Honeymoon

We just returned from our honeymoon in The Bahamas last night, and although I knew it couldn't last forever I was sad to leave that beautiful place. We had such a wonderful time! Since this week looks to be a busy one, I figured I'd capture it now while I have the time.

When we arrived, we knew the first thing we wanted to do was get signed up for scuba diving. The resort offered free diving for all guests, which we have since learned was a steal of a deal. We could take a short class to learn the basics and then go out on real ocean dives! Both Jon and I were feeling adventurous, really excited about trying it out, so we spent Monday morning in the dive pool, learning how to breathe through a regulator/tank, how to make ourselves less or more buoyant, and how to equalize our air spaces. A bit overwhelming I will admit, but nonetheless really exciting. And it became the focus of our trip.

Tuesday morning we headed out for our very first real dive. We donned full body wet suits (surprisingly pretty comfortable and necessary to stay somewhat warm) and headed to the boat with the gear we had just learned how to use. There were 5 or 6 of us "resort divers" amongst a boat full of certified scuba divers, so it was interesting to observe them and see how much they truly enjoy it. The gear is incredibly heavy, not to mention the extra weight I had tied around my waist to help me get to the bottom of the ocean. But it gave me comfort - surely all this heavy gear was there to protect me in some way or another! We were told of the dangerous fish and coral to stay clear of, and instructed to cover our eyes if we saw a shark. Ha. Our instructors and dive staff were funny, but clearly very passionate about diving. So back to Tuesday morning, we jumped in, actually "stepped" in, and slowly descended 30 feet to the bottom of the ocean. The bottom - what a crazy sensation.

Diving was the most amazing experience ever. EVER. You can't hear much of anything except your own deep breathing, communicating with others by hand signals. You know you are harnessed up in heavy gear, yet you feel weightless. Moving is slow and can be tiring. Fish of all colors swim by, eyeing you to make sure you aren't a threat. Plants and other sea-life sway with the currents. It's a whole other world, one which I am so glad we decided to check out.

I had purchased a waterproof camera case to take on the trip, expecting to only use it snorkeling near the surface. However, one of the boat crew members convinced me to use it on the dive, assuring me that we wouldn't be deep enough for the pressure to affect my camera. I very reluctantly agreed, worrying every second that the waterproof seal would fail and my handy Canon would be ruined. Fortunately, I was wrong and he was right, and I got some amazing photos! I'll let them speak for themselves.

Tuesday went so well, we decided to head back out diving on Wednesday. The weather took a turn for the worse and was incredibly windy, but the dive was still scheduled. We headed out to what seemed to be the middle of the ocean for the certified divers to visit a wall/drop-off in the ocean. Us resort divers remained on the boat, hanging on as waves swelled high around us. I have never been on such a rocky boat and unfortunately got sick. It was embarassing, but apparently happens often in rough seas. I felt a million times better afterwards and was ready for our dive coming up next! Puke and rally...or should I say puke and scuba. Our dive was thankfully in much quieter waters near the harbor, so we spent 30 minutes or so swimming around a coral reef. We were feeling much less aprehensive this time and I think enjoyed the dive even more than the first.

The staff and certified divers alike were all trying to convince us to go for the full certification. Afterall, we had already completed two dives and only needed one more dive with a skills test and a written test. Then we'd be certified for life. For life! Visions of a retired Lisa and Jon diving all over the world passed through my mind that I couldn't ignore. Everyone's encouragement was very compelling, and after talking it through we decided why not?! It was an unexpected expense, but we had some wedding gift money left we could use. And since we had already completed a good portion of it already, it seemed silly to wait however many more years to get certified and start from scratch.

So, Thursday we dove again, passed our skills test, and then spent the rest of the time swimming about the coral reef with the fish. We even got to feed fish for awesome fish frenzy photos!

Aside from our newly discovered interest in scuba diving, we spent the rest of our time relaxing at the resort, on the beach, near the pool, wherever we could find ourselves a spot. We also spent a day on the resort's private island, visited Atlantis and their aquariums, and took a trip downtown to the market.

Our resort was all-inclusive, so we ate and drank ourselves silly all week. It was marvelous. There were 10 restaurants to choose from, two of which were evening attire which gave us an excuse to get all dolled up, and an endless number of cocktails, bottles of wine, and desserts. You could say I was in heaven. :) My favorite was this bread pudding at the British pub, along with more Miami Vices than I could keep track of.

Our room was a quaint garden villa in the back of the property. No ocean-view, which was fine with us as we had more privacy and even a pool and hot tub unbeknowngst to 99% of the rest of the guests. It got quite windy towards the end of the week, so our garden pool was the perfect escape from the wind. My nook in one hand, a drink in the other - I had no complaints.

All in all, it was a near perfect week. We relaxed and enjoyed being together, even if we weren't super "newly"weds.