After setting off before both Quatermoon and Aliisa from San Sebastian we arrived last in Valle Gran Rey after a brief stop in Santiago for lunch. While in Santiago we managed to contact the Gomera Diving Centre and arrange to see the instructor the next day. We all anchored in the amazing location just outside of Puerto Vueltas harbour almost alongside the dramatic vertical cliffs.
The first night saw a little ‘get together’ aboard Aliisa where Hannis (The German Hippy Dude) we met in Cascais joined us.
The next day (Thurs) Lindsey and I went to the dive centre and arranged to start immediately that afternoon. While I have completed some of the OpenWater (Confined Water and Theory) components of the course I have not done the last four OpenWater Dives. After finally being able to get back in clean water we spent the morning snorkelling and then we went ashore where Lindsey started her theory components and we spent the afternoon in the centre watching PADI DVDs.
Friday morning saw us entering the water after a 9:30am start from the shore just opposite the dive centre for Lindsey to start her Confined Water skills. I mainly watched from underwater and also joined in a few of the skills to ‘brush up’. While only from the shore in about 3-4m of water the dives were amazing with a second dive at 2:30pm. During this second dive we saw a huge Manta (Butterfly) Ray which literally exploded from the sand less than a few feet away. Lindsey had trouble equalising her ears even at moderate depths and it seems like a problem that she is going to have to conquer throughout the course. Being determined she battled on and completed the Confined Water dives successfully.
Dive 1: 4m for 47mins
Dive 2: 4m for 32 mins
That night saw us join the others aboard Quatermoon for the most amazing tasting food I have ever tasted cooked on a boat BBQ.
Saturday was a ‘Day Off’ as the Dive centre was closed. We had a lazy start to the day and finally went ashore to the stony beach opposite the anchorage where Lindsey managed to sit down in the water before getting the dinghy ashore.
After finally getting ashore we found the bank and cashpoint machine to draw out some money. We spent the evening in a bar with a beach front view getting more and more drunk. On the way back to the boat Lindsey was absolutely desperate to go to the toilet which led to a swift swerve up a private looking alley only to be ‘caught in the act’ by someone vacating the building. After finally getting back to the boat out came the Rum and we continued where we left off.
The anchorage was now quite lonely as Aliisa had left Saturday morning and Quatermoon had decided to leave that evening, both heading for the Cape Verdes.
We will be close behind you guys, so stay safe and C ya soon!
Sunday morning was the first of our Open Water Dives, however, we were forced to enter from the shore due to bad sea conditions. The dive was still good with us going a lot deeper but visibility was severely reduced to about 5m.
Dive 3: 7m for 49 mins
We cancelled the second dive of the day again due to conditions and Lindsey and I spent the day snorkelling off the back of Doris after sleeping most of the afternoon. This snorkel session was a milestone for Lindsey as she finally stopped doing ‘dying fly’ impressions on the surface and learnt to dive deeper going to around 4m and then only stopped by not being able to equalise her ears.
With the weather being a lot better Monday morning we set out on our first Boat Dive joined by four other Germans and a Spanish guy, to a place called Cala De La Negra. This dive was amazing but Lindsey had a lot of problems with her ears and I ended up ‘Buddying Up’ with a German guy while the instructor looked after Lindsey and slowly got her down to depth. The fish were generally bigger and the whole experience generally more dramatic.
Dive 4: 12m for 46 mins
The second dive of the day, while being from the boat was literally only the other side of the Vueltas harbour wall (Baja Del Secrets). Again a great dive but with reduced visibility and a lot of ‘surge’ from waves rebounding off the wall. We did see both Bonito and Barracudas.
Dive 5: 15m for 39 mins
Tuesday saw us heading for a place called Iguala for our final qualifying PADI OpenWater dive. Lindsey again had some problems and took around 15 mins to get down to depth due to her ears being slow to equalise. Once we were all down the whole experience was ‘other worldly’. We swam along a reef with steep vertical walls again witnessing the most amazing sights and with this being our deepest dive yet, the feeling of flying over an abyss was incredible. It was this dive that I finally felt I could control my buoyancy with a degree of confidence as could Lindsey.
Dive 6: 17m for 46 mins
Lindsey and I are now fully qualified PADI Open Water divers and able to hire gear and go diving alone – scary stuff! Christmas is coming and I have a new shopping list! Bring on the Carribean…
Cumulative Dive Time: 4 hours 19 mins.
Lance – I owe you a large drink for getting me started!
Wednesday saw Lindsey and I looking for a taxi to take us up (around 1000m – I think) to a town called Arure, where we were to descend along the hiking track back to Valle Gran Rey below.
The weather was far from ideal being windy and threatening to rain. The other walkers (coming the opposite way) must have wondered about us not exactly being appropriately dressed or prepared.
The views across the island and out to sea were breath taking but the final hour or so of descent really took their toll on otherwise unused leg muscles.
The first night saw a little ‘get together’ aboard Aliisa where Hannis (The German Hippy Dude) we met in Cascais joined us.
The next day (Thurs) Lindsey and I went to the dive centre and arranged to start immediately that afternoon. While I have completed some of the OpenWater (Confined Water and Theory) components of the course I have not done the last four OpenWater Dives. After finally being able to get back in clean water we spent the morning snorkelling and then we went ashore where Lindsey started her theory components and we spent the afternoon in the centre watching PADI DVDs.
Friday morning saw us entering the water after a 9:30am start from the shore just opposite the dive centre for Lindsey to start her Confined Water skills. I mainly watched from underwater and also joined in a few of the skills to ‘brush up’. While only from the shore in about 3-4m of water the dives were amazing with a second dive at 2:30pm. During this second dive we saw a huge Manta (Butterfly) Ray which literally exploded from the sand less than a few feet away. Lindsey had trouble equalising her ears even at moderate depths and it seems like a problem that she is going to have to conquer throughout the course. Being determined she battled on and completed the Confined Water dives successfully.
Dive 1: 4m for 47mins
Dive 2: 4m for 32 mins
That night saw us join the others aboard Quatermoon for the most amazing tasting food I have ever tasted cooked on a boat BBQ.
Saturday was a ‘Day Off’ as the Dive centre was closed. We had a lazy start to the day and finally went ashore to the stony beach opposite the anchorage where Lindsey managed to sit down in the water before getting the dinghy ashore.
After finally getting ashore we found the bank and cashpoint machine to draw out some money. We spent the evening in a bar with a beach front view getting more and more drunk. On the way back to the boat Lindsey was absolutely desperate to go to the toilet which led to a swift swerve up a private looking alley only to be ‘caught in the act’ by someone vacating the building. After finally getting back to the boat out came the Rum and we continued where we left off.
The anchorage was now quite lonely as Aliisa had left Saturday morning and Quatermoon had decided to leave that evening, both heading for the Cape Verdes.
We will be close behind you guys, so stay safe and C ya soon!
Sunday morning was the first of our Open Water Dives, however, we were forced to enter from the shore due to bad sea conditions. The dive was still good with us going a lot deeper but visibility was severely reduced to about 5m.
Dive 3: 7m for 49 mins
We cancelled the second dive of the day again due to conditions and Lindsey and I spent the day snorkelling off the back of Doris after sleeping most of the afternoon. This snorkel session was a milestone for Lindsey as she finally stopped doing ‘dying fly’ impressions on the surface and learnt to dive deeper going to around 4m and then only stopped by not being able to equalise her ears.
With the weather being a lot better Monday morning we set out on our first Boat Dive joined by four other Germans and a Spanish guy, to a place called Cala De La Negra. This dive was amazing but Lindsey had a lot of problems with her ears and I ended up ‘Buddying Up’ with a German guy while the instructor looked after Lindsey and slowly got her down to depth. The fish were generally bigger and the whole experience generally more dramatic.
Dive 4: 12m for 46 mins
The second dive of the day, while being from the boat was literally only the other side of the Vueltas harbour wall (Baja Del Secrets). Again a great dive but with reduced visibility and a lot of ‘surge’ from waves rebounding off the wall. We did see both Bonito and Barracudas.
Dive 5: 15m for 39 mins
Tuesday saw us heading for a place called Iguala for our final qualifying PADI OpenWater dive. Lindsey again had some problems and took around 15 mins to get down to depth due to her ears being slow to equalise. Once we were all down the whole experience was ‘other worldly’. We swam along a reef with steep vertical walls again witnessing the most amazing sights and with this being our deepest dive yet, the feeling of flying over an abyss was incredible. It was this dive that I finally felt I could control my buoyancy with a degree of confidence as could Lindsey.
Dive 6: 17m for 46 mins
Lindsey and I are now fully qualified PADI Open Water divers and able to hire gear and go diving alone – scary stuff! Christmas is coming and I have a new shopping list! Bring on the Carribean…
Cumulative Dive Time: 4 hours 19 mins.
Lance – I owe you a large drink for getting me started!
Wednesday saw Lindsey and I looking for a taxi to take us up (around 1000m – I think) to a town called Arure, where we were to descend along the hiking track back to Valle Gran Rey below.
The weather was far from ideal being windy and threatening to rain. The other walkers (coming the opposite way) must have wondered about us not exactly being appropriately dressed or prepared.
The views across the island and out to sea were breath taking but the final hour or so of descent really took their toll on otherwise unused leg muscles.
Once back at sea level in Valle Gran Rey we made sure Doris was all OK and headed to a bar for some drinks while waiting for our restaurant of choice (Tuyo) to open.
After several well earned Baileys and a few beers we sat down to dinner in complete solitude as we were the only people there. Lindsey finally got to have her fish dinner of Dorada Royal which put a huge smile on her face. After desert and a smooth row back to the boat we were soon making like ‘dead people’ being exhausted from the days hike.
Thursday 11th - We have decided to set sail for the Verdes (~800nm about 7 days at sea) tomorrow after getting everything sorted with the boat and depending on a good weather forcast.
We spent the afternoon rowing back and forth ashore getting fresh water onboard, replacing the used Gaz cylinder and buying more supplies. We also bought some new squiddy lures as recommended by Kat.
During the evening the wind really started blowing and it was not possible to get ashore by rowing the dinghy to check the Internet for email, weather etc so had an early night after Chilli Con Carne and a beer.
It’s now Friday morning (10:30am) and I am writing this. Marcus & Jess on Veracity arrived last night. Today will be spent getting the water cans filled in case anything happens to the main water tank and doing all the Internet based stuff. Hopefully, all being well, we will leave either tonight or tomorrow morning and I will update the blog via twitter.
The trip to Cape Verdes will be the longest leg of my trip yet, although not single handed this time… Stay Tuned!
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