Unknown Dive Location 47 minutes, 90 feet
My new favorite marine animal, a stingray was chillin' on the sand as I descended into the water. Before long, the stingray flapped his mighty wings and swam away. A green moray poked his frightful head out of his coral home and told us to be on our bubbly way as well.
So the group went into a swim through and I glided over the top. Tiny purple and yellow Fairy Basslets and blazing blue chromis darted into tiny holes and crevices then out again. When Tascio emerged from the swim through, he was hugging a nurse shark. So much lovin' in this sea!
As we neared the edge of the coral canyon, I gazed into the abyss and watched a large mama spotted eagle ray and a small baby spotted eagle ray fade into the deep blue.
Another Unknown Dive Location 43 minutes, 75 feet
(Sorry about the poor dive site location information. I must have spaced out during the dive briefings.)
This was my first day to dive with Ambergris Divers. They have a nice boat with shade. Tascio and Al were the great DMs. Before this second dive, my fin strap wouldn't snap shut. I was getting very nervous that I might not get to make the dive, but Al fixed it for me. Whew!
The currents at this site were unusual. In the past I've always had a steady current that just drifts you along the reef. But here, there was a back and forth current. This was a lot of fun. One, to watch the gorgonians sway back and forth, back and forth. And two, to try and make some sort of forward progress. During the backward sweep of the current, I pushed my fins down to try and stop myself from sliding too far back. Then, during the forward sweep, I kicked kicked as hard as I could. It was one of those two steps forward, one step back situations.
Ruby's
I have really enjoyed staying at Ruby's. I chose Ruby's because people on this board said it was clean and safe. Also, the price was fantastic. The most impressive thing about Ruby's, however, is that it has character and personality. It is not a cookie-cutter hotel.
I stayed in Room Eight on the second floor facing the street. Everyday I trudged up the skinny staircase with my wet heavy dive bag on my back. Now, on account of a slight construction miscalculation, the wooded floor leading to my room was at an angle. Still wearing my sea legs and a little light headed from all the compressed air, I had to maneuver across this tilted patio. It felt at times like I was walking in the fun house at six flags!
Another great thing about Ruby's is their breakfast cafe right next door. Every morning I enjoyed a delicious Johnnycake or fried jack or a fresh fruit salad. Some mornings I enjoyed a Johnnycake and a fruit salad. But get there early. By 9am, they are usually sold out of everything!
There is another shop across the street called The Book Center Plus. It's the plus part of the business that is so useful for they also sell beer, water, snacks and music. Most of the time the man who runs the shop kept music playing in the streets, which of course I could hear in my room. It was great!
Tonight though, I was a little bummed because my Great Blue Hole trip for tomorrow had been canceled. Ambergris Divers needed at least eight divers to take the boat out and four of them had cancelled at the last minute. So, to drown my sorrows, I had gone over to the Book Center Plus and bought three Belinkins. I sat on the balcony, watched the golf carts buzz by, drank my beers and enjoyed the good music.
John, who was staying next door, come home and joined me. Before long we decided to go have dinner at Shark's Bar. Well, I went inside to change clothes when I heard this wonderful song, the same one I had heard on my second night in San Pedro. "Welcome To San Pedro" The first time I heard it, I fell in love with its mellow tropical rhythm.
Fortunately, I remembered to put my shirt back on. Then I went racing out of my room, tripped over John (who didn't know what in the world was going on), bounded down the stairs, across the street and asked if I could buy a copy of the music that was playing. It turned out to be two local guys, Wil Nunez and Dale Wallace Sr. It's a marvelous CD.
Eventually, we made it over to Shark's Bar. They have very good pizza here, but they also have two sharks trapped in a small cage. Too bad I forgot my wire cutters back in Austin or I would have set them free.