|
Penetrating the impressive hull of an underwater wreck often means coming across a school of anchovies or a watchful snapper hiding in the corner. Often it is enough to enjoy the play of light as it too finds its way into the wreck, reflecting off the bubbles emitted by your dive buddy. Aruba earns its reputation as the wreck dive destination of the Caribbean with over half a dozen wrecks submerged in its waters. The Antilla, a German freighter -- which at close to 400 feet long, is also the Caribbean's largest wreck -- is by far the favorite, even among longtime, resident divers, who always seem to find something new at the site. If you have the yen to take your first plunge as a scuba diver, you can take an afternoon out to do a resort course that will provide the skills necessary to complete one 30-foot dive. A resort course consists of 90-minute classroom instruction and a one-hour lesson in the pool before you enter the water at the Pedernalis wreck dive site to try out your new "lungs."An intermediary to the Open Water certification is PADI's SCUBA Diver level (a two-day course consisting of three hours in the classroom and, if resort dive has already been accomplished, just on more pool and open water dives), allowing for dives up to 40 feet when accompanied by a dive professional. But undoubtedly, if you have been bitten by the diving bug, you'll want to upgrade your certification. To become certified for Open Water Diver, it takes a commitment of four days -- with 4-hour classroom instruction in the first two days followed by two more days of a two-hour classroom study course. Practical work comes in the form of four assisted dives, two of which cannot be completed until after the student successfully completes a written exam.
|