Retirement Hobby: Scuba Diving

by Love to Dive
(Toronto, Canada)

If you can float in water, if you enjoy snorkeling, you can dive!

I'm a 60 year old, 5-foot tall woman who is semi-retired (casual work). I'm definitely not the sporty type, but I've just finished traveling solo and diving (on a budget) for 4 weeks all over the Philippines!

I like my ocean water warm and inviting, therefore I do my diving in the Caribbean and the Pacific. So far, IMHO, Cozumel in Mexico, the Island of Koh Tao in Thailand and the islands in the Eastern Indonesia have the best dive sites.

Of course, when I'm low in funds (quite often) and as a Canadian, I'd go to Southern Cuba and dive in the famous Bay of Pigs for US $20/ dive (super cheap!).

I only come truly alive when I’m underwater. I feel truly privileged to be allowed to observe the many amazing creatures in an environment that is totally alien, yet somewhat parallel to us land-based beings.

Ocean is important to the humans’ survival (perils of global warming, coral bleaching, etc.) and I believe that diving makes one think and care for conservation matters and invariably act more Green and responsible.

Most important, it keeps you feeling young at heart and wanting to keep yourself in shape as you need to do some daily moderate exercises to keep your cardiovascular in decent shape. Oh yes, you also get to meet and make friends with like-minded divers from all over the world whom you could keep in touch on FB, emails, etc. and might even travel together on future trips!

I close my eyes and I see the blue ocean…beguiling me! (Hey! If you don’t mind the cooler water, there are lakes and seas in the northern hemispheres as well! The choices are limitless! Then there are also caves, caverns, wrecks…and the wonderful world of underwater photography to explore)

So, try the Discovery Dive offered at many resorts in the South and see for yourself…and indulge!

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Thank you, David!
by: Love to Dive/ Toronto, Canada

I learnt something new today. I didn’t know and had to look up what "hookah diving" was! It’s somewhat similar to today’s "SNUBA".

Were you catching lobsters in the Florida Keys too? How long did you usually stay under? How deep? What about the risk of decompression, as that is something always on us divers’ mind…Were you able to travel far with the compressor on the surface (in a rubber ring)? Sounds like an interesting sport!

Hey! I didn’t take up scuba until I was in my mid-40’s---to prepare for a family trip to Australia (the Great Barrier Reef!).

Then I hardly had any time to pursue it as I was busy raising kids and working. Now that kids are all grown and I only work casually, I spend my time planning my next dive trip (Liveaboard is the best---live on a boat for a week and dive everywhere is the way to go!) or figuring what creatures are in my mainly lousy UW photos!

So…it’s never too late to learn something new! If you like hookah diving, you (may be even your Missus) will like scuba diving too! Try it! YOLO!

Wendy: Did you see David's email at the end of his post? Connect with him and swap dive stories!

DISLIKE JEALOUSY and ENVY B U T, HI HI...
by: David Ponsonby

Dear Lass,

When just a single guy, I absolutely loved Skin Diving,mostly with Hooker gear,mostly with a 2 man compressor set up...

After marrying my child hood sweetheart I sadly obeyed her wishes and gave up my 2 hobbies, 1 was skin diving, the other was range type target shooting, had a handicap of just 1, gave all away for peace and quiet and developed my engineering inventive skills and derived lots of pleasure from that source...

After reading of your diving efforts I do very honestly feel a bit deflated, VERY WELL DONE DEAR LASS, good on you for your efforts, you are entering a wonderful world when you go below the surface...

Bye,, Sincerely,,,
David,,,
adm@BIGPOND.COM

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