2 days after Florida I was back on the road again, to one of my favorite places.
We were first introduced to St. Maarten a few years ago by some friends. Reliable weather, warm water, beautiful dive sites and an easy, direct flight from NYC make it a great place to go.
The hotel was quiet, so I got upgraded to a fancy room. This was the view from my balcony.
Go Pro selfie. In order to do the Rescue Course, you need to have your Advanced Open Water and be current with CPR and first aid. I had just finished my EMT course a few months prior, so it worked out well.
Many people will say that the Rescue course is their favorite and I can see why. It was challenging, but fun, and the information you learn can help you save other people, in addition to saving yourself. When I wasn’t getting my air turned off by my instructor or lugging my 170 lb. classmate unto the shore, I got some fun dives in.
Green turtles and juvenile Caribbean reef sharks are very common sights while diving in SXM. The guy in the video with the big camera is Jef, one of the owners of the shop.
Southern Stingrays are also a very common sight on these dives.
I got 10 dives in for the week, including my first night dive, which was a very cool experience. Many of the critters are more active once the sun goes down. It’s pretty hilarious to see lobsters scooting across the bottom of the ocean floor. We started the dive at dusk, so it got dark while we were already underwater. My favorite part was the phytoplankton. If we all turned our flashlights off and moved our arms and legs around, we could create a pixie dust type situation by irritating the phytoplankton. Having time off makes me feel like Peter Pan and this dive made me feel like Tinkerbell.
A Thirsty Spirit 