First-time scuba diving for under $100? Where in the world?

by Aaron Hotfelder on

I’ve wanted to go scuba diving for as long as I can remember. To be able to inhale and exhale underwater while swimming near schools of brightly colored fish and jaw-dropping coral– how could that possibly not be a Top Ten Life Experience? My desire to go diving was only intensified on my recent trip to Mexico by the scores of other travelers who told me, “You must go scuba diving before you leave!”

“Believe me, I’d love to,” I always thought. Unfortunately, shelling out hundreds of dollars for a PADI-certification course, the multi-day training program wannabe scuba divers usually must enroll in before their first dive, was not in my meager budget.

So how did I get around this rather formidable financial obstacle? How did I go scuba diving for the first time for less than $100? Through a PADI-approved program called Discover Scuba Diving, an introductory course available at most dive shops throughout the world.

I enrolled in this $90-dollar course at Dreamtime Dive Resort, a well-run dive shop in the town of Mahahual, Mexico, located on the southern part of the Yucatan Peninsula. Dreamtime’s owner, a French expat named Yama Saad-Zoi, is a former member of the French Special Forces and, in addition to being a divemaster, also used to work as a skydiving instructor. Despite his small frame, Yama appears to be a man who not only ignores fear but seeks it out just to spit in its face.He’s also one hell of a determined guy. When Hurricane Dean damaged Dream Time in August of 2007, Yama and his dedicated staff began shoveling the sand out of his shop only days after the storm hit. “There was about one meter of sand in here,” Yama told me during a brief tour of his clean, obsessively organized shop. “The hurricane threw scuba diving equipment everywhere. We were digging out and it was like, ‘Here’s a mask, here are fins… Oh, here’s a dead body,” he joked.

Yama and his crew got the shop up and running in October, 2007, only two months after the hurricane hit Mahahual. But just when Dreamtime was getting back on its feet, swine flu arrived in Mexico, scaring away millions of tourists and thousands of would-be scuba divers. Having heard about all the bad luck to hit this particular dive shop, I felt a little bit like my enrollment in this course was my “good deed” for the day. (Clearly I do not set the bar for what is a “good deed” very high.)

The Discover Scuba Diving course itself was brief and relatively simple. After my diving instructor Victor spent about an hour of “classroom” time explaining to me the physics and fundamentals of scuba diving, we hopped into the boat and began a pleasant fifteen-minute ride to a great diving spot called Caracol. I strapped on the fins, mask, air tank, and weight belt, and plunged backwards into the water as I had been shown just moments before. Victor and I spent several minutes in shallow water so that I could become accustomed to breathing into the regulator and practice some other basic scuba diving skills, like how to clear the mask of water. Despite having to absorb a lot of information in a short amount of time, I was more than ready to begin my first dive.

We swam to a depth of about twenty feet and I rose and sank in the water like the newbie scuba diver I was, while Victor attempted to pantomime some tips from a few feet away. The dive lasted about thirty minutes, which was plenty of time to see some amazing fish and beautiful coral formations in the clear Caribbean water.

“How was it?” Yama asked when I hopped back onto the boat. The only word I could think of was the only word I needed: “Wow. Just… wow.”

On the way back to shore, Yama, the divemaster and former skydiving instructor, told me, “There are two things every person should do in their lives– skydiving and scuba diving.”

“I guess I’m halfway there now, huh?” I said.

And halfway, I could have added, is far enough for me.

For more info about Discover Scuba Diving (including the fact that it will make your PADI course cheaper if you complete it within a year of your introductory dive), go here. For info about the professional, highly-recommended Dreamtime Dive Resort, check out their website

Giant squid invade waters off San Diego

by Katie Hammel on

It sounds like the plot of campy 1970’s horror flick: aggressive giant squid sporting razor-sharp beaks and tentacles with teeth start showing up in the waters off the coast, attacking divers and grabbing their masks and hoses. But this is a real-life version of “It Came from the Deep”, and it’s happening in the waters near San Diego.

The creatures are called Humboldt squid, (though they’re also referred to as “red devils” for their color and hostile behavior) and can grow up to 5 feet long and weigh 100 pounds. They’re carnivorous and known for being particularly aggressive, especially when feeding. Scientists say they’ll even cannibalize other squid during a feeding frenzy. Though they’re native to Mexico, the squid have shown up in smaller numbers all along the west coast of the US. The last time such a large invasion occurred was in 2002, when 12 tons of dead squid eventually washed ashore near San Diego.

The squid generally stay a few hundred feet below the surface, but divers have reported seeing them at depths of 60-80 feet. Some divers have come across them without incident, but others have been bumped, pushed and pulled by antagonistic squid. Many divers are just choosing to steer clear of the squid, staying out of the water until the “carnivorous calamari” move on. Swimmers most likely won’t run into any of the squid, except for the few that wash up on the beach.

[via ABC News]

Gadlinks for Monday 6.29.09

by Brenda Yun on


Welcome to another glorious week of Gadlinks! It looks like the web is full of travel news and stories, so we’re not short of interesting links. Here are a few to keep your juices flowing:

  • Matador and the Dir Journal explore abandoned cities in the world and discover the possible appeal of these places as travel destinations.
  • I love summer in small seaside towns. These places really come alive! If you’re heading to the coast, consider staying in one of these seaside inns.
  • Take a narrative journey to the Scilly Isles 30 miles off the coast of Land’s End. The place doesn’t sound silly, though. It sounds purely magical.
  • What is the Mount Everest of scuba diving? Apparently, it’s a sunken ship called the Andrea Doria. Getting there is supposedly just as dangerous as climbing Everest, except you’re coming up for air instead of going back down.

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening!

For more Gadlinks, click HERE.

New Peter Island wants to help make a new you

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Peter Island Resort & Spa is celebrating a new look with a fresh deal. The largest private island resort in the British Virgin Islands has refurbished its 32 ocean-facing rooms and 20 beachfront junior suites and wants to show off the new look. Hey, if you just got a makeover, wouldn’t you? So, the property is offering up the “New Us, New You” package, which runs through October 31, 2009.

Remember, this is Peter Island, so you’re going to have to put out some cash, but you’ll get plenty for it. For $2,780 (or $4,020 for a junior suite), you’ll get five nights and only pay for four. On top of that, the resort is throwing in three meals a day and access to resort activities, including windsurfing, kayaking and the like. The best part – in my mind, at least – is the 75-minute Ayurvedic Abhyanga massage. The private yoga class for two doesn’t do much for me, but if you’re into yoga, I imagine you’d like it.

While you’re in the 10,000-sqft spa, check out some of the other treatments, as well. There are 13 types of facial available, with everything from collagen to caviar to botanical extracts.

If you need a reason to go relax on a private island that keeps even its own guests to a minimum, this is probably it.

Adventure Destination: Easter Island

by Kraig Becker on

Easter Island has always been a place of great mystery. Everyone is aware of the iconic stone faces that number more than 800 and stand as much as 10 meters in height and weighing in at nearly 75 tons. The figures were carved by inhabitants of the island between 1250 and 1500 AD, and their construction and transportation to various parts of the island, is still considered a remarkable feat.

The inhabitants who built the statues are a bit of a mystery themselves, and add to the mystique of Easter Island. They were a Polynesian tribe that immigrated to the island by boat across the Pacific Ocean, and over hundreds of years built up a substantial society before nearly disappearing from the place completely. What exactly happened to their society is still openly debated amongst historians and anthropologists. Many believe that the remote nature of island was their eventual undoing, as they deforested the entire place, leaving them with no natural resources. Some see it as a parable for what could happen to the planet as a whole.

Over the past few years, the island has become quite the adventure destination. It is widely considered the most remote, inhabited place on Earth, with its nearest neighbor being a tiny island called Pitcairn, which is home to just a few dozen people, and lies 1240 miles away. Easter Island falls under the jurisdiction of Chile and there are flights most days of the week.
Visitors are drawn to the stone faces of course, and they come to learn more about how they were built and eventually moved to their final resting spots. Travelers also enjoy the fact that they are actually stepping foot on a place that has its own legend and the remoteness of the island is also a huge draw. But there are also other activities for adventure travelers to enjoy. For instance, the island has earned a reputation as quite a good mountain biking destination and there are trekking trails that wander in and around the the archeological sites. Snorkeling, SCUBA diving, and horseback riding also offer interesting experiences for the adventurous.

At one time, it was nearly impossible to go to Easter Island. Its isolation kept tourists away and its mysteries intact. But now, a five hour flight from the mainland will take you to one of the most unique and remote places on Earth. A place that offers up archeological delights and plenty of outdoor adventure as well.