Hello fellow budget hunters
I’m back with another story time, this one is very recent though and I will combine it with a review of Bueco Hispana dive centre in Mazarron!
The day before I went I did manage to get stung by a wasp while hanging out some washing, right on my lip. I managed the kylie Jenner lips, with only minimal stinging and pain!
Thought that would make you all laugh!
Anyway to tell you about my FIRST SCUBA DIVE ever! My sister is a qualified diver and loves it,my partner is also qualified and worked on a dive ship in the Great Barrier reef for a week one summer! They’ve both been on at me to have a go so we spontaneously walked into the shop and booked a try dive while we’re in Mazarron.
They had a special offer on which meant we could both go diving for €70 which was a good deal. We would go back on Monday at 5pm for our dive. We paid a 10€ deposit and got our receipt comfortable that it was PADI registered and seemed very legitimate.
So the day arrived and I was very nervous, my partner had been teaching me snorkelling in the sea and swimming pool. I was afraid of something I’d never done before and the fear of the unknown!
So we arrived about 10 minutes early and the shop was all closed up. We kept waiting and other two people turned up waiting. About 15minutes late the boss turned up and opened everything up. He was accompanied by the guy who later became my dive buddy.
The dive
I had to fill out waivers and health forms but nobody even asked my partner this. They just asked for his diving card! We then had a quick go over of the kit but the instructor didn’t know the English words so my boyfriend ended up telling him the words and explaining things to me.
We were then sized up for kit,loaded up and off we went. My boyfriend was shocked we didn’t watch the padi video and we were already seeing the childish games between the instructors and guy who drove the boat.
An hour after arriving, we got out on the boat and went round to a little cove. I was still feeling apprehensive but ready for the adventure! I was made to kit up and jump in first which made me anxious despite another jumping it off the side at the same time. I understand they would do it to stop people chickening out but as the only new diver on the boat, it was scary.
My mask was changed and then we went down with a rope. I struggled about 3m deep as i couldn’t pop my ears. So we went up and managed again to do it. As we got to the bottom, I lost my flipper so we had this fun of getting my foot back in under the water.
The dive
Then we swam around for around 40 minutes, I lost my flipper twice again and my partner had been filming on my waterproof camera of us scuba diving. He had been reluctant to wear the head mount I suggested so we tied it to his wrist. You can guess that it disappeared halfway around!
He lost my birthday present frommy parents but I have forgiven him! Material possessions can be replaced but we’re both still alive! Just a shame as there would have been some good videos.
We came up after swimming through a crevasse and I felt a bit woozy, others were running out of air too.
Overall we weren’t impressed with the dive centre and I have put together a list of things they shouldn’t do.
-my medical form wasn’t even read despite filling out a reoccurring injury! My partner wasn’t even given a form.
– standing on coral/reefs
– very limited safety briefing
– unprofessional with each other
– getting a try diver to swim through a crevasse
– the boat driver stinking of cannabis
– they didn’t check our insurance
– they didn’t check my boyfriends log book or asked diving experience
– we weren’t told what to look for
– my oxygen wasn’t checked until after my partners was running out
– we weren’t told the depth or information for log books
– I wasn’t told the symbol for low on oxygen
So overall I was pretty impressed with diving and would like to do it again but with a better company! I believe they were dangerous at times and should have cared about our safety better.
The boss seemed very good and spoken English very well however vanished straight after unlocking it. Other people may have had a good time there but we didn’t think it was worth risking our lives with unprofessional people.
Until next time,
The Great Ambini
x x x
I also wrote these posts about Spain –
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