Greetings from Colombia

[Guillermo]

Hello all,

My wife and I got PADI certified a little more than 3 months ago and we have had a blast. We just came from SCUBA diving in Cartagena and it was great!! Awesome corall reef wall, HUGH crabs, nice tropical fish, great visibility and warm 28C/82F water.

After all the swimming I did (daily for hours), a lot of snorkeling, spearfishing (long time ago), I guess I have now come full circle with SCUBA!

I am looking forward to learning much more on this scubaboard and also to look for more places where the diving is great!

Also, are there any people from Peru in this board? My wife and I are Peruvians.

Cheers!
Guillermo.

 

[keralucu]

....and congrats on certifying. You have just entered the realm of scuba addiction and you will never be able to give it up! :devilish:

Your latest dive trip sounds fantastic - just how big were those crabs?

We hope you will get as much use out of this board as you can, at the same time sharing your own experiences with us. Don't be frightened off by some of the wackier members - they don't bite unless you want them to!

See you around...

 

[Guillermo]

We just got back from Cartagena so my memory is still fresh. We did two dives (we only had one day to ourselves): Caribarú and Punta Brava.

The first dive was the most impressive dive, with very clear water, sunny day, very warm. We dived 60 feet through a coral reef wall which was really great.

Lots of fish, lots of lobsters, and we saw this huge crab which was hiding on a crevice on the reef. I know that water makes you see things bigger, but it claws were almost the size of my hands. It was, easily, more than 1 foot long (not counting legs and such).
It didn't move, and we really did not move too close to it either.

The second dive was 40 feet and it had very nice coral brains and also lots of fish schools.

Guillermo.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Welcome, Guillermo.
I have often wondered if the diving on the Caribbean side of Colombia was good. From your report it sounds like a worthwhile trip.
Rick

 

[Guillermo]

Hi,
It definitely is worhwhile.

From what I have gathered, Cartagena and Santa Marta are two coastal cities with scuba places to go.

And there are several islands like Islas del Rosario (which are in front of Cartagena); San Andres (in front of Nicaragua, but Colombian soil), Providencia (a short flight from San Andres) and Santa Catalina (just a bridge hop from Providencia).

I just posted a reply to a question on Colombian diving: http://www.scubaboard.com/t1370/s.html

Great food, great hospitality, great prices (full gear 2 dives: $50 per person).

Cheers,

Guillermo.

 

[ScubaBaby]

Guillermo

Sounds like you had a blast! Congtatulations on certifying - theres nothing to you now!!!

Welcome to Scubaboard. You've come at a great time.....the sites just been redecorated!!! Dive right in and I'll look forward to hearing more about your trip (sounds fantastic!) :mean:

 

[DivingGal]

A warm welcome from "The Great White North" -- Canada that is. You'll love it here.

 

[syruss32]

Welcome aboard and congrats on Certifying. I too followed the same path as you, snorkelled as a kid, spearfished and had a blast, I even dove as a kid uncertified with a friend. Then in August I jumped in full stride and haven't looked back once.

So now I am a certified, fun loving scuba-diving fool...(no comments Butch and ScubaBaby heheheh)

So welcome aboard!

 

[Ontario Diver]

Originally posted by syruss32
So now I am a certified, fun loving scuba-diving fool...(no comments Butch and ScubaBaby heheheh)

Hmmm Syruss my friend; seeing as I was left out of that list......
Well syruss; the fun loving and the scuba diving still need to be proven!

Guillermo; welcome to the board! Hope that both you and your wife have many exciting and safe dives ahead!

And of course, if you are ever in Canada........drop us a line and lets go for a dive.

 

[joewr]

Guillermo (y esposa),

Bienvenidos al lugar de buceo mas mejor que nada! Pues, muchos de los otros miembros no pueden entender Espanol y por eso voy a continuar en Ingles. And you have really found the right place!

Thanks for telling us about your dives--we are looking forward to hearing more! And we will tell you all about ours, too.
We love to talk about anything that has to do with diving: techniques, equipment, dive sites, trips, etc. If it has to do with diving, it has to do with us!

Joewr