This was the first dive trip for Underwater Adventures Dive Center, and there was much anticipation regarding the event. Our opening ceremonies didn’t have nearly the fanfare of those in Beijing, but there was no less excitement by those in our group as we assembled at the gate in Newark Airport. With our checked bags and carry-on luggage stuffed with dive gear and beachwear, we spoke about our plans for the long weekend in paradise. We had two morning dives a day plus a night dive planned on the beautiful reefs surrounding the islands of Turks and Caicos. In addition to the diving, we were plotting how we would spend our afternoons. Should we relax and tell dive stories at the pool or on one of Grace Bay’s famous beaches? Decisions, decisions.

Our group consisted of Paul, Kathy, Alberto, and Kirsten – owners, friends and customers of Underwater Adventures in Short Hills, NJ. We arrived in Providenciales late afternoon on Thursday, with enough time to get oriented to the resort and its grounds. We were staying at the Royal West Indies Resort. Early the next morning, the van from Dive Provo picked us up promptly at 8:00 am. All the staff at Dive Provo were friendly and professional, from the time they picked us up and loaded our gear to when they gave the briefings and offered guided tours underwater. We experienced a number of wonderful sites off of Provo and West Provo, each with a combination of wall diving and shallower reef diving. The cascading plate corals on the dramatic walls were breathtaking, and we saw many exciting things to talk about including: stingrays, flounder, grouper, barracuda, spiny lobster, crabs, nurse sharks, reef sharks, and a huge lemon shark that passed within 20 feet of our group. A blackjack accompanied us on our night dive attempting to hunt by the light of our dive lights. In all, we enjoyed the diving immensely.

Post dive activities were enjoyable as well. We logged our dives poolside while sipping tropical drinks and recounting all we had seen each day. Then at the beach, the 84 degree water and powder white sand gave us the perfect setting for relaxing after our day of diving. At night, after enjoying a meal in town, we found our way to a t.v. to watch Michael Phelps and his unfathomable feats. His performances, and those of the other athletes, inspired us to do our best in our diving. We rose to the occasion.

Gold Medals awarded:

Kirsten: for endurance and perseverance. She not only continued her dives after a bout of seasickness on the first day, but also survived multiple sea wasp stings on the night dive.

Kathy: for overcoming the long odds of making the trip at all due to an injured neck. Not only did she shake off the pain and join the group on Saturday, but took a leadership role in the dives.

Alberto: for advancing in his diving skills. In his first ocean dives, Alberto has already exhibited a relaxed and comfortable style in the water. He also achieved his PADI Advanced Open Water certification while on the trip.

Paul: for successfully navigating back to the boat each dive. OK, given that the boat was usually moored near the wall, it wasn’t that tough a task, but I have to give myself something!

We are already planning what to do on our next trip, to Bonaire in December. We can only hope that we have as many good experiences and laughs as we did in Turks and Caicos.