Last semester we went to the shipwreck Veronica L. for our dive. We decided we wanted to change things up and visit a reef this time. After collecting all of our gearing and getting set up on the boat, we headed off to Dragon Bay which was about a 15 minute boat ride away. I've been to Dragon Bay a couple of times in the day, but not since March and not since I officially became a certified diver. I do remember that it was a particularly pretty place to visit with a gorgeous reef and wall.
All of our regulators had a red glow stick attached to them in addition to the bright flashlights we carried in hand under water. It's little things like this that make me so comfortable diving with EcoDive. When we arrived at dusk, we went over the safety and details of night diving and covered every thing from what to expect when we descended to what kinds of critters we might see. Attention to details from start to finish, my kind of people!
It was a phenomenal dive - so many eels, a teeny squid (who we accidentally scared into inking), several different types of shrimp, hermit crabs, sleeping fish, awake fish, and a very nervous lobster! A couple of group members also found an octopus, but I didn't have the chance to see him (apparently my attention was being held elsewhere). The corals and invertebrates were spectacular at night with all of the corals open and feeding. Made them look extra fuzzy! We were down for an hour without anyone running out of air - pretty impressive! Christie and Russel were fantastic leaders and I can't wait to go again soon! The moon even held off long enough for us to play around with the bioluminescence. While I'll never forget sitting in the sand in a circle in Mexico in the dark to see it for the first time, it was just as beautiful that night glittering a green-blue color as we moved around to stir it up.
We came back along the coast under the moon light while chatting and reflecting on the spectacular sights we just witnessed. Grenada was gently illuminated by twinkling family homes, my absolute favorite thing to see in here. I wish pictures could do it justice, but unfortunately only a painting or piece of artwork from a talented artist would do the trick. I happen to lack talent in the art department.
My night photography skills need some work under water (oh darn, guess I'll have to go again soon!) particularly now that I'm getting used to my camera housing. Part of my problem was also that although I plugged my camera into the wall, I forgot to turn the outlet on (each outlet has an on/off switch) so when I thought I was charging the camera last week, I wasn't actually doing a darn thing!
This dive was the first of five that I have to complete to achieve my advanced open water certification. So many more exciting adventures in store for me!
http://www.ecodiveandtrek.com/
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