Scuba Diving in Veracruz

Easter weekend, we went to Veracruz to to stay with my older host brother, Erastito, who is going to college there. We didn't really do anything at all the whole weekend, except that on Saturday, I went scuba diving. I went with a company called Veracruz Adventures. We left around 9:30 AM, after waiting for all the people who got there late (practically everyone). There were about 14 of us; two instructors, two lithe young boys who took care of the equipment on the boat, and all the customers. We drove out into the Caribbean for maybe twenty minutes and arrived at a buoy where a boat from another company was anchored (or whatever they do to stay in place; I think they just attach to a line there that is attached to a sort of permanent anchor on the bottom, but I am not sure).

By this time me and an older woman who reminded me of my mom were rather seasick, and they told me to jump into the water right away, and then the two boys handed me down all my equipment in the water. I am an idiot and got hit in the leg with my air tank, and had to work that out for a little while. It is a good thing our training included putting on and taking off equipment in the water, because that is what I had to do for this first dive.

Backing up a little bit, I went to a beginning Scuba diving course this summer to take advantage of any opportunities I might have to go diving in the Gulf. It turned out I had to make those opportunities myself, but that is for the best. There is also some question that this is against Rotary rules, but no one said anything about it before I went, and so I guess if it is and you are a Rotarian, yell at me? I hope to do it again, anyway.

After everyone finally got suited up and in the water, we partnered off. I ended up with one of the instructors, mostly since all the other people came in pairs; either married couples or father-son. We got lost from the group on the first dive, as visibility was quite poor and we hadn't followed the line down with the rest, and had to come back up and ask for directions from the deck boys (I assume there is some other, much more appropriate term for them?). We did finally arrive, at an incredibly impressive coral-covered sunken ship, rife with big tropical fishes. I am no-good writer at this point, and these experiences are really difficult to communicate, and I apologize for that.

We had to come up soon after arriving, because my air ran out frighteningly quickly. Incidentally, we were 80 ft underwater, which means the air is used up faster. This is because the pressure is higher at that depth, and more air has to come out to fill the same volume. My certification only allows me to go to 60 ft, so don't tell my instructor, please. :)

After coming up, I stayed in the water as long as I could to avoid getting seasick again, but finally I did get into the boat. I took a drink of cold water, and then immediately and quite unexpectedly threw up off the side of the boat. No one seemed to pay much heed. The other woman who had gotten seasick had also already thrown up, and from that point we both felt much better.

We continued out into the Caribbean, towards a big black object visible on the horizon. It was really unclear what it was, even when we got close to it. Apparently, a ship had sunk out there, or just broken down, and I guess the land must be high there, such that now, the upper parts of the ship are visible above the water. It is rather impressive. I was afraid to lose or damage my camera, so I didn't bring it, but I would have taken pictures. It was a cargo ship, one of those that has a giant metal rectangle visible above the deck, and that is what you could see above the horizon.

That wasn't why were there, however. For this second dive, for some reason I never figured out, we divided into two groups, and I decided that I would wait for the second group, as I was tired. I am sometimes a very foolish and oblivious person, so I got cold in the shade and laid down for a nap in the sun. I didn't think anything of this at the time, but my wetsuit was shorter than I had expected and didn't cover my legs (I had put on sunscreen on my face and arms, but I had expected the wetsuit to cover my legs). They are still red now, after a week, and stung horribly for the next few days. Certainly the worst sunburn I have had in my life. Everyone else had proper length wetsuits, and it was cold enough in the water to warrant them, especially at depth, though I was down there I didnt notice it as much as when I was hanging on the line waiting to dive. I am getting ahead of myself, though.

The first group came back, and by this time I felt much better, well-rested and no longer nauseous. I got my equipment on in the boat and did the entry where you fall backwards into the water, from a position seated on the edge of the boat. I actually don't remember practicing this ever, though maybe we did? Nor do I remember what it is called.

After I was suited up and in the water, I waited as the rest of the group got ready, hanging on the line on which we were to guide ourselves down to the reef. The water was rather chilly at this point, especially without sleeves on my wetsuit. We did finally go down, and with the activity and the distracting beauty of the reef, the feeling went away. I went around following the owner and main guide, along with my partner. The owner was filming with an underwater video camera, and knew to find the most interesting things. We saw all sorts of typical tropical fish, the little blue glowy kind, angel fish, that sort of thing, as well as a fish that camouflaged itself with the sand on the bottom and three gigantic moray eels, hiding down in there holes and snapping at us languidly. I mention these things to give some idea of the cool things we see, but the really impressive thing was the reef itself as a whole. It is excessively exquisite, and I cannot given even the slightest sense of it at all. The beauty, diversity, and seeming creativity of the natural world can't be expressed anywhere as clearly and higly concentrated as they are in a coral reef.

My air also ran out quite quickly this time, though I was down a bit longer than before. I was completely loath to go up, and my partner surfaced with me but sent me swimming back to the ship and went down. The ship was by now rather far away, as we had of course been swimming away from it, and so I was stuck with what is easily the worst part of scuba diving (except perhaps seasickness?): a surface swim. I don't really know why, but swimming at the surface seems infinitely more tiring than doing the same distance at the bottom.

If this entry is noticeably more thorough (tedious) than the previous ones, it is only because the event is more recent and I remember more of it.

Incidentally, I slept more in school today than I ever have in my life, or even thought was possible: 6 straight hours. I was awake for only 40 minutes the whole day.