Turks & Caicos Diving - Part 2

I just got back from my beloved Beaches Turks & Caicos. Last time I was there was end of August 2012.

Unlike in August, our conditions were not the greatest, so we had to dive from the south side of the island. Minor inconvenience.

These were my 1st dives together with my husband since Belize October 2011, and they even let us do 2 buddy dives where it was just the 2 of us away from the group. I truly enjoyed that.

The conditions and visibility that were not ideal especially how good they can be in Turks, I was just happy to dive. To be back in the water and breathe bubbles is all I need. As most of dive masters say: you'll see water, sand and coral. Everything else is a bonus. So here are few amature photos taken by my disposable camera (or heresy for photography as far as my husband is concerned, but I'm still waiting for some underwater photos from 6 years ago, so I had to take matters into my own hands).

1st one is me, then lion fish, then me again.

But I was lucky to meet Gary Javore of Deep Blue Productions and he was nice enough lo let me use few of his photos:

I absolutely love when I see a turtle. They are so gentle and I consider them a good luck. I heard somewhere that turtle statuetes are supposed to bring financial luck to a household so I never go anywhere tropical without bringing back a carved turtle. Needless to say I have wooden turtles by dozens.

Loved seing the black tip reef sharks. They are such majestic creatures. 

These fishes were HUGE! They travel in groups, and we only saw them when we dove the site called Two Step.

Thank you again, Gary for your beautiful photos.

The dive boats were great (Newton), dive staff especially Noemi, Dejan and Oats were joy to dive with. Thanks guys!

(you didn't think I was going to let a fish have a last photo in this blog?)

Happy Travels and Happy Diving!

Turks and Caicos: Diving Part I

I have been very very lucky to get invited to stunning Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean to go diving with some of my fellow travel agents from the East Coast, New England states to be exact. My flight took me from Los Angeles via Miami directly to Providenciales (or Provo, how the locals call it) located on Grand Turk Island. 10 minute drive to Beaches Resort. One word of advice the flight from Miami to Providenciales is beautiful. If you have a nice sunny day, you will fly over Bahamas, so don't sleep or play with your iPad, look out the wndow and see stuff like this:

The upper photo is Bahamas from the air the lower photo is a coral reef as we were landing to PLS airport. The airport is a little small especially crowded on the way back, but it's Caribbean so everything is worth it.

This was my diving gang. The photo is a bit blurry, that's why this is blog part I there will be part II, when I get the underwater photos, there even may be a Part III later on.

The very next day we went 8 am for our first dive. I didn't have a dive since June and diving with all new people I was a bit nervous, but after about 10 minutes, when I got my bearings and relaxed completely, I went to my underwater zen place. First thing we saw was a turtle swimming by us. Visibility - amazing, coral - stunning. And black tip reef sharks were swimming right by!

Diving can be such a calming, sensual experience. I always try to give myself a chance to swim just an inch or so over a white sand bottom and then skim the sand with my fingertips. Once you are bitten by  the dive bug, you just live to breathe the bubbles...

The resort was great, food was excellent, but since diving takes so much energy there is no guilt for the calories. Here is my photo album of the resort:  BEACHES TURKS & CAICOS

Happy Travels!

Happy New Year! My New Years Wish is More Scuba Diving in 2012!

For all who know me, you will know that I am a passionate scuba diver. My PADI Open Water card never leaves my passport pouch. I had a good fortune in 2011 to have dives in Belize, Dominican Republic, Roatan, Honduras and Cozumel, Mexico. I was lucky enough to receive all new diving equipment from my husband, so I am looking to more diving holidays. He is usually the camera man on these dives and they are all done in hi-def (he believes he is filming for National Geographic), but he never labels his videos, and we still have a wedding video from 1999 that he is ‘getting to’ so I’m not holding my breath on my underwater videos. However, I had a beautiful dive with dolphins that I had Anthony Keys film for me, although it’s not of the greatest quality, it was one of those ‘bucket list’ items that I checked off and I was hoping to share with you, but my technical abilities will not allow it at this time. I’ll have to wait for my computer guru Kayvan Mott of Infinite Communications to finish his New Years festivities before he can take a crack at it! 

Diving vacations can be very special for those who have been bitten by the scuba diving bug and now live to ‘breathe bubbles’. I am planning to organize more specialized holidays for diving groups, and I think 1st on my list would be Roatan, Honduras. It holds special place in my heart, as diving is fantastic and it is safe and affordable. I have also observed divers and their companions on my holidays and I think I came up with a winning combination. When you have a husband/wife that dives with you, it’s great. But if your significant other does not dive, it makes it a boring and lonely holiday for them. So, I thought why not mix the both of best worlds. Go to some of the finest diving destinations, but go there with like minded people. If the non-diving partner comes to the diving vacation with you the least you can do is make sure he/she is taken care of. Whether that will consist of spa days, with other non-diving companions, shopping excursions, or just some plain fun in the sun on the beach, I’d like to put the end to the boredom and loneliness for your non-diving companion. I am open to suggestions on locations, activities so feel free to e-mail me @ dc@cosmoplitantravels.com, Facebook me www.facebook.com/cosmopolitantravels or just call me (800) 303-7901. 

Happy New Year and Safe Travels!