Our first American PADI Divemaster Intern.......

This is my first week in Tenerife and day one started with a great introduction to my PADI Divemaster internship and the Dive centre, I met Carl who will be with me for the first 6 weeks of my 8 week internship.

I arrived in Tenerife on Saturday after over 24 hours travel time from my home town of Calabasas in California, although I did tell everyone I was going to be in "TenerLife" not Tenerife easy mistake to make I thought but, Melissa has found this very amusing and has been telling everyone about it!

I am 19 years old and this is the first time I have travelled to Europe, I am really excited about my adventure!
I am here on an eight week internship where not only will I be studying for the PADI Divemaster certification 

I am also going to complete 5 specialities so that I can complete my PADI Master Scuba diver certification, and the plan is that I will become a PADI Assistant Instructor once all that is completed!

Seems along way off now, so watch this space.

On the first day I had my first two dive's of my internship. It was great to be diving on my first day a definitive bonus! I was very excited and nervous but it all turned out perfect.

The first dive Chris was my buddy on was my navigation dive, he explained how to use the compass to me, that was fun!!
I also learnt my first lesson about beer fines, I dropped my integrated weights down to the bottom of the sea when I was getting back to the boat DOH! ( last time I will use them).

My second dive was my first night dive which I was very excited about and it was amazing. I saw so many amazing fish and invertebrates.

It has been a little difficult getting past the 8 hour time change but eventually I got past it on day four thank goodness I finally feel alive again! Melissa has been teasing me this week as I have been alittle sleepy to say the least.

I have been really impressed with the dive sites I have visted this week and I was really happy to go to El Puertito to meet the Turtles that can mostly be found there. Nick, Josh, Elizabeth, Bungle, Melissa and I all had a great time watching the Turtle which followed us for the majority of our dive, can't wait to see the photos.

I also got to visit Tabaiba, which is in the north of the island, this was another shore dive, I went out with Pete, Carl and Nick and Josh, we completed the deep dive and wreck dive of my PADI Advanced Open Water course, only one more dive to go and then I will be an advanced diver and all in just a few days of arriving.which was very cool to see. We went about 30m deep and then found a sunken tugboat which we swam around checking all the windows into the ship.

To top my first week off, I got to see my first angel shark on a dive with Melissa, Karina, Adel, Aiden, Carl, and I at starfish bay. There were some very cool octopus that we got to see while we swam along the rocky shore. After that dive Carl and I went off to Yellow mountain.
I managed to fail my 800m and my 100m diver tow because I have some very bad split fins, hint to self, don't buy split fins.

I have been swimming twice a day every day, I am sure I must be getting better, I am going to continue with my swimming as next week I will do my timed assessment. Its been a great first week, but over so quickly. I cannot wait to see what the rest of my internship brings.

New intern........... New name

Hi everyone my name is Carl or now better known as Rodders .

I am currently on a year out from university where I am a mature student studying marine Biology.  I have had a number of careers during my working life, I joined the army and then moved onto being a carpenter and finally have settled on a career in Diving.

I learnt to dive in 2007, in the UK, and since then I have become obsessed with marine life and diving in general. I have a 500 Litre marine fish tank and a tropical fish tank with 200 Litres, I have approximately 13 breeds of fish and 40 different species of coral.

I have joined Dive and Sea as a PADI Rescue Diver and I have over 100 logged dives, I have already studied for the old PADI Divemaster course but unfortunately I was unable to finish the course.

It will be very interesting to me to see the differences not only in the Divemaster courses but also in working within a dive centre in the nice warm waters of Tenerife.

This week was a fresh start for me and I had the pleasure of meeting Aaron AKA (Juan well once we had finally settled on his name Canadian Dave was a favourite for a while but then we decided it was too long).

We started with an induction to Dive and Sea Tenerife with many useful tips about the dive school the do’s and don’ts and surrounding area, Juan and I had to give a 5 minute presentation on our self’s which went well except for the 36 eerrmm’s need to slow down and breath!

Later we did two dives the last dive for Zippy as he was flying home the following day. I was too busy kiting up Nick and Josh so forgot my own weights so missed the first dive must switch my brain on.  Second dive was night dive and had to go back to the marina to pick up Louise who was also joining us on the night dive, really good saw more of the predatory species out in the open.

We went diving in the north of the island at Tabaiba, we were there to complete the PADI Advanced Open water dives deep and wreck for Aarons and Nick.  This was two fantastic dives we saw Common Stingrays along with the rest of the many species we have out here. The wreck was called El Raton and is laying in 30 meters of water with bow up and tilting to starboard (Right), Dolphins were about but didn’t come over.

Saw my first (hope fully one of many) Angle Shark at Starfish Bay with Melissa, Aaron, Louise it was only about a foot away from us but way too sleepy to wake up and see us.  Also saw nice Cuttlefish, and Anemones.

My diving leadership skills are improving I am paying more attention to other students and customers in the water.  Aaron and I took bearings during the dive for when we are leading dives unaccompanied!

As part of our mapping project that Aaron and I are doing at Yellow Mountain, I tried to navigate but ended up getting lost not good!! Especially as I already have my navigation speciality. I don’t even know where I went wrong either to sort it out, however my second attempt was much better must remember to take my bearings with me (all the gear all the time).

My swimming stamina is coming on nice and I managed to pass my 800m snorkel bonus don’t have to do it again.  Can just about smell my Dive Master nearly there then on to PADI Assistant Instructor.

Good week all in all learned loads finding the more you put in the more you get out.
Been swimming twice a day all week so hopefully my 400 Meter swim will be ok worked really hard trying to sort my stamina out.

Wah wah wah :-(

Friday morning we packed some kit together and headed up to the North of the Island, to see our friends at Teide Divers.

We met Phil, Jackie, Lauren and Kepa, ready to go out for a dive in a different part of the island. Jackie put the kettle on and made us all a nice cup of tea, which is the standard recipe for a good start to the day.

We headed down to the local marina soon after, where we would meet the boat that was taking us out for our morning of fun in the sea. There were quite a few people on the boat, one of whom took a special interest in sitting incredibly close to Melissa, much to Melissa’s disapproval (photos to follow).

Leaving paradise behind.

Eight weeks later and it is time to pack up and head back to the U.K, leaving paradise behind.

Starting where I left off with Friday, Pete, Melissa, Bungle and I headed up to Puerto de le Cruz in the north of the island to dive with Tiede Divers.

After our road trip we arrived at the Teide dive shop and after a much needed brew we headed off to the harbor to meet our boat taxi to the dive site.

Dolphins and PADI Assistant Instructors

This week consisted on continuing with our PADI Assistant Instructor and much more tea drinking.

The start of another Friday in paradise, which began at a refreshing 7.15am. First on the agenda was to assemble and pack the kit so Bungle, I and Melissa could head off to Las Eras for some more fantastic diving.

Las Eras is officially one of my favourite dive sites in Tenerife and we managed to see a whole host of aquatic life including Fangtooth Moray Eel, Black Moray Ell, Common Ray, Canarian lobster and Octopus.

On the way back from Las Eras we decided it was a good idea to stop for a quick donut to reward our efforts this morning. Mmm Donut’s.

Once refuelled and recharged we headed to the marina to wash the kit where we met Tiede Divers, who were completing the PADI Rescue Course for Lauren and Kepa.

When we returned to the shop we were met by Bungle’s friends from the U.K Anna and Pete on holiday. After a spot of lunch it was time for some more ‘exciting’ presentations from Pete for our PADI AI course followed by mock exams and preparing our presentation for tomorrow.

The weekend and time for some more diving, or boat duty in my case. At the shop for 7.15 to prepare for Anna and Pete’s PADI Discover Scuba Diving. Both of them where fantastic and could not wait to try some diving in the sea. So we headed off to the marina to board the boat and headed off to Yellow Mountain where Pete, Bungle, Anna and other Pete went off to see the underwater world leaving me to admire the above-water scenery.

Anna and Pete both thoroughly enjoyed their first taste of diving and left wanting to see more. After bit of lunch, we met up with Tiede Divers once again to continue our Assistant Instructor course’s, we also had the nerve racking pleasure of completing our first Knowledge Development Presentations in which my fantastic presentation included one piece of false information, scoring me a big fat 1 out of 5. The day concluded with some more slide shows and tea drinking.

Sunday ‘the day of rest’ or not, who needs days off when you have the best job in the world??

Yet another 7.15 start, meeting Tiede Divers bright and early so we could perform our Confined Water Presentations. I managed to score a 5/5 for my brief of the skill and only a 4.2/5 for performing the skill due to being a plonker and forgetting my slates on the side of the pool. Durhhh. We left the pool relatively happy with our efforts and had to complete the de-brief section of the Confined Water Skill in which I again managed to score a good 5/5. All in all, a good morning and a few more boxes ticked to account towards our Assistant Instructor Certification. After some much needed lunch on our so called ‘day off’ we watched a few more slide shows and received our new Presentation topics for our next assessed presentation. A nice early finish around 3pm.

On to Monday, I can’t really remember a whole lot from Monday so here’s my best guess. Today following yet another lovely start at 7.15 Bungle, Melissa, I, other Pete and Anna headed off to El Puertito to try and find the Turtles. Two Fantastic dives and managed to find the turtles on both occasions, on the first of the two dives Mr Turtle loved us so much that he followed us all the way into shore when we were finishing our dive.

On the second dive we managed to spot three different Turtles including a tiny turt who quickly swam away from the scary divers. As always upon surfacing from the dives, lots of smiling faces form seeing the Turtles.

We headed back to the marina and washed all of the kit down where Melissa was very restraint and didn’t even spray either myself or Bungle with the hose. Must have been feeling unwell. A quite afternoon followed in which we caught up with paper work and generally chilled out, the day concluded with a de-brief and a delicious Big Al’s Mixed Grill. I have never enjoyed a plate of food so much as when I am eating the life changing meal that is a Big Al’s Mixed Grill.

Tuesday turned out to be a fantastic day for me and Bungle. Like any other day we started at 7.15 where we met up with Tiede Divers for some more Assistant Instructor ‘stuff’. The day began with briefing our second Confined Water Skill, which I thought I completely ‘fluffed up’ however I would later find out I actually passed with a reasonable score. Then it was off to the pool to complete the skill.
After a brief cup of tea it was off to the marina to complete our Open Water Skill’s. My skills went well and I had even more enjoyment making Phil’s skill/s nearly impossible under the hilarious instruction of Pete.

Upon returning to the shop after an ‘eventful’ Open Water session we proceeded to de-brief both our confined and open water skills. Yet another cup of hot beverage, to carry us through the next part of our day, which was performing our second knowledge development presentation which I managed to score 4.7/5. Good but not 5/5. Shortly after Tiede divers left us to head back up north. Bungle and I being the fantastic students we are decided to attempt the exam, in which I passed.

That was it.............. ASSISTANT INSTRUCTOR/S....... WOOOO...... with great power comes great responsibility.

What a fantastic way to end the day, we celebrated with a spot of lovely dinner and some beverages round Pete and Melissa’s.

If you thought Tuesday was good I think Wednesday was the best day of my life.

The day was like any other day, eating breakfast, having a shower and in the shop for 7.30. First on the agenda was a Project Aware Debris Dive which was a good experience cleaning the Pequeno Valle dive site, collecting various debris off the bottom.
However during our dive we were greeted by a pod of around 4 DOLPHINS ahhhh.

After the initial brown pants moment it was amazing and by far one of the most amazing experiences ever. The dolphins proceeded to swim around inches from us, seeing what these strange neoprene covered fish were. When we eventually got back on the boat very excited. The dolphins proceeded to follow us all the way to the next dive site, swimming alongside the boat in touching distance.

Dolphins are sweeeeett. We decided that we should probably do some more diving opposed to watching the Dolphins and headed over to starfish bay where we set about killing every urchin in sight.

It’s not mindless violence, basicly urchins kill fish we like so we kill urchins, simpleess. Although during our cull, one urchin managed to leave two of its spines in my hand, not best pleased. When we returned to the shop to finish the best morning ever in the only way we know.... a breakfast at the Aberdeen. The day concluded with some more reading and cleaning. Such a fantastic day.

Onto today and yet another day closer to going back to the U.K. After the excitement of the past two days, today was a relatively calm day. An early start so Bungle and I could get in the pool and film some more videos for our fantastic skill video.

After a semi-successful morning, filming us messing around in a pool we headed back to the shop for a cup of tea and some blog writing.  After completing a Su doku on Melissa’a behalf and cleaning the cars a spot of lunch was in order. More blog writing followed lunch as well as a trip to pro sub to see Dave (Ian). On route to Pro Sub we picked up Bungle and I’s fantastic new Assistant Instructor polo shirts ... never has so much pride been taken in an item of clothing. On return to the shop it was time for a photo shoot in our new shirts followed by some more tea.

All in all a brilliant week, found out Dolphins are my new best friend, passed Assistant Instructor Course and picked up the shirt with Assistant Instructor written on. Fantastic.

Over 7 weeks have passed since my first blog and only 5 days remain of my internship.

It’s gone so quickly and I wish I could stay here longer, well considering Pete now has a ‘Tea bell’ for whenever he needs tea leaving maybe a good idea.


Adios for another few days.

Note to self.................

Friday morning Melissa, Zippy and I popped down to Las Eras for a couple of fun dives.

The pipe line that has recently been discovered there is home to lots of interesting things and is always a great dive. We explored a new route to it, then spent around half an hour swimming along it, coming across Stingrays, Octopus, Scorpion Fish and a massive Fang Tooth Moray Eel, that was about the size of a very big Eel!
The exit from this dive was hilarious! We tried a new point on the beach which we soon realised was a bit steep, which meant that Melissa and I spent more time falling over than we did getting out!

Note to self; Think about personal safety before helping others out of the water.

On the second dive it was just Zippy and I as Melissa had decided to stay out of the water and warm up a bit. We went to the other side of the site and found more Rays and also a big Canarian Lobster. I found an Octopus and tried to point it out to Zippy, but he didn’t have his eyes turned on properly and it took him about half an hour to see what I was pointing at.

In the afternoon, we were joined by Anna and Pete. Anna is my friends mum from England and Pete is her husband. They had decided to come over and say hello, while seeing what all this diving fuss was about. I was leading their PADI Discover Scuba Diving experience the next morning so I stuck the DVD on for them and gave them a quick brief on what to expect.

By the time this was done, Phil, Jackie, Lauren and Kepa had turned up and we spent the rest of the afternoon going through some more bits and pieces for our PADI Assistant Instructor course.

Saturday morning Anna and Pete arrived for their introduction into diving. Zippy and I were in the pool with them, I led the session and Zippy was in assistance, still under thw watch of Pete!

I knew that they had wanted to try diving for ages and it was good for me to be the one to introduce them to it. The pool session was followed by a trip to Yellow Mountain with Pete leading, where they enjoyed themselves a lot. A well deserved fry up capped off the morning nicely!

Following tradition, the afternoon was filled with more of the PADI Assistant Instructor course. It was our turn to give a presentation and mine was a knowledge development about ‘procedures for a missing diver’. I managed 4.5 out of 5, which I can’t moan about for a first attempt!

We were also given assignments for teaching a confined water skill, which we would be presenting the next morning, so some evening revision consumed the rest of the day.

Sunday morning we were down in the pool first thing to test our confined water presentations. I had to teach Phil and Jackie (who were pretending to be students) how to breathe from a free-flowing regulator, with Zippy as my Divemaster for the purpose of the exercise. It was good fun getting a little insight into what it will be like when I am a PADI Instructor at some point in the future.
Phil and Jackie were assigned problems to present for me when I was teaching them, which was a good way to learn and also quite funny at times. I unfortunately managed to break Phil’s planning slate that he has had since 1750, much to the amusement of myself and Pete who saw me do it. The afternoon brought with it some more slides and information about teaching diving!

Monday morning Anna and Pete had decided to do a couple more dives while they were here, so Melissa, Zippy and I took them out at El Puertito. We were off in search of Turtles and were not disappointed. 2 dives there gave us chance to swim with the amazing animals, which is always a fantastic experience.

In the afternoon I went to see Dave at Pro-Sub with Melissa. Walking into that shop is like going to Toys’R’Us when you are a child! Resisting the urge to buy everything in sight is without a doubt one of the most difficult challenges known to man! I did well and only left with an ‘Enriched Air Diver’ manual, for the speciality I would be doing later in the week.

Later on we met up with Anna and Pete at Big Al’s for a couple of pints to celebrate some successful diving. We ended up having some dinner and mine arrived at the table in the form of the ‘Big Al’s Mixed Grill’, as you may have heard mentioned in previous blogs. They would be off back to England the next day, ready to plan their next diving adventure!

Tuesday morning Phil and Jackie came back down and we got in the pool to present some more skills, each playing the roles of instructors and students. We each taught 1 skill in the pool, then headed down to the marina to present our 2 open water skills. In the marina the highlight of the day was when Phil was teaching us a controlled descent.
Pete was giving us problems to present to Phil, in the form of inflating our BCD’s instead of deflating them for the descent. This went on for a few minutes and by the end of it we were all just floating in the water and laughing! I presented my 2 assigned skills and was quite pleased with how they went.

In the afternoon we completed the rest of the presentations that we needed for the Assistant Instructor certification, Then Phil and Jackie left Zippy and I to sit the final exam..... This would determine whether we had passed the course first time round or not.......

WE BOTH PASSED!! Zippy and I were now officially PADI ASSISTANT INSTRUCTORS!

Note to self; One step closer to having the best job in the world.

Wednesday morning, a relatively normal morning to start with. Little did I know that it would turn out to be the best day I have ever had, ever!
We started off by heading out to Pequeno Valle for a ‘Project Aware, Dive For Debris’ day. The goal was to clean up any litter or things that shouldn’t be polluting the dive sites that we enjoy visiting so much.

Melissa, Zippy and I started the clean up and it went really well.
Then we were joined in the water by a pod of wild Dolphins.
Such an unbelievable experience!
To be under the water and watching these animals in their natural habitat was fantastic!
Even when we got back on the boat and headed to our next dive site, they followed us most of the way, swimming alongside the boat and jumping around in front of us, which was so much fun.
We eventually made it to Starfish Bay, where we spent about half an hour culling Sea Urchins.

In the afternoon, over a cheeky breakfast, we mostly basked in the amazingness of the morning. We spent the rest of the day tidying a few bits round the shop, with a little bit of reading thrown in for good measure.

Note to self; WOW!!!!

Thursday we spent tidying and cleaning and doing a few bits around the shop. Getting tanks filled and little shopping trips meant everything was organised nicely. Another trip to Pro-Sub happened, which inevitably meant I would have to refrain from buying things. Even my best efforts today were unsuccessful as I walked away with a nice new Oceanic weight belt!

On the trip we also stopped by the T-shirt mans shop, to collect our nice new Assistant Instructor attire… Team that with the PADI backpack that I received a few weeks ago and I’m starting to look professional!
I bought Pete a present today that I strongly believe every future intern here will hate me for.

As we all know by now, Pete is a huge fan of a nice cup of tea. Rather than having him ask for his regular cuppa, I decided that a little bell sitting on the corner of his desk that he could ‘ding’ when he is ready for one, would be a better option.
Melissa is not overly fond of the idea, but I am adamant that it is funny.


Note to self; DING!!!

The last week of Alice in Tenerife :-(

O nee o nee mijn laatste week alweer! Hoewel ik graag mijn familie en vrienden weer wil zien, zou ik ook ontzettend graag hier blijven. Ik heb echt mijn hart verloren aan Tenerife…

The last thought's of Alice's (Kim's) Internship

Oh dear oh dear it’s my last week already! Although I’d love to see my family and friends again, I would also really like to stay here. I truly lost my heart to Tenerife ...

My week began in the North of Tenerife, where was going to do my two dives with Teide divers! Along with Jackie, Phil and a customer; Huachin, we headed to our first dive site. After a brief wake-up drive to the site, we arrived and got into our kits. Before we went in, Jackie took the opportunity to practice her demonstration of the Predive Safety Check, and I performed a demonstration of the Deep Water Entry. The first dive was to Tabaiba, a shore dive to a wreck that has been sunk specifically for divers.

It was a beautiful and impressive dive, and we spotted a baby Octopus, Blenny’s and a large number of tiny purple Nudibranch (Flabellina affinis). After our first dive we enjoyed a cup of tea to warm up again before we were off to our second dive.
This second dive was to Radazul, also a shore dive, along a wall of rocks, with various aquatic life that lives between the cracks in the rocks. Throughout this dive we were followed by a Dentex, an imposing, large predator fish. There were dozens of Anemones to see, lots of Blue-fin Damselfish, Ornate Wrasse and a Snake cucumber.
Again, a great dive, thank you Jackie and Phil! After getting out of the water I realized that I really needed the bathroom! Man, I regretted that cup of tea after the first dive... Letting it go in the wetsuit is not an option, that’s just gross.. But I wasn’t too sure about how much longer I could hold it up, I felt like a little child! Frustratingly enough, there were toilets about 20 meters away, but they were closed! Thanks then..

Eventually, I realized that I probably really wouldn’t make it to the toilet of Teide divers’ dive resort, so Jackie and I walked to a restaurant on the other side of the harbor. What a relief that was! Anyway, enough about my post-dive adventure. That evening I had an enjoyable evening with Jackie, and went to bed, due to the very early start the next day. ;-)

Yawn sleep yawn.. On Tuesday morning we were up very early, around 5 a.m., to be able to get to the South in time, for a pool session with Dive and Sea Tenerife. After a drowsy car ride, we arrived at Golf Del Sur, still feeling very sleepy, and I stayed in the shop that morning. Interns Chris, George and Carl completed a large number of their Divemaster skills, and Jackie has now completed almost all of her skills, and with good results!

That afternoon, Chris, George, Carl, Pete and I went to the Marina, to complete the last skills of Chris and George, and to give Carl a chance to practice his 800m snorkel. Chris began with his second last skill: the Deep Water Entry, which he successfully completed. Then it was time for their last skill: the 15 minute float, which, funnily enough, they failed on last time due to swallowing large amounts of water :-)
Under the watchful eye of Pete, they completed their last skill without any problems, which means that they now are PADI Divemasters!
Meanwhile, Carl practiced the 800m snorkel for the first time, which was tougher than he had expected, and on top of that, he also had the misfortune to get a cramp in his leg during the swim. But in the end, he did succeed, and that evening we raised our glasses for Chris and George, for completing their PADI Divemaster course, congratulations guys! Well done!

Wednesday morning Chris, George, Carl and I got the opportunity to start off with our next project; making our own Divemaster skills DVD, from Dive and Sea Tenerife! Unfortunately, Carl was sick that morning, and he decided that it was better to get some rest before getting back into the water. So the three of us went to the pool, armed with two cameras, where we made a start with the recordings. We really enjoyed and had a lot of fun, but also learned a lot.
We spent the Wednesday afternoon studying and making various exams as a good practice for the PADI Assistant Instructor course. All in all it didn’t go too bad, but a few mistakes still means there’s some room for improvement!

Thursday morning began with the exciting kit exchange! This was the last skill that Jackie still had to do for her PADI Divemaster course. I was honored with the chance to do it again. The first attempt started really well, but about halfway through, Jackie had some difficulty with getting her BCD on, and she had a moment of panic and went to the surface for a few good mouthfuls of breath.
After a short break, she was ready for a second attempt, which went perfect. She was absolutely delighted!

Congratulations on your PADI Divemaster certificate Jackie, you deserved it!

After Jackie it was Carl’s turn to do the kit exchange with George, which also went fine, well done Carl!

At lunch, we celebrated Jackie's new achievement, while enjoying another English breakfast.

Friday was a tiring but interesting day full of studying and exams. The results are not bad at all, it's going in the right direction now, I would even have passed all of them! However, not a 100%, so there’s room for improvement... So now I’ll try to finally finish my book, it’s just taking so much time, because I get stuck on words I don’t know. Too late to switch to Dutch now though, because I don’t know any of the diving-related world in Dutch!
On the one hand, it is great to have 4 months to read the book, waiting to be certified for 6 months and then do my PADI Assistant Instructor course. On the other hand, I am afraid I will have just forgotten everything by then...

Saturday morning we were joined by the lovely Ann, who came to us for her PADI Open Water Referral.

For her first two Open Water dives, we went to Playa Negra, a shore dive. Because it was a diving course, it was inevitable that this time Pete had to do two shore dives, which aren’t exactly his favorite.. We couldn’t do boat dives that day, because the boat is currently out of the water to have the motor serviced. Ann was a fun, spontaneous girl and her dives went very well. All of her skills went fine as well, even the Partial Mask Flood, where Ann was a bit nervous for. During the dive we saw a Cuttlefish, Fireworms, Pufferfish, a Sea Hare and Lightfoot Crabs. Back in the shop, we warmed up enjoying a delicious cup of tea (with milk of course!).

Maybe my last Sunday should have been a busy day, doing all the things on my ‘to do’ list while being in Tenerife, but it just didn’t happen. The weather wasn’t great, and I was too tired and decided to spend part of the day in the shop to catch up with some of my work. The rest of the day I studied some more and relaxed.

My final few days :-(

Monday... Now the end is very near, because this week I will go back to Holland again. Sniff,
I miss Tenerife already!
Today we had the company of Ann again, who was back for her next two dives that were part of her PADI Open Water course. Now we had the boat back, the choice wasn’t hard; we were going to do boat dives.

We went to Gijarro Arrecife, one of our newest dive sites. Before we got on the boat, After a quick dive brief about the skills to perform during the next two dives, we were on our way to the next two dives. Ann, Pete and I got into the water while George stayed on the boat during the first dive. Ann did very well again, she is improving very quickly and doesn’t have any problems with the skills.
During this dive we saw Arrow Crabs and some funny Red-Backed Cleaner Shrimps. During the second dive I stayed on the boat, and George got into the water. I had just done my 99th dive!
Before Ann got into the water again, it appeared that she was getting very nervous for one of her last skills: the Full Mask Flood. After some reassuring words of us, she agreed to get in the water, and about 40 minutes later, the divers surfaced with cheerful faces, which meant that Ann had succeeded, as expected of course! :-)
After a total of four Open Water dives with us, and performing all the skills correctly, Ann is now a PADI Open Water Diver, congratulations!

Tuesday was the first day of the PADI Assistant Instructor course, that Chris, George and Jackie are doing.

Teide divers Phil and Jackie drove to the South that morning, together with their intern Lauren. I got the day off, and Lauren as well, and we had a really nice relaxing day together. We relaxed by the pool first, until the sun disappeared behind the clouds. That afternoon we went to San Blas, a small shopping center near here, where we went in some shops and had a cocktail on the terrace. I had a very nice afternoon with Lauren, and once we got back we went with Melissa to ProSub to buy my own BCD and regs, if they would have the right ones in stock.

To my delight, they did indeed have a suitable BCD and regulators in stock! I also purchased a new mask and diving bag, since my old mask never really fitted, and I must be able to carry my diving equipment with me. So obviously with me feeling very happy, we went back to the shop, and from there straight on to my goodbye drink.. Sniff!
We went together with the whole loyal pack, consisting of Jackie, Lauren, Phil, Melissa, Chris, George, Pete and me.
We returned to San Blas and had a very nice evening. Then unfortunately, I really had to say goodbye to Teide divers Jackie, Lauren and Phil, and I’ll be very honest, I had to sweep a tear away.. Miss you guys!

Wednesday arrived, sniff.. My last day! Sniff..
My next dive, the first dive with my own equipment, was my 100th dive! For this special occasion, I got to choose where we went, and I chose Alien Rock, the dive location where it all started for me, where I could find my way on a dive site for the first time, where I led my first dive, where I first recognized the animals and what is still one of the finest dive sites here!

With my new diving gear, my favorite dive buddy and instructor Pete, one of my favorite customers and interns Ann and Chris all by my side, I plunged into the water for the 100th time. It was a beautiful dive and Pete immediately spotted a stingray in the first minutes of the dive, and later we also saw a Common Eagle Ray.
Ann dived as a true diver and Chris as a true PADI Divemaster. My new scuba gear was great. What a dive! After a change of tanks on the boat, Chris wasn’t feeling good, and decided not to do the second dive.

Ann, Pete and I went into the water for my last dive for a long time with Dive and Sea Tenerife.. Sniff!

This dive was to the beautiful Swim Through and Crocodile Rock, aka Croc Rock. During this dive, we saw the stingray again, plus a large Octopus, a Cuttlefish and the largest Hermit Crab I've seen so far.

When the  emotional moment came to do my last safety stop, I realized for the first time, it really almost was over.. The dive went past way too quickly. With that in mind, I swam the last few meters to the surface very slowly, but sadly I couldn’t make the time stop. Sniff Sniff..

That afternoon I spent packing my stuff and cleaning my room. For dinner, Melissa, Pete and I went to the Chinese. The Last Meal! Sniff. Of course the rest of the evening past even quicker and my last day was coming to an end.

Thursday arrived.. SNIF! After saying goodbye to Melissa, Chris and George it was soon time to leave. Pete took me to the airport, where we had to say goodbye which wasn’t easy.
Emotional as I was (am) I had another half an hour waiting for my plane. At the airport, when it was almost time to get on the plane, I lost my boarding pass, (panic!!) which I thankfully found back soon on the floor. Donut that I am.
After that, all the power at the airport was cut off for a moment and the plane had a delay. Finally, when getting on board the plane, I found out that I was standing in the wrong queue, apparently the one for passengers with priority, and I had to go all the way to back end of the other queue. What a disaster!

Fortunately, the flight itself went well, and after 4.5 very long hours, and a moment at the German airport that they suddenly (in German..) wanted to check my passport and luggage, I could finally see my family again, who made and brought a wonderful span board for me.

I want to thank everyone I have worked and dived with so very much!

Harry, for all our diving skills and jokes together. Louise and family, for the lovely chatting and super fun trips. Jackie, Lauren and Phil, for our dives, working together and all the very enjoyable moments together.

Chris and George, for all our dives together and your great humor. Melissa, for your hospitality, our shopping trips and chatty moments.

And last but not least, Pete, for all your support, diving, fun, wonderful humor and much more!

I have had the time of my life and learned so much at Dive and Sea Tenerife.

It was a life changing experience and I will cherish it forever.

As mentioned before, I lost my heart to the beautiful island of Tenerife.

Thank you all for everything, Love You! (K)

SNIFF.

Have i mentioned i feel ill?

The day began with a lay in until 8.30. Luxury. After arriving at work nice and refreshed it was time for some revising, in preparation for our PADI Assistant Instructor exams next week. After the nice relaxed start to the day it was off to the marina for me and Pete to get the boat out of the water for the engines service. Upon arriving at the marina we were informed that the Crane (required to lift the boat out of the water) would be ready in 5 minutes. So a Spanish 5 minutes later or the English equivalent of an hour and a half someone finally turned up on a golf buggy to lift the boat out of the water. Laid back to say the least.
After laying around on the boat we returned to the shop to revise, clean the cars and remind everyone how hard we had to work at the marina. Next, time for a spot of lunch following a relaxed morning.

After lunch myself and Melissa headed off to get some tank’s filled, then me and Bungle had some enjoyable physics exams to get our teeth into, in which I managed to fail. Not pleased, some more help needed.

On to Saturday, no sign of a lay in this morning being in the shop for 7.30am. First on the agenda was assembling the kit ready for Ann’s Open Water Dives 1 and 2 for her PADI Open Water Course.
I spent the morning on shop duty along with Melissa chilling out, catching up on revision and paper work. Then to my horror I discovered a major wound on my hand which led me to the conclusion I was going to lose my hand.

On the other hand Bungle headed to Playa Negra with Ann, Alice and Pete. After a peaceful morning and some tea drinking the group returned from Playa Negra and Pete expressed how much he loves shore dives and never has the opportunity to do enough of them! Then we headed off the marina to clean the kit. When we arrived at the marina there was still no sign of the boat which was still being serviced, which added to Pete’s ‘joy filled’ day. Once back at the shop we fixed a BCD and sat some more ‘old dive master style’ exams in preparation for our PADI Assistant Instructor Course. I managed to score 90%, 95% and 100% on the three exams completed. Not bad but not perfect... Yet.
A very ‘Spanish day’, very laid back and I can’t complain.

Another Sunday in paradise and a perfect opportunity to do the bare minimum. The day consisted of eating, reading, more eating and a run around the golf (Gold Del Sur). On the other hand Bungle headed back to the U.K for a few days to buy some much needed Nesquick for Melissa!

On to Monday arriving at the shop for 7.30am to get the kit together for a spot more diving with Ann. Next we headed to the marina where the boat was ready and waiting, much to Pete’s delight. We headed out to Gijjaro Arrecife for Ann’s Open Water dives 3 and 4 in which she did brilliantly and overcame here fear of removing her mask with little help from Pete.

After some brilliant diving we arrived back at the marina, where I successfully managed to misplace a
T-Shirt, I was not pleased to say the least. After overcoming the distraught of losing a T-Shirt we unpacked the kit and headed off to eat. After lunch, some more exams including physics which I was fairly confident of my ability in, which proved very misplaced as I didn’t manage to pass the exam. Ohh dear, Perfect Pete would not be best pleased. The day finished with a de-brief and some mockery of my physics errors. A bit more revision in order I think.

One whole week since last Tuesday and the day began at 7.30, when we assembled kit for Patrick, on holiday from Ireland and Ann our newly qualified Open Water Diver. After picking everyone up Melissa, I, Patrick and Ann headed to El Puertito to try and find aquatic animals of the Turtle kind.

Two dives later and lots of smiling faces from seeing the Turtles on the first of two fantastic dives. The Turtle/s thought It would be a good idea to follow us almost to shore on our return from the dive and one even managed to bump in to my mask due it’s ‘fantastic’ vision.

After returning, cleaning the kit and a spot of lunch Tiede Diver’s turned up to start the first section of Bungle, I and Jackie’s PADI Assistant Instructor Course. EXCITED. The afternoon consisted an introduction to the course a brief presentation and a full sitting of all 8 ‘old style Divemaster’ exams. Oh the Joys. A nice late finish later and some discussion on just how ill I felt all day (near death) we headed to a bar for several beers in aid of Alice’s departure. Huuuwahhhh wahhh wahhhh (Sympathy).

Just for anyone who cares I was feeling slightly better and in fact did not die. Bonus.
The day began with assembling all of the kit for yet some more diving with the ‘fantastic Ann’, who we have almost persuaded to come back out here later in the year to complete a Divemaster internship.

Bungle, I, Alice and Pete headed to the marina where Ann met us, we loaded the boat and headed out to Yellow Mountain. The first dive found the group heading off to Alien rock, leaving me on the boat due to still recovering from my near death experience.

The first dive was also Alice’s 100th dive, BIG Congratulations even if she didn’t stick to tradition.
The second dive took Alice, Pete and Ann off to the swim through followed by Crocodile Rock, leaving an ill Bungle on the boat with me.

We all returned to the shop and then Bungle aka ‘Bodge it’ and I had the task of destroying the shop and reassembling it, well that’s what we did any way. Two cabinets later and some rearranging of kit storage, it was time for a well deserved breakfast at the Aberdeen, Perfect. When we returned to the shop we finished tidying away the mess we created and headed off to get some tanks filled with Melissa. The day concluded with a brief de-brief and some more tea. A good day all round.

The next day, Bungle and I, although being given the option of a lay in decided to get up anyway and come to the shop, because we are such fantastic interns. We spent the morning finishing off yesterdays rearranging of the shop and this very blog. Then Pete and Alice arrived at the shop in order to collect some kit and say fair well to Alice who was sadly leaving us today.

Shortly after the one and only Tiede Divers (Jackie and Phil) arrived for day 2 of our PADI Assistant instructor course. The day began with a lot of tea drinking followed by fantastic presentations on everything from ‘the PADI system’ to ‘Quality Management’.

Then Melissa and Fantastic Ann returned from a great morning of diving at Abades which warranted another break and some more tea drinking. Rightly so. After a spot of lunch we returned to enjoy some more physics revision and a few exams to test our knowledge. Not to mention the fact that Melissa and Ann disappeared to the Aberdeen for a breakfast whilst everyone but ‘Admin’ continued to work.
The day concluded with saying good bye to Ann and a recap on what we had completed throughout the day.

Another week gone and only 12 days remaining! Not good. The idea of returning to England is less appealing now more than ever. As a final note, good luck to Alice with whatever the future throws her way (like a war for example), see you again soon.

Adios

Alice departs....... but life goes on

A relatively quiet day at the office. Pete had us interns in the shop and brushing up on our theory knowledge, preparing for the PADI Assistant Instructor course.

We went through anything that wasn't quite sinking in, which was mainly the physics section! Having not worked with equations for a few years since high school, some of the bits are a lot to take in, but working on it over a few sessions is definitely helpful!
We then re-sat some sections of the old Divemaster exams, to see which bits still need some more study time.

Saturday morning we were joined by a very nice lady by the name of Ann, who was in Tenerife for the open water dives she needed to complete for her PADI Open Water Course.

Pete, Alice and I joined her in the water at Playa Negra, for her to complete the required skills. This was a fantastic dive for Pete, because as we all know, he is a huge lover of shore dives. With the entry and exit procedures sufficiently moaned about by our resident instructor, the dives continued and went with out a hitch. This was my first dive at Playa Negra and found it to be a really nice dive site.
Ann thoroughly enjoyed her self as well so jobs a gooden!!

In the afternoon I accompanied Pete down to the marina, where the boat was being put back in to the water after having a service. We got down there only to find that the boat wasn't being put back into the water, because the man there had broken the crane!
We went back to the shop and went through a few more exams, eventually getting the boat back in to the water later in the afternoon.

Sunday I unfortunately had to return to the UK for a couple of days. I boarded a plane and headed to the rain and cold that is the backbone of England!

Tuesday I was back! Pleased to be back in the sunshine and also far away from England, I very quickly unpacked some things and prepared for an afternoon of PADI Assistant Instructor details. Phil and Jackie from Teide Divers had come down to join Zippy and I, to complete the group of us that were taking part in the course.
Pete went through the scheduling of the course, what was going to be involved and what we would be learning over the next week or so. The presentation that Melissa had so patiently been typing up over the last few days was in full effect on the big screen and gave us details of what to expect.

Once the first part of the presentation was complete, we sat the old Divemaster exams again. Having revised some of the areas of concern, the exams seemed a bit easier. This consumed the best part of the afternoon (time flies when you are having fun) and gave us some more things to think about in evening revision.

Wednesday morning Ann was joining us again for some more fun dives after successfully becoming a certified PADI Open Water Diver on Monday. Yellow Mountain was the venue, Alice, Pete and I joined Ann in the water and Zippy was holding the fort on the boat.

Alice was also celebrating her 100th dive, back at Alien Rock which was where it all began for her a couple of months ago.
Refusing to adhere to 100th dive tradition, even with the full support of Staff and Customers, and some shop based forfeits, Alice had decided to dive fully clothed and with both fins in place. Bad effort Alice!

I managed to acquire quite the headache during the first dive, so joined Zippy on the boat while the others went back down for a second dive.

We trundled down to the old faithful Aberdeen for a celebratory breakfast. This was to be Alice's last Aberdeen fry up, which was mildly upsetting, but the plates arrived with hash browns so we were quickly back on a positive note. After breakfast I spent a couple of hours tidying and re-organising bits and pieces in the shop, with some flat pack furniture in the form of some new bookcases thrown in for good measure.

Congratulations to Alice for becoming a PADI Master Scuba Diver, PADI Divemaster and getting to 100 dives in the time she was here. Having started as a non-diver, that is quite good going in 14 weeks.

Thursday morning I was up bright and early to get some kit ready, but wasn't going diving. Ann and Melissa were off to Abades and I helped get their bits and pieces together for them. I stayed back in the shop and finished some of the D.I.Y from yesterday. There are now some new brackets on the wall, which hold some fins in a different place from where they were before. As simple as this may seem (I'm a little bit sad when in comes to things being re-organised), the kit area of the shop looks good!

I finished this and then spent an hour or so applying for a few Diving jobs. Pete had kindly found a few positions available that might suit me, so I fired off a few e-mails in the hope that I can find a place to put my new found knowledge to the test.

Having really enjoyed my time learning the ropes of the diving industry, I am sure that I want to progress up the PADI ladder and work as a diver of some description.

We spent the afternoon going through some more of the Assistant Instructor presentation, as well as some physics revision. Phil and Jackie were back down and time soon flew past. Thursday = job done.

Not to self; Finding re-organising stuff exciting is a bit odd.