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Certified! PADI Open Water Diver

Over the last week, I have been swimming my way to my certification that allows me to dive anywhere in the world. The PADI Open Water Diver.

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Once you go you are hooked

It can be said about many things in life, but it is defiantly true about diving. The world looks amazing 60ft below the surface. I have always loved to snorkel, its great you get to see a few little fishes, but it just doesn’t even compare with diving.

The colors

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Every color of the rainbow, and maybe more, can be found floating on or around the reef. Most people think of the fish as the source of interest underwater, but the coral can be absolutely amazing too.

Flying underwater

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Its one of the coolest feelings, just being suspended, weightless, and free. With practice you can keep yourself still or move exactly where you want to be with just your breathing, cruising just above the coral.

Diving the CJ site: North Shore – Utila, Honduras

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I took my course on the island of Utila, 20 miles off the shores of Honduras’s Caribbean coast. The island is a total dive island, mostly because it is the cheapest place in the world to get diving certifications. Open water cert. is currently around $289 or so depending shop to shop. The one cost you should consider before taking the trek to Utila, it’s not super easy to get to, and really doesn’t have a lot going on in route. So you have to weigh the cost savings of the class, and the cost to get there and the time investment. If you do your diving here make sure your fun dives go to highly recommended sites like the north shore, or other dive master favorites.

The highlight of  the course came at the end with our fun dives. We took the 45-minute boat ride to the north side of the island and jumped in for an amazing 40 minutes at 18 meters down. This site is a favorite of many dive masters for is giant wall structure that starts at 8 meters and drops off to nearly 70 meters. Along this massive wall, there are some cracks and caves to swim through and test our new skills.

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I can’t wait to get back in the water and dive again.

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