marine life that lived in the rusted out wreck. There were bright blue dory fish, long-snouted yellow trumpet fish, and lots of others. The underwater world really is mesmerising!

It was all over far too quickly - Paul ran out of air first so we all had to go back up. I had only just passed the halfway mark on my air tank... Andrew said women always use less air (contrary to popular opinion?). Our dive had lasted 41 minutes, but time seems to fly underwater!

Overall, Ben and I both preferred the dives we did in Hawaii (purely because of the turtles; they were such a highlight!), but our instructor in Barbados was far better - nicer and more professional. Andrew and Mikey were both very likeable and reassuring. We can definitely recommend Eco Dive Barbados!

After the dive, Andrew drove us all home, and recommended an Italian pizza restaurant we passed en route - Mama Mia's. (Andrew has an Italian wife and they lived in Italy for a year.) So that evening Ben and I took the bus to Mama Mia's and enjoyed a big pizza each. (Note to Delle: mine had mascarpone on it; I chose it thinking of you!)







Afterwards, we walked part of the way home along the beachfront boardwalk, and then took a bus the rest of the way. A wonderful day!