SCUBA diving: so many bodies of water, so little money!

I just finished four days of diving on the Great Barrier Reef aboard the liveaboard TAKA. The weather turned out to be simply outstanding with even the crew saying that it was the best they had seen in months. Diving this reef was quite high on my 'things to do before I die' list and I am glad to have been able to experience it in this manner. The weather was calm the entire time with barely any waves or major current. I have the say that the food was the best I have ever had on any trip. The chef, Jason did an outstanding job on every single meal and every one of the divers gave him rave reviews! The diving itself was pretty spectacular as we were blessed with excellent visibility for most of the trip. The biggest problem I had with the operation was the lack of flexibility. No matter the skill level or gas used, the dive time was the same, so had I know this, I would have forgone the added expense of using NITROX. The staff instructors were pretty standard fare in that they had the requisite basic skills, but nothing noteworthy (i.e. spent more time vertical than horizontal, kicked up bottom, etc).

On most of the dives we saw just about too much to describe and I think Mams really enjoyed herself. We got along quite well with the other divers and had as much fun out of the water as in it. Most were new (and even a couple not certified), but all really seemed to have a blast. Each night during dinner we would watch the edited video shot during the dives by John. I was struck by how expansive the barrier reef really was. Even when on top of the large ship, across my entire field of view across the horizon stretched reef visible by the breaking waves. It was stunning to me how different this reef is to nearly anything in the Untied States. Most of the reefs around the Florida keys and even Cozumel are dying. These dives and those of Roatan last year remind me of how a living reef can actually appear. Even on the long haul back in we had some fun watching the dolphin play in the bow waves.

Mams, Paula (one of the divers we met), and I decided to stay in the hostel together for the evening since we had flights around the same time the next day. After we got in we met some of crew out at a pub called the Green Ant Cantina in downtown Cairns. We were able to meet up with Layla, Mish, Johen, Nigil, Jason (the excellent cook), Claudia (the exquisite deckhand) and a few others. I think we were able to all enjoy drinks together more on the level of friendship than crew and clients. We had a great night out but had to leave too soon as we had to get up by 3:30AM to get a taxi to the airport. After experience this past week I remember why it is so great to be alive and able to enjoy these kinds of things.