Back again, not to worry

Hi everyone, its been a few days so apologies to those hanging on a knife edge for the next instalment!

Well I have been pretty busy I can tell you. I have managed a few more exams so I am really pleased. Physiology, Dive Skills and the Environment and Dive Equipment. I got scores of 95%, 90% and 75% respectively. Struggled a bit on Dive equipment because the exam still tests on J valves and transducers but they are not included in the encyclopedia anymore so just scraped a pass. But, as they say, a pass is a pass.

Last Saturday we dived at La Herradura, no sunshine was a first but hopefully not to be repeated situation. I assisted Antonio as we led a group of English guys from Sevilla round the dive site Tres Picos ( 3 Peaks ). Visability was good at around 10-15 metres and lots of varied life. I even spotted an Octopus under one of the overhangs.

Yesterday I took full advantage of Skysports with a football super sunday in my apartment!

Tomorrow it looks like we are back off to Gibraltar with 4 divers, 2 English and 2 Dutch. I quite like this site as there are loads of wrecks sunk purposely for an artificial reef project. I am thinking of using a couple for my Dive Site Mapping exercise I have to complete sometime soon.

Thursday we will be back to La Herraduras but the difference being is that it will be me leading. Think I shall be revising the map a few times over the next few days. I have heard that losing divers does not go down very well!

I will try not to leave it as long next time before my next update so stay tuned...

Just starting to find Wifi...

Hi all, sorry for the delay but I am only just starting to find the wifi signals round where I am based in Mijas.

Since I last added to the blog I have been diving in La Herradura.  It is a very picturesque bay with a lovely beach and quite clear water.  That is until you get to about 10 metres then the viz gets a bit poor.  I have been finding though that the viz is getting better by the day.

Just had a day off so it was spent having a walk around and seeing whats what round here, also spent a long time looking for a good wifi signal!

On my travels I also went into my local Lidl for a bit of food shopping and found that most of the products in there are exactly the same as back home,  nice and cheap as well which will really help now I am not earning.

Just waiting for people to get home so I can try out this wifi and get speaking through skype.

Tomorrow is classroom day, hopefully going to try and get some exams done - physics and physiology of diving.  Learnt some great stuff whilst I have had my head in the books.  Did you know that it is not the bodies need for Oxygen that makes us breathe?  The body actually instructs the diaphragm to push the lungs to expel carbon dioxide and as a result we take in oxygen as the diaphragm pulls back.

Will let you know how my classroom goes...

Marina del Este

Yesterday we were joined by 2 trainee´s taking the Advanced Open water training. Early start from now on seems to be the norm with shop open for the day´s prep at 8am. Build all the gear for yourself and students so when the arrive it is a quick hop in the van and we are off.

As I said yesterday it was to marina del Este which is about an hour east of the shop just past Nerja. Nice quiet little cove with a very South of France feel about the place. These dives were assisting the instructor, first up was deep dive. We swam out and then it was down gradually to 29.9 metres (on my watch anyhow). They completed a couple of tests to give them examples of Nitrogen narcosis, after that it was a gradual ascent and back to the shore. The second dive was Underwater Navigation, this was great as it gave me a chance to practice what is a weak area for me.

Today it was back to Gibraltar for another 2 dives with the trainees. This time it was Peak Buoyancy and Wreck Diving. Peak buoyancy is all about weighting properly and learning how to keep neutrally bouyant making for an easier and more in control dive. The second dive was wreck diving and we came across quite a few in Little Camp Bay! Visability all day though was not bad at around 10-12m. It does have an upside in that learning to teach students in so-so viz does show you how easy it is to lose track and orientation. Lots of things to bear in mind to ensure the safety of all.

Tomorrow I think the trainees have picked Search and Recovery as another elective to go towards their certification which should be great exposure for me.

Managed to speak on the phone with Amanda the other day as I now have a Spanish mobile, great to hear her voice. Still roaming the estate to find a free wifi area! Need to have skype. Not long now until she comes out to join me for Easter.

Back to the books tonight - the delights of Boyles Law, Charles Law, Ideal Gas Law, General Gas Law, Dalton´s Law, Archimedes Theory you name it I have to master it. Pressure, temperare, volume, M-Values, Halftimes, there is a hell of a lot of theory that goes into Divemaster training!

ooh thats a bit chilly...

First dive today everyone, blimey that was a bit chilly. For someone used to diving in tropical waters these temperate waters will take a bit of getting used to! Still I must say that I was quite warm in my new wetsuit and gear. Just the face gets a shock as you go down. Once I am aclimatized it should be fine.

We dived from Gibraltar today, not a fantastic place but the diving was good. 3 wrecks and the last one at about 23-26 m was great. The Dolphin was more or less intact and quite a size with loads of life around it. Watre temperature was 14c but we dived to 23.4m for a dive time of around 40-50 minutes inclusive of our 3 minute safety stop.

Safety, safety & safety is the name of the game here and it is reassuring to see.

Sun is still shining but not as warm today, only reaching about 18c. Still it is slightly warmer than UK!

Now what shall I rustle up tonight?

Day 2

Its easy when you know how. Day 2 today and it was spent going through the divemaster manual. Remember I was having trouble with ´halftimes´well I had it explained by Simon today and it is all starting to make sense.

This is my first post since I started properly at Simply Diving here in Torremolinos. Yesterday was all about meeting Simon the owner/instructor and getting aquainted with the shop and various do´s and don´ts. You might have to excuse my typing, this is a spainsh keyboard and just starting to find where some of the keys haev moved to.

Really great operation which comes across as really well run and professional. I think I have made a good choice and I am looking forward to getting in the water. I believe we are going to try a new dive site tomorrow - wreck diving.

Managed to find a few good supermarkets yesterday as well, which means I am now starting to eat properly. Last nights gourmet meal - salad with blue cheese dressing and four cheese pasta with a sprinkle of emmental. All washed down with a couple of cerveza and some 1€ Dom Simon vino tintos. Lingo is going slowly but as you can see the important stuff is sinking in - namely beer!

Missing Amanda terribly but it is now less than a month until she comes out to join me. Hopefully she will get a chance to dive with me and can grade me on how I am doing.

Sun is just starting to come out which is needed as it can have a bit of a chill without it it. Not UK chilly but still might need a small cardy!

Back to the books for me now so catch up soon.