1st Cuttle fish, 2nd Night Dive and should I eat fish?

Week two of my internship has just came to a close, and I am finally beginning to feel like there is actually solid ground beneath my feet. I am slowly becoming more and more used to the daily routine, and do not feel completely like a “Twat”, half a twat maybe, but not a full blown twat. I am not ace perfect star intern, but I am better off than last week... I hope.

Now that the boring stuff is out of the way lets talk about CUTTLEFISH! I have finally seen two of them. All in the same day, and it had made my day a very good day. One was about the size of a mouse, just swimming around on the bottom of the desolate floor. The second one was napping on the reef paying no mind, to us the divers. It was a great day to be me.

Same dive same day I also saw Octopus again. The only reason I actually saw this octopus is because it was reaching out for a sea shell just 2 feet away from its den. Once again it was a great day to be diving.
Last but not least on this epic day of diving we saw a Eagle ray swimming off into the distance. Where it was going, we will never know, but I hope to see one a lot closer soon.

Next topic I would like to mention was the night dive. This was one of the gnarliest things I have ever done.  I just have never dived in night time conditions. I did a simulated night dive in a bayou once and that just does not compare at all. On this dive I saw an nudibranch, and that is also one of those creatures that I was completely ecstatic at seeing.

Call me a sucker for invertebrates, but they are just the craziest alien looking beings ever, and for that reason I find it safe to say the coolest animals alive. Seeing all the bioluminescent plankton lighting up at our kicking fins and swaying hands was something out of a dream.  It will probably be a memory I never forget, and will cherish for life.

I have also verified that fish at Yellow Mountain do in fact rush to a diver who happens to have a knife out. Which is really cool, it shines a new light on the brain dead fish concept.
The draw back to this newfound discovery is it is making me not want to consume fish any more. Which is a bummer, but it will start weighing heavily on my conscious.
AHHH decisions, decisions.

I have really enjoyed this second week of my internship, and I am beginning to feel more comfortable with all the tasks assigned, and the work. It should really only keep getting better as time progresses, and if by some miracle I see a shark, then I can die happy. I would prefer not to though, but just an expression. 6 more weeks of this is something that can hopefully go a little slower, because time is really flying me by.
I really enjoy exploring the island very much, I got my self a bike from the second hand store which is the most convenient thing ever. YESSSSS !

Trigger

Manta Ray spotted in Tenerife :)

Monday we got out of the shop and went to Yellow Mountain on a Discover Scuba Dive and on the first dive we descended down and there was a Manta ray swimming above us, it was the biggest ray I’ve ever seen and it was one of a very few times while diving when I was completely amazed at what I was seeing.

It was a rare thing to see and really made me feel privileged, especially considering I’ve seen Dolphins as well since I’ve been here. The second dive was my 51st dive which means that my original diving log book was completely filled so I had to get another one.
My first entry into my new log book was on Independence Day, or July 4th, which is a big deal in the USA. Instead I got to work and basically completely forgot all about it until I got back after diving.

Luckily though the dives were awesome because it was the first time I’ve seen the Turtles at El Puertito. It was a PADI Discover Scuba Diving dive as well with Ann and some people she knew. Later that day I got to observe the Rescue diver course for Mel, Gerardo, Theiss, and Ann. It was really fun, me and Hannah just watched and and had a good laugh.
Later after all that we got kit ready for the night dive the next day.

So on the 5th the night dive led off the day and it was an awesome dive, I really enjoy the night dives and this one was much better than the first one I went on. Gerardo was my partner and we saw a small octopus and an eel completely out of its hole, it was just hugging the wall near the bottom of the ocean. There were also a ton of shrimp clinging onto the walls near the marina so when you put your flashlight on them you could see tons of little eyes staring back.

The next few days are kind of a blur, but we worked on kitting up and getting in the water one day and Hannah and I did our final 800m swim, 100m tow, and 15 minute tread.
Nothing was too difficult and we did relatively well.
For Hannah and I that means that all we need to do is get to 60 dives at this point and we are both really close to be PADI Divemasters, so it should happen quite soon.

This week has been really fun with the new fish I saw and the turtles, plus we are almost to 60 dives!

Eric