I'm a PADI Advanced Diver :-)

The day I was to become a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver! 

Up bright and early and heading down to the marina, ready for 2 dives in the morning. We were joined by David from last week, who was fitting in one last Tenerife dive before heading back to the UK. 

Teide Divers were also present with Phil, his intern Lauren and Mark, Neil and April, all there explore Poco Naufragio and Pequeno Valle with us. Melissa had also joined in with the added privilege of boat duties.

The first dive at Poco Naufragio was the setting for my Deep Dive adventure dive. We descended down to a depth of 16 metres, then a little bit further until we reached 29 metres. Pete had previously got me to complete some simple maths equations before getting on the boat, as well as the gruelling challenge of putting different shaped plastic blocks into the matching shaped slot of a basic child’s toy. I was timed doing both of these things on the surface and down at 29 metres, to get to grips with the effects that deep diving has on people. I was slower with both things underwater but did relatively well if you ask me!

On the dive we were hoping to interact with some Rays. We saw a Ray but he left us and unfortunately didn’t come back. The dive was great though and everybody enjoyed. Our second dive to Pequeno Valle, and also my Boat Adventure dive, was equally enjoyable and provided lots of life and diversity in the reefs, including an Angel Shark.

That particular area is popular with fishermen, which meant there was some ropes and cages to see, along with some old, lost equipment that I would be keen to get down there and clean up as it is a fantastic dive site.

Zippy and I had a go at setting a time for the 100m tired diver tow back at the marina, I chose a technique that didn't work well for me and managed a time of 03:48. I can and will do better next time! A late breakfast capped off the morning nicely thanks to the Aberdeen restaurant, then it was back to the shop for the afternoon.

The next morning saw Pete, Alice, Zippy and I popping down to the marina for some confined water rescue scenarios. Practicing the rescue techniques for tired and panicked divers at the surface and at the bottom was educational and quite good fun in between serious times. We were joined by Ducky (the little yellow rubber duck from the dive shop) who kindly volunteered to pretend to be missing, only to be rescued by local heroes Zippy and Bungle. This all went relatively well and Ducky was returned safe and sound. Pete treated us to a couple of hours of boat cleaning, then it was time to attempt a 800m snorkel. It was much harder than I had previously thought. 800m is a long way, especially when you own fins that are a touch too small for your feet! A disappointing 2 out of 5 is another thing that will be beaten next time I try.

Whilst down at the marina, there was a strange object floating in the water. It appeared from a distance to be a Jellyfish and when we questioned Pete about its identity, he confirmed it was a Portugese Man’O War. Naturally this sparked slight panic! As it got closer it became clear that it was nothing more than a harmless plastic bag floating on the surface and Pete had been winding us up! Having been scared of the bag for a few minutes, we named it the ‘Portugese Bag’O War!

Note to self; DON’T BE SCARED OF HARMLESS PLASTIC BAGS!

Monday was soon knocking at the door, with Melissa, Zippy and I off to meet Phil from Teide Divers, Lauren, Kepo and Mark at Abades. Before we left the shop, Zippy was loading up the car with cylinders and decided to carry them about 100m down the road rather than asking Melissa to move the car closer to the shop,. This provided some quality morning laughs to start the day with.

A bit of shore diving (entering the water from shore as opposed to a boat) was excellent at Abades. Its one of Melissa’s favourite sites and I can see why. There was plenty of life, including a Common Ray and an Octopus, as well as great reef to explore. Zippy and I took notes about the site, so we would be prepared to lead other divers around one day soon.

Later that afternoon, Pete took us out for some Open Water Rescue Scenarios at Yellow Mountain. We were again joined by Ducky and Alice. Some tired diver scenarios went well between Zippy and I, then it was time for Ducky to be hidden and recovered by us again. Unfortunately Ducky was hidden much further away than he should have been which made our search pattern unsuccessful. Alice had to buy a round of beers later that evening to compensate.

Tuesday morning we were joined by Hannah who had joined us for a PADI Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) session. We were down in the pool for a few skills and some kit familiarisation, with Alice leading the session and Zippy and I there observing and supporting when needed. I had my first shot at using the underwater camera in the pool, which resulted in some quite bad photos! Hannah enjoyed herself and completed the skills she needed to do, then It was time for a couple of dives at Yellow Mountain. I was on boat duties for the first dive and then observing down below on the second.

In the afternoon we went back out to finish the Open Water Rescue Scenarios. Ducky was ‘missing’ but Zippy and I made short work of finding and recovering him to the boat. He is now back at home and in a stable condition! The scenarios that involved me rescuing Zippy from the surface and underwater and vice versa went well and I was relatively pleased with my efforts. When It was my turn to be rescued and lifted back on to the boat, Zippy and Alice had a tough time lifting me out of the water which I found quite funny! I’m not exactly the smallest or lightest person to be dragging onto a boat !!!

After getting back to the shop, some more swimming stamina training awaited. Down to the pool for a 400m non stop swim, which I have been practicing for, resulted in a time of 7 minutes. I am really pleased with the times I am getting at the moment as when I first arrived I was worn out after 100m!! I only need to get my time down another 30 seconds and I’ll score a 5 out of 5.

Note to self; SWIM A LITTLE BIT FASTER.

On Wednesday morning we had another opportunity to finalise mapping details for Alien Rock and Crocodile Rock. Off to Yellow Mountain with clean writing slates and armed with pencils, details were taken aswell as more mental notes. I think I could lead a dive round both of the sites (ish), but I wont know until I give it a shot soon. I also had to demonstrate my first dive brief before dropping in which I enjoyed doing, but need to work on a little bit.

Before the dives it was another try at the 800m Snorkel. I went without a wetsuit to see if I could get a faster time but it failed. I actually managed to get a slower time which was a bit rubbish. After the dives, Zippy and I had some more practice at the 100m Tired Diver Tow. I tried a different technique and managed a faster time than last. I am still aiming to be quicker in both tests when they get officially timed.

Note to self; SWIM A LITTLE BIT FASTER.

More from me next week!

Chris (Bungle)

Turtles, Sea Horses and Divemasters

Maandag hebben we opnieuw een drukke dag gehad! Melissa bracht een bezoekje aan de familie schildpadden in El Puertito met Sara en James. Pete maakte twee duiken bij Yellow Mountain met Louise, Steve en Harry, terwijl ik een snorkeltrip leidde, ook bij Yellow Mountain. Tijdens de snorkeltrip leidde ik Jan en Jackie al snorkelend rond bij Yellow Mountain.

Finally a PADI Divemaster, although my internship is nearly over :-(

Monday was another busy day! Melissa took Sara and James to El Puertito to see the Turtles. Pete did two dives at Yellow Mountain with Steve, Louise and Harry, while I led my first snorkel trip, also at Yellow Mountain. I led Jan and Jackie around at the surface, to the sites where we normally dive.

We started at the tip of Swim Through, which sticks out of the water just a little bit. We saw numerous Blue-fin Damsel fish, Ornate Wrasse and a couple of Cotton Spinners. Next, we snorkelled to Alien Rock, where we saw even more Damsel fish and Wrasse, along with a couple of Starfish. Finally, we explored the shallow waters near the coast as well. It was nice to see the underwater world again from a different perspective.



Tuesday and Wednesday were two calm days in the shop. On Tuesday, the sad moment of saying goodbye to Harry, had arrived. After spending so much time together with Harry and his family, it was hard to see them leave. I've had a great time with them and miss them very much! I will definitely come to visit you in Northern Ireland.

On Thursday, the two new interns; Chris and George, started their internship. They will be here for 8 weeks. I got the morning off, while they had their induction day. Chris is a PADI Open Water Diver and George is a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver. After lunch I joined the rest of the team again, and we were off to Yellow Mountain for Chris and George's first two dives with Dive and Sea Tenerife. The dives went well, and before we realized, the day was already over.

Friday morning, we started with the first two dives of Chris's PADI Advanced Open Water course. The first dive was PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy adventure dive. To practice his buoyancy skills, he started with a hover. Just like we did during my own PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy, adventure dive, we got the hoops into the water. First George and me both had a go, then followed by Chris. He quickly got the hang of it and managed to get through the hoops without touching them after just a few practices. We also got to see some Black Sea Hare's.

The next dive was the PADI Navigation adventure dive, where Chris learned how to use his compass and use natural navigation to navigate on a dive site. Using our compasses, we swam in a square pattern and a reciprocal line. During our last task, a 50 meter reciprocal line, we drifted off a bit while we were making our way back to the boat, because of the current. Thanks to Pete, we quickly managed to make our way back to the boat.

Saturday early morning the moment had finally arrived; I was about to do my 60th dive! This was the only thing left for me to achieve for my PADI Divemaster certification. This dive was going to be a night dive, my second night dive, to Poco Naufragio. Sofie joined us for this dive, which was part of her PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course. 

Sofie, Chris, George, Pete and I did the dive, and we all had a great time, exploring the waters with our torches in pitch black. Melissa, who got out of bed very early, even though she was feeling ill, stayed on the boat to give us the chance to do the dive. Thanks Melissa!

After doing this magnificent dive, I am now a certified PADI Divemaster!!

As if I wasn't thrilled enough already about my final certification, that same day my dive computer, the Mares Puck, came in. Hopefully, I'll be able to do a lot of dives with my brand new addition to my personal diving kit.

On Sunday I had a nice lay in, followed by a calm, relaxed day. I felt that I really needed that break, after going on trips and visiting several parks on the last couple of Sundays.

I now have less than a week left, I will enjoy my last few (warm) days of my internship here in beautiful Tenerife.

My first week in Tenerife

The first day of something completely new for me. I had been diving before but i was about to take in a whole load more information.

The PADI Divemaster internship got going with a really warming introduction from the guys at Dive and Sea Tenerife. Finding out the content of the course and the general operations of the Dive Centre was a lot to take in, but interesting at the same time.

I had met my room mate and fellow intern 'George' the previous day and he and I were now busy learning what the next 8 weeks would bring. An informative DVD and some Q&A topped off the intro nicely. It was then time for us to get some kit together and head out for a dive to see how good we were (or weren’t).

My first dive in a few months was a bit of a nightmare to say the least! Being a bit nervous and a bit panicky didn't help with the buoyancy trouble I was having, I also lost my fin strap twice which didn't make things any better either.
Pete (the instructor), Alice (Another intern who has just passed her Divemaster certification), George and I then headed back down for a second dive, where the nerves had calmed a bit but buoyancy was still an issue. I was however, here to learn, so realising where I was going wrong and discussing it was very helpful. We de-briefed and discussed what was happening the following day, which concluded the first day.

George and I also ended the day with the new names 'Zippy and Bungle'. I am now Bungle.

Friday was an earlier start, we had the kit set up and were down to the boat by 08.30. We headed off to Juigarro Arrecife for 2 dives, which were Peak Performance Buoyancy and Navigation Training Adventure dives.
The buoyancy training was a needed practice area for me, so when a couple of hoops were set up at different heights, it was good to learn how to use buoyancy skills to swim through them. Alice kindly held them still for me and I managed to kick her in the face as I swam through.... (Sorry Alice).

The Navigation training went a lot smoother, I was managing to control myself underwater a bit better now and relaxing into the dives. Finding my way to a point and back using a compass was a skill that I remembered from my PADI Open Water course last year. It only went wrong when I was asked to navigate back to the boat when I hadn't been keeping track of where we were.
Note to self; PAY ATTENTION.


Saturday morning we were scheduled for going on a night dive. Waking up at 04.30 so we could have everything ready and be in the water while it was still dark was hard work, but worth every second. I loved it! We were joined by Sofie who was doing her PADI Advanced Open Water course, as well as a very tired and cold Melissa who got out of bed for boat duties so we could go diving.

Pete, Alice, George, Sofie and I descended into a different world! A dive site is a fantastic place when you can hardly see anything, but what you can see is brilliant. My buoyancy was getting there, Zippy and I had good buddy communications, we saw an Octopus and it was still before 06.30!

There were 2 more Adventure dives planned for the day but weather conditions didn’t allow. Some hot tea and some swimming stamina training was the replacement for a deep water dive and a drift dive.

A nice relaxing weekend consisted of reading, swimming, reading, swimming, reading and some more swimming! Ploughing through information on EFR (Emergency First Response) and CPR, as well as the PADI Rescue Diver manual would help prepare me for the next weeks exams.

Monday soon arrived with 2 dives to Yellow Mountain. The dives were lead by Alice who is now a PADI Divemaster, after completing her 60th dive in the dark on Saturday morning. Being led around Alien Rock, I was taking notes and trying to remember points so I was familiar with the site. I had a temporary moment of confusion half way round and from that point on my notes made no sense and I was none the wiser... My second set of notes that I took as we navigated the Swim Through site made more sense, which was much better.

I am by now more relaxed in the dives which allows more time to pay attention to some of the life that swims around you. Checking out all of the little fishies was cool, There are some amazing creatures that live underwater. I was however slightly cautious, as was Zippy, when Alice offered us a harmless Arrow Crab to hold for a photo. Its tiny but it has pincers!

Note to self; DON'T BE SUCH A WIMP.

We welcomed Matt along on Tuesday morning for dives 1&2 of his PADI Open Water Diver referral. Pete was teaching, with Zippy and Bungle on the sidelines, watching and learning how its done. I think I learnt as much as Matt did while watching what was going on. Over the course of the 2 dives we explored some more of Yellow Mountain while Matt completed all of his required skills and seemed to enjoy himself. On one of the dives, I became fascinated when I saw a Blue Starfish, but seeing new and fascinating things is regular on dives. A good days diving!

Zippy and I sat our EFR and CPR exams in the afternoon, as well as some more swim stamina training, ready for the 400mswim part of the course.

Matt was back Wednesday morning, bright and early for the final 2 dives of his course. Dave joined us on the boat as well, ready to be led on 2 dives (including his 100th) led by Alice. I joined Pete and Matt underneath for some more observational learning. We were treated to a little, tiny, baby Angel Shark, which was, buried in the sand (good spot Pete), which we had photos taken with.
Finding a nice spot on each dive, Matt completed the rest of his required skills with no problem, which now qualifies him as a PADI Open Water Diver (congratulations Matt). A good day on the boat and some good dives meant smiles all round!

The afternoon brought the PADI Rescue Diver exam paper (94%, not bad), a trip to get some tanks filled and a session of mopping the shop floor.

Thursday morning and we were getting set up to head out for some more Yellow Mountain action. More training for us new interns was on the cards! We were practising how to use Surface Marker Buoys or SMB's. Deploying an inflatable plastic sausage from down below, to mark our positions on the surface. It went well, I was pleased with my efforts!

The next dives were some more mapping dives to Alien Rock and Crocodile Rock. Mapping the sites in a little more detail while still learning how to get round them both. Alice led while Zippy and I tagged along, taking more notes and mental pictures that 'should' direct us around the sites.

We stopped for another Arrow crab and this time when it was offered to me I was a bit braver and held him for a photo. He was harmless so I don’t know what all the previous fuss was about!

Note to self; STILL DONT BE SUCH A WIMP.

More from me next week about my adventures in Tenerife.

Chris (AKA Bungle)

Welcome to George ~ AKA Zippy !

Hello my name is George (18) also know as Zippy in the dive centre.


Thanks to plans of going to university in September, now is the perfect time for me to expand my diving knowledge. I am currently qualified to PADI Advanced Open Water diver, hopefully soon to be PADI Rescue diver and finally PADI Divemaster.

Due to initially learning to dive in Tenerife, it was the perfect location to continue my diving adventure and take my sport to a professional level.

First week blog update.

One week into my PADI Divemaster internship and all is well.

I met my room mate and fellow intern Chris on Tuesday, little and large being the summarising phrase. We started our first proper day with high expectations and it appeared so did our new instructors, beginning with a shop introduction followed by a presentation on what to expect over the next 8 weeks. Soon Chris and I were getting together the kit and heading down to the marina with Pete, Alice (Kim) and Melissa to show what we could do underwater.
As expected this didn’t go quite to plan, with poor buoyancy and high air consumption, on returning to the marina after two dives myself and Chris proceeded to clean and pack the kit back into the car under the watchful eye and instruction of Alice, who has just recently finished her PADI Divemaster certification and decided to stay in Tenerife for awhile.

Day one finished with some tea making practise and a nervously awaited debrief, to see where we could improve. For some reason outside of my knowledge, we left the de-brief with the new names Zippy and Bungle!

Day two consisted of two more dives, this time for Bungles PADI Advanced Open Water Course.
The dives consisted of Peak Performance Buoyancy and Navigation dives, in which we ‘perfected’ the control of our buoyancy and navigation skills resulting in us getting lost and having to rely on the all-knowing Pete to return us to the boat. I also successfully managed to lose a fin strap clip, despite being told not to unclip it moments before. Luckily I had a spare for the next day.

On to the Saturday of our first week and the night dive which entailed a pleasant 4am wake up to be at the shop for 5. It was mine and Bungle’s first night dive so nerves ran high prior to getting in the water, however soon settled after descending. The so called ‘marmite dive’, due to either loving or hating the experience, turned out to be something I loved and cannot wait for more.

However on return the weather conditions changed for the worse, resulting in the two dives planned later that day to be cancelled. On the other hand this left me plenty of time to get my teeth into the Emergency First Responder (first aid) and PADI Rescue manuals required for the completion of my PADI Rescue diver course.
Sunday was a well earned / needed day off to read, rest and practise for the 400m timed swim needed for our PADI Divemaster certification.


Sufficiently refreshed, we began the next day with once again helping get the kit ready and heading off to the marina to have some more fun under the sea. Alice, lead both of the two dives and did very well.
My day did not quite go to plan either, due to having trouble on the boat connecting my regulators due to broken O rings. After returning from diving, we had the lovely surprise of an PADI Open Water exam to complete, in order to test our knowledge, which I thankfully achieved nearly 100% correct. Feewww.

Moving on to Tuesday the 20th in which Bungle and I had the pleasure of assisting and observing on Matts PADI Open Water dives 1 & 2, which saw him one step closer to becoming a fully fledged diver. However after the consecutive dives, I was starting to notice the cold, finding myself shivering near the end of dives. Some shopping was in order.
Upon returning from the marina myself and bungle had yet another fantastic surprise of an Emergency First Responder exam to sit, again which I thankfully passed... Just. We finished the day with a debrief and a touch more of tea making.

Wednesday, I found myself on boat duty, consisting of chilling out on the boat while everyone goes diving, it’s a hard life. When I returned from the morning of relaxation Bungle and I both had to undergo an intense medical exam to ensure we were still alive. Following this, I couldn’t resist going shopping to purchase an ice vest to keep me warmer under water, so me and Melissa headed to the sweet shop for divers that is Pro Sub. Upon returning to the dive shop yet another exam awaited, this time the PADI Rescue diver exam. Which I passed with 92%. Not a bad day at-all.

Finally on to today and more diving, including mine and Bungle’s PADI Surface Marker Buoy speciality dives as well as an opportunity to begin mapping the Alien Rock and Crocodile Rock dive sites, with the ever reliable navigator Alice. Also I managed to use my lovely new ice vest which proved to be a worthy investment. Adding to a good days diving, as we approached the boat on our last dive we caught a glimpse of an angle shark. Cooool.

In the afternoon, following more swimming practise Bungle and I had the enjoyment of completing the practical side of our Emergency First Response course which involved attempting to save ‘Australian Dave’s’ life many a time.

All in all, a very good first week and I cannot wait for the challenges that lie ahead.
George

Last week on my Divemaster Internship

It's incredible, just one week to go and the internship is over!

This week started with Moniek's last two dives. For the first dive we were on our way to Nelson's Point, a for Harry and me new dive site. This dive was Moniek's third dive, with Harry briefing and leading the dive, while Moniek and I buddied up. 

The dive went well, we've seen a lot of different aquatic life and Moniek did very well. The highlights of the dive were Barracuda, Trumpetfish and a Black Moray Eel. Moniek has also held an Arrow Crab, what she enjoyed very much. Unfortunately, when holding the Arrow Crab, she landed with her knee on a Black Long-spined Sea Urchin, resulting in a number of painful stings... Auwgh!

The second dive it was my turn to lead the dive to Swim Through. As Moniek is a PADI Discover Scuba Diver, she is limited to a maximum depth of 12 metres. Because I am used to a limit of usually 18 or 30 metres, it was sometimes difficult to keep a close eye on our depth. We managed to stay within a neat 11.4 meters, and that was my own depth. One of the reasons we ask divers always to stay behind and above the dive leader, is that if the dive leader by accident descended half a meter deeper, the other divers would still remain within their depth limits.

Still tired from the previous day in Siam Park and our brief visit to Carnival, plus our skin still as red as a lobster, Moniek and I had another relaxed afternoon. We planned to go shopping in Los Cristianos, but since the bus had still not shown up after 40 minutes of waiting, we decided to go back to San Blas. In this small shopping centre within walking distance, we bought some souvenirs to take home.

Tuesday we were joined by Barry, an Open Water Diver from America. After picking Barry up at his hotel, we got on the boat for two dives to Alien Rock and Swim Through. The visibility was still pretty poor, and we got a bit lost on our way to Alien Rock. 

Thanks to our compasses we were able to find our way back to the boat, if only we hadn't encountered a slight problem. Harry had managed to use most of his air. Thanks to my Specialty course SMB (Surface Marker Buoy), I was able to let up my SMB, and get the attention of Pete, who had stayed on the boat. 

Thanks to Pete's excellent skipper skills, he was able to retrieve the anchor and pick us up by boat, without to much delay, we prepared ourselves for the second dive. 

Now it was time for me to brief and lead our next dive to Swim Through. During the dive we spotted an octopus, which allowed us to take a few photos. At the end of the dive we also saw a Wide-eyed Flounder and a whole bunch of Arrow Crabs. Meanwhile, Moniek, which we already said goodbye to in the morning at the shop, had begun her journey back to the Netherlands and was probably in her air plane by now.

On Wednesday, Melissa came back from England, and it was also Harry's last day of his internship. Harry and I did the last tasks to be completed, such as thoroughly washing the boat, which now looks spic and span again, and finish the last part of the shop clean-up. After a last drink at Big Al's, we raised our wine glasses for Harry, who now finished his internship as a certified PADI Divemaster. He will stay in Tenerife for another week as a little holiday with his girlfriend and son. They have picked the right week, as since Wednesday, it has been a lot warmer than the past few weeks, about 26 degrees. This is due to warm air coming from the Sahara desert, which also brings a lot of dust along. This makes the air look brown-like, and even worse, both the boat and the freshly washed car are all dirty again!

Thursday it was time for our medical statement, that we need for our PADI Divemaster certification to be valid. Harry came to the shop that morning, specially for his medical. After a brief medical examination and a questionnaire about our medical history, the doctor declared us healthy. Tim and Charlotte from Wales, who are friends of Pete and Melissa, arrived in Tenerife that morning and we enjoyed an English breakfast for lunch together. The rest of the day we updated our blogs, and did the usual online promotion activities. It seems that Harry doesn't really want to end his internship just yet!

Sara, from Belgium and James, from Australia accompanied us on Friday morning for two dives to Yellow Mountain. This was the first time I went diving without Harry along my side, what appeared to be quite a big difference!

The diving-kit preparation, packing, loading the car and the boat took a bit longer doing it on my own instead of with two people, like it has been like for the last 6 weeks. Not to mention the fact that I do not own a dive computer yet, and have gotten used to relying on Harry's computer too much. For the next dives, it was my task to brief and lead both dives. Pete came with us for the first dive to Alien Rock. Sara and James, both of Rescue Divers, formed a buddy team and proved to have excellent diving skills, having good buoyancy control and staying close to me. Without any problems we arrived at Alien Rock, where Pete soon spotted an Angel Shark.

We also saw an Octopus, Snake Cucumber, Barracuda's and many more little fish. We made our way along Alien Rock, and returned to the boat. On the boat we changed tanks and after another dive brief about our next location Swim Through, it was time for my first dive alone with two customers. As soon as we reached the bottom, I found out that my mask was flooding. This is usually a result of hair or my hood stuck under the mask. After a few attempts I still couldn't fully solve the problem. I wanted to avoid having to take my mask off under water, because it would be more difficult to keep an eye on Sarah and James.

After a few minutes of almost continually clearing my mask, I decided to ask Sara and James to settle down on the bottom and wait a minute, while I took off the mask, replaced and cleared it. The problem turned out to be in the band of the mask, which was twisted around my snorkel. Now I could see normally again. Meanwhile, we did see a lot of beautiful aquatic life during the dive, such as Cuttlefish, Wide-eyed Flounders, Atlantic Lizardfish, a Red Mullet and all the small fish that came to take a took when we culled a number of Black Long-spined Sea Urchins.

Saturday we had a nice and quite day in the shop, followed by a party night.We went to Big Al's again for a lovely dinner, and afterwards to the Premier Bar, which is a karaoke bar located in Amarilla Golf. 

With the seventeen of us, we had a great night, and everybody had a go on singing on stage, including me.

After sleeping till quite late on Sunday, I went to see the famous tree: 'El Drago' up North, along with a drive through the mountains together with Harry and Louise. We had a wonderful day and I took plenty of pictures of the beautiful views that seemed to change at every turn.

Let's hope we'll do a lot more diving next week. I'm on 55 dives now, so only 5 more to go for me to be a PADI Divemaster!! 

Er bijna ............ PADI Master Scuba Diver

Leuk dat je nog steeds meeleest!

Deze week hebben we opnieuw een hoop werk verzet en veel bereikt. Maandagochtend was het tijd voor de eerste twee duiken voor mijn laatste specialty course; PADI Search and Recovery Diver course. In de vroege ochtend vertrokken Pete, Harry en ik opnieuw naar Yellow Mountain. Harry bleef op de boot, terwijl Pete onze trouwe badeend, “Duckie” verstopte ergens in de omgeving van de boot. Daarna was het aan mij de taak om haar terug te vinden. 

PADI Divemaster Certification and time to go home :-(

My last week as an intern!! It has gone past so quickly.

Wednesday
Today Melissa is off to England, so Pete has the misfortune of being stuck with Kim and me all week.
We had a 8 am start today, went straight down to the pool to work on a few final skills. I only have to be assessed in a couple more!! So I am nearly there!

Nearly there... PADI Master Scuba Diver, Pool Skills and sun burn!

Thanx for still reading our blogs! 

We have achieved a lot this week! 

Monday morning, it was time for the first two dives of my last specialty course; PADI Search and Recovery Diver. 

At 8 am in the morning Pete, Harry and I went to Yellow Mountain. Harry stayed on the boat while Pete started off with hiding, "Duckie" (Dive and Sea's rubber duck) somewhere in the vicinity of the boat. 

Then it was time for me get get in the water and find Duckie. Armed with my compass, I went into the water, to begin a search pattern called "expanding square". Unfortunately, I didn't exactly do a perfect square, and couldn't find Duckie on my first try. Returning to our starting point, I started over again. With a little help, I managed to find Duckie. 

The second dive I was assigned to search for, and recover my diving knife in a larger area, a sandy patch. I decided to proceed with a U-pattern. On this dive, once again I proved that navigation is not my strongest point (but we already knew that). 

Eventually, I found my knife, although for a big part, that was more due to Pete than to my sense of direction and eyesight. ;-)
The next day we were joined by Teide divers; Phil and Jackie, and Lauren, who is their their brand new intern. 

In the pool Harry and I started with completing our final skills, which we did well, receiving some good scores. Next, it was Phil's turn to demonstrate and refresh his skills as a PADI Instructor, which he did very well. Good job Phil! 

After that, both Lauren and Jackie did very good on their skills as well! Last but not least, it was time for Jackie's kit exchange, which clearly wasn't her favourite exercise.

After the pool session we all went to the Marina, for another 800 metre snorkel, followed by two dives to Yellow Mountain. 

Phil, Jackie and Harry were off for Lauren's PADI Open Water Diver course, which went very well. Pete and I did my last two specialty dives for my PADI Search and Recovery Diver course, and Melissa stayed on the boat. 

During this dives, it was my task to find a scuba tank and bring it back to the boat using a liftbag. Once underwater, I came to the realization that I had been so stupid to forget all my diving accessories, such as my compass!. With a bit of assistance, and equipment from Pete and using the liftbag, which I filled with air (unfortunately a little too much, the first time) and brought to the surface. 

I immediately got another try and bring the tank up in a more controlled manner, with less air in the bag. The second attempt went as it should, and I had control over the tank when took it back to the boat. 

Harry joined us for the second dive. It was up to Harry and me to find the tank together and to Harry to bring it back to the boat. Without any trouble, we all got back on board, to conclude the morning with an English breakfast and lunch. 

After finishing my last specialty, I am now a PADI Master Scuba Diver!

On Wednesday morning, Harry and I repeated our pool skills once more, and the rest of the day is quietly passed, with some work in the shop. That morning Melissa departed for a trip to England, to visit her family and friends.
On Thursday we were off for two dives along with Darren, an Open Water Diver, to Poco Naufragio and Starfish Bay. Both dives went fine, although the visibility was not very good. During the first dive we had a brief spotting of a beautiful Stingray, which unfortunately had most of it's tail missing.

Meanwhile, while we were diving, Moniek, my best friend, arrived at the airport of Tenerife South. We've known each other all our lives, and Moniek has come to Tenerife for a holiday. We arrived at the shop almost simultaneously, where Moniek was welcomed by Pete, Harry, me and the wonderful weather of Tenerife. 

We got the afternoon off to settle down and do some shopping. Despite the relaxed afternoon I still found time to finish the first part of my Divemaster exam, which I would get the results off on the next day.

Friday we were joined by the loyal Teide divers Phil, Jackie and their intern Lauren for some more pool skills, a kit exchange and a number of exams. 

Lauren completed her PADI Open Water Diver exam whilst Jackie and I were focusing on our Divemaster exams. My score for the first part of the exam I did yesterday was a neat 96.6%, and for the second part I got a nice 93.3%. Lauren and Jackie also achieved a great score in their exams.Saturday, the day had come for Moniek's PADI Discover Scuba Diving experience. The first session was in the pool, and I got the chance to assist Pete in conducting Moniek's course. Meanwhile, Harry was doing the Scuba Tune-up of Maurice, an Open Water Diver that had not been diving for four years. Moniek turned out to learn very quickly, and it was fun and educational to see someone else's Discover Scuba Diving. 

My own Discover Scuba Diving experience was just 5 weeks ago, I've come a long way.

Almost immediately after the pool session the five of us were off to the Marina, for Moniek's first two dives to Yellow Mountain. During the first dive I stayed on the boat, Harry went into the water with Maurice and Pete and Moniek did Moniek's first open water dive. She did very well on her first dive, but from the moment she got back on the boat, she started to feel seasick. 

For the second dive, Harry and Maurice stayed on the boat, and I joined Pete and Moniek for the second dive. Because she felt so sick, unfortunately the second dive didn't go as well, and halfway through the dive, we decided to head back to the boat. There is little pleasure to dive when you feel very unwell. 

Once back at the Dive Centre, Moniek soon felt a lot better, and we're looking forward to our next dives, taking some motion sickness pills with us. 

We finished the day with a pleasant evening party in honor of Harry, who is now a PADI Divemaster! Congratulations Harry!

On Sunday, Moniek and I decided to spend our day in Siam Park. Well prepared we took the bus, bringing towels, swimsuits, sunscreen and money with us. 

After a wonderful, exciting day we discovered that although we had brought the sun cream with us, we forgot to put it on, resulting in sunburn. That evening their was the Great Parade in Los Gigantes, and despite our painful red skin, we decided to go there and see the Carnival. 

That turned out not such a good idea ... Without knowing it, we travelled almost all the way to the other side of the island, and by the time we arrived in Los Gigantes, the parade just ended. After getting something to eat and drink, we headed back home at around 8 o'clock in the evening. We walked back to the bus, with our skin feeling worse and worse. When we arrived at the bus stop, it turned out that we just missed the last bus, but there was another bus stop not too far away. At the next stop we unfortunately also just missed that bus, so we waited half an hour for the next bus. Eventually, we got on the bus to Las Americas. When we arrived it turned out we had to wait again, this time for almost an hour, for our next bus. Meanwhile, we both felt pretty bad. Around 11 pm we finally got our next bus to our last stop, where we got in a taxi to take us home. We arrived home around 12 o'clock, got lots of after-sun on our painful skin and went to sleep.

We hope that our lobster-red skin will heal quickly, and are looking forward to our last day together in Tenerife, enjoying the beautiful weather. Moniek flies back to Holland Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, I am already on 49 logged dives, 11 more to go and I'll be a PADI Divemaster!Love, Alice

Week 5 of my Internship in Dutch by Alice

O jee, al over de helft van de stage nu! De tijd lijkt wel steeds sneller te gaan.. Het leven op Tenerife begint aardig te wennen nu. De laatste paar dagen hebben we ook wat beter weer, niet dat het eerder echt slecht was, maar we hebben wel veel bewolking en wind gehad. Het waait nu nog steeds vrij hard, maar het zonnetje laat zich wat meer zien en ik kan weer in t-shirt rondlopen i.p.v. een warm vest.

Guiding Dives and Search & Recovery Assessments

For week 5 I thought I would give you a daily breakdown of what we get up top on the Divemaster internship.

Wednesday 
Today we went to Yellow Mountain with George, a diver who called into the shop a few days ago. I was given the chance to do the dive brief and lead the dives. The dive brief was not bad, but it still needs a little bit of work. I know I have the capabilities to give a good brief but it's always more difficult in front of a customer and Pete!

Week 4 – PADI Rescue Diver in Dutch

Er is alweer een week voorbij, de tijd vliegt en tot mijn grote spijt, is de stage nu al halverwege!

Begin deze week heb ik voor de eerste keer een duik mogen leiden. We zijn weer terug gegaan naar El Puertito, waar we twee duiken hebben gedaan en opnieuw de schildpadden zijn tegengekomen. De eerste duik was het mijn beurt om, als Divemaster stagière, de duik te leiden, de tweede duik was het Harry’s beurt.

Week 3 – NL - Bultrug gespot en PADI Advanced Open Water Diver

Ondertussen alweer 25 duiken gedaan, en nu hard aan het blokken voor mijn PADI Rescue Diver!

De zeeschildpadden waren schitterend om te zien, en heel nieuwsgierig. Ze komen heel dichtbij en ik heb ze voorzichtig aan kunnen raken, waar ze geen enkel probleem mee schenen te hebben.

Rescue Training and the missing Duck !

We are now in week four of the Divemaster internship, and all is going well!

This week I have been given the opportunity to lead a couple of dives, and also giving the dive briefs. I’m getting more comfortable doing so; both my leadership skills as my briefing skills are improving. I also learned that the pacing of a dive is another crucial part of leading a dive. The excitement appears to overwhelm and you forget that it’s not a race to get to a certain point.

We went for a dive to Poco Naufragio with Nick and Aiden, two of Dive and Sea's regular customers. Pete, Kim and Nick did a deep dive, whilst Aiden (who is an Open Water Diver) and I stayed within 18 meters. We saw a couple of Stingrays, and numerous of the regular aquatic life in Tenerife. We also got to see a Black Moray Eel, I will have to remember his location to give him a visit again next time.


At the end of the week, Kim completed her PADI Rescue Course, well done Kim. Teide Divers, Jackie and Phil, joined us, for yet another extremely entertaining day.
I had forgotten how much fun the Rescue course was. I now have fonder memories of this rescue course.

On one of the training session’s our assignment was to find a missing diver, using Duckie (the dive centres’’ rubber duck) as the missing diver. Phil and I were eager to get in the water, locate Duckie and get her to the surface. Without any hesitation, we got in the water as quickly as possible. Unfortunately not doing what we were trained to do; "Stop, Think then Act".

Phil jumped in (fins and mask on), grabbing the closest BCD he could find, which turned out to be Kim's BCD, an extra extra small!
Somehow he managed to slip into it, but then he tried to descend, but forgot to put on a weight belt, as he normally uses integrated weights in his own BCD. He couldn’t do anything!!

Meanwhile, I had also jumped in the water without thinking first, and forgot to put on my fins, soon finding out that there was no way to free dive with a wetsuit on, without any fins. It’s amazing how quickly you get used to wearing fins, and rely on them entirely. I got back out of the water to get my fins, while Phil was still struggling with Kim’s BCD.
By the time I got my fins on, Phil was almost kitted up, and we were of for our second try.
This time we soon found Duckie, but we could have saved ourselves a lot of time by taking a moment to Stop, Think and then Act.
Perhaps next time we will listen to Pete!

Kim and I also completed our mapping exercise,  I wanted to do a hand drawing of the information and Kim insisted on a computer generated one. To be fair, it does look better than my sketched one.

This week we completed a number of our stamina tests, including:

100m Tired Diver Tow – 4:05 minutes (score: 3 out of 5)
400m Swim – 6:03 minutes (score: 5 out of 5)
800m Snorkel -16:55 minutes (score: 3 out of 5)
15 Minute Tread; last two minutes with your hands out of the water. – score: 5 out of 5

We got the chance to practice our skills independently in the pool. We still need a lot of work before we can properly demonstrate how to do the skills. But no worries, slowly but surely, we are getting there.

More updates from me later on my adventures here in Tenerife.

Week 2 – NL - Gecertificeerd PADI Open Water Diver

Druk druk druk druk druk bezig geweest dus het 2e verslagje is wat aan de late kant, waar moet ik beginnen..

Bij het belangrijkste dan maar? Mijn eerste brevet is binnen! Ik ben nu PADI Open Water Diver en ga nu meteen door naar PADI Advanced Open Water Diver. Ik had een theorie score van 94% en alle skills zonder problemen uitgevoerd.

Week 1 of My Internship for Dutch Speakers

Wat een spanning en onrustigheid!!! De uren voor vertrek waren (zacht gezegd) chaotisch en heel erg vroeg..

De vliegreis zelf, van ruim 4 uur, die ik al eerder heb gedaan, viel reuze mee. Ik had zelfs een hele rij van 3 stoelen voor mezelf, thanx Ryanair!

Aangekomen op het vliegveld (om 09.30u, het is hier een uur vroeger) meteen de winterjas uitgetrokken en mijn dikke trui, want het is wel weer even aanpassen die warmte. Niet dat ik klaag, whaha, het is hier een heerlijke 19 graden, al sinds aankomst.

Carnival Week in Puerto de la Cruz

Oh my god, the internship is over halfway now! The time just seems to go faster and faster. I’m starting to settle in and get used to the life on Tenerife now.

The last few days the weather has been improving, not that it really had been bad, but we’ve had lots of clouds and strong winds. The wind is still pretty strong, but the sun is coming through a bit more and I can again walk around in a T-shirt again.

Earlier this week we did (surprise surprise) some more diving. Wednesday George, a PADI Open Water Diver, joined us.
During the first dive that day, George, Harry and Pete headed for Alien Rock, while I stayed on the boat. The second dive Pete stayed on the boat, and I joined George and Harry to Swim Through.

Halfway through the dive, we decided to return to the boat, as George, who wore his own thin wetsuit, started to get really cold. After a short trip on the boat we arrived at the Marina, where we washed the kit, and got ourselves warmed up. Because of the strong wind that day, I did a spectacular (just kidding) rescue of George's hat, which had ended up in the water.

Thursday was another busy day, starting the morning with our pool skills once more. Most skills went fairly well (by now we don’t just have to be able to do the skills ourselves perfectly, but also demonstrate them to teach others).

We also did our kit exchange, which proved to be a real challenge. After a 10-minute talk about how we were going to accomplish this, Harry and I entered the water. Our goal was to exchange our complete scuba unit, mask and fins while breathing from one regulator. Clumsy swimming together from the shallow to the deep part of the pool began our challenge. The first attempt failed, because we did not use the proper techniques, resulting in shortness of breath. Harry was the first who sought refuge to the surface, but it wouldn’t have been long before I would have done the same.

After a brief (and very welcome) pause at the surface, and a few tips from Pete, we were off on our second attempt full of confidence. Although it took quite some time (and wasn’t much like - as Harry called it - a water ballet), our second attempt succeeded.

Back at the shop it was now time for the presentations of our demonstration skills. We did two more skills; the kit assembly, and the pre-dive safety check. We managed to do well, and Harry and I both ended up with a good score.

Later that morning we were off to the Marina, where we did our 800 meters snorkel again. In an attempt to improve our times, Harry and I decided that it would be a good idea to snorkel in our shortie’s, so we would be less buoyant. We thought, as a result, our more fins would be more in the water, with the result that we would be quicker.
Well, that’s what we thought. We swam as fast as we could, (feeling freezing cold) and I looked forward to hearing my - obviously - great time, which was .. (Drum roll).. Was 2 minutes slower than my previous time... Not such a good idea after all, those shortie's.
Hopefully I will have another chance, and I will improve my time then!

The day was not over yet, not even halfway through! Since we were already in the Marina, we might as well do some more diving. Pete, Harry and I headed to Yellow Mountain again. Pete stayed on the boat, while Harry lead the first dive to Alien Rock, and I lead the second dive to Swim Through. The dives went well, and I’m slowly starting to get to know the dive sites, and recognize certain rock formations. This is, for a part, due to the fact that I did my underwater map at Swim Through. Since we do many of our dives to Yellow Mountain, I hope it will be like a second home to me soon!

Back at the shop, we got a lot done that afternoon. I started rinsing all the regulators (and there are many of them) to give them an extra good cleaning. We also did some, at first rather unsuccessfully
 :-), redesigning of the shop. It is clear that we have to work on our retail skills.


Friday early morning, it was time for my first night dive. At 5:45 we were at the shop, 15 minutes later we found ourselves at the Marina, loading all the diving kits on to the boat. We headed for Poco Naufragio, the small ship wreck just a few minutes by boat. In pitch black darkness, Pete, Harry and I got in the water, while poor Melissa was left all alone on the boat.

The first thing I noticed were the luminescent algae, that swirled around us like little stars. The colors underwater, which were much more visible than during the day due to my underwater torch, were stunning. We saw many animals we often see during daytime, that were now, during night time, much more active. I also saw some species that I had never seen before. We saw lots of Cardinal fish, Scorpion fish, Arrow crabs, Red mullet, Almaco Jack, Anemones and more.
After half an hour of enjoying the dive which is now one of my favorites, we swam toward the surface. We were approximately two meters from the surface, when I suddenly experienced my first Jellyfish sting, which was on my face! Thanks a lot Mr. Jelly...!

When we got back on the boat, Melissa told us that she had just seen a Dolphin near the boat, which made up a little bit for getting out of bed so early.

Towards the end of the week we mainly did a lot of little jobs at the shop, such as the maintenance of the regulators and wetsuits, reorganizing the window displays, and the usual online promotion activities.

Saturday, Harry and I had the responsibility of running the shop, whereas  Pete and Melissa went to see the Carnival in Puerto de la Cruz, which is a hugely celebrated holiday here on the Islands. Slowly but surely, we are becoming increasingly independent!

I am planning on checking out the Carnival as well, next Sunday in Los Gigantes, together with my friend. She is coming over all the way from Holland for six days, and we’ll try to get her into the diving experience as well.

Meanwhile, I'm a long way through my studies, and my Divemaster exam is coming up soon. I'm now at 42 logged dives, 18 more to go to reach the 60 dives required as a Divemaster.

Remember to keep checking our blogs!

Love, Alice

Week 4 – PADI Rescue Diver by Kim

Yet another week has passed, time flies and to my regret, my PADI Divemaster  internship in Tenerife is already halfway now!

At the start of the week I led my first dive. We were back at El Puertito, where we did two dives and had a fantastic Turtle encounter on both dives. Harry even got head banged by a Turtle. The first dive it was my turn, as a Divemaster intern, to lead the dive, the second dive it was Harry's turn.

PADI Advanced Open Water Diver and The Mysterious Humpback Whale

Week 3 – PADI Advanced Open Water Diver and The Mysterious Humpback Whale

With 27 logged dives in Tenerife already, and successfully completing my adventure dives, I am now a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver! Next week I’ll be studying and diving for my PADI Rescue Diver course.

As I wrote about before, we were of to El Puertito to see the Turtles, and we did see them!

They were so beautiful to see, and very curious. They came very close and we were allowed to touch them gently.

Last week I did my Adventure Dives, which included my first Peak Performance Buoyancy dive. On this dive, we took two hoops with us in the water, one above the other. Sophie, a girl who was doing her PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course at the same time as me, came with us for the two dives.

Our assignment was to swim through both hoops in a big circle, without touching them and without adjusting our buoyancy with our BCD’s, only using the air volume of our lungs. We both had a really great time and no problems with going through the hoops.

Directly after the first dive, we were off to our second Adventure dive that day, which was the Navigation dive. For this dive, we swam three patterns under water, using our compass for the bearings and counting our kick cycles (fin kicks) for the distance. After swimming our straight line back and forth, a square and a triangle I felt satisfied and exhausted. It had been a very nice day with two great dives.

Mid week, during one of the dives, I had the highlight of my time here. We did a dive to a small wreck, called Poco Naufragio, where the stingrays live. We saw two of them, they were huge and very impressive.

Unfortunately they soon discovered that we were not very interesting, and they disappeared back into the blue depths. We swam around a bit more and saw a couple of Trumpet fish, Arrow Crabs and Fire worms before we headed back to the boat to change tanks.
While we were slowly ascending, feeling relaxed and looking at the environments, I suddenly spotted a young humpback whale swim, swimming directly behind the other divers, around 20 meters away. It was so close that I could even see the barnacles on the whales head, and recognized the species as soon as I spotted the whale.

I immediately signaled to the other divers, but by the time they were all looking in the right direction, the beautiful whale was just a big shadow in the distance and no one else got a good look at it. I felt delighted about seeing this beautiful creature in the wild, and couldn’t wait to share my enthusiasm with the others.

When we all got back to the boat, I discovered that none of the other divers had really seen the whale, although they admitted to have seen something a lot bigger than just a Dolphin. As I had realized as well, this Whale had of course been far too close to shore, something that they normally wouldn’t do. It had also been alone, another rare condition to see a Whale.
Replacing my enthusiasm with disappointment a little bit, I found out that none of the other divers believed my story. Of course, their arguments are strong and true; these were very unlikely conditions to spot a whale. Nevertheless, I still cannot deny that I am sure of what I have seen, because I got such a clear look at it.
Despite most of the others now thinking that I am mad or had a hallucination or even had Nitrogen Narcosis, I am still enjoying this extremely special and beautiful moment never to forget .. (L)

Going back to the rest of my story, I have now also completed my first specialty; PADI Boat Diver, as part of my PADI Master Scuba Diver course.

Tomorrow we’ll go back to the Turtles and later this week to the Stingrays, who will hopefully show themselves a little longer. Next week Harry and I will be doing our Map dives, with the assignment to make an underwater map from a part of a dive site. Hopefully we will not embarrass ourselves and get lost!

Sadly despite having a great time in Tenerife my grandfather, after a long fight in hospital, has sadly died.

Rest in peace my dear grandpa, I miss you and think of you! (K) (L)

Many kisses, love and strength to everyone at home! I miss you and love you! Xxx

Love, Alice