Keep Calm and Scuba On

Finally, some adventure on the horizon! I’m heading to Florida tonight to visit Carey for the weekend. I haven’t seen him since my birthday debacle six weeks ago. I think this may be the longest we’ve ever gone without seeing each other? I’m not sure how I ended up in a long-distance relationship. When we met a year and a half ago we were living 15 minutes apart from each other.

I can’t really complain about how much time he’s been spending in Florida though, as I’m about to lift my anchor and explore the world for six months in the fall. It’s just too bad we haven’t had more time together while I’m still in one place. Oh, well, we’ll have this weekend. I’m looking forward to a bike ride (or two) and some delicious food!

But then, dear readers, I have a BIG adventure coming up the following weekend. At the start of the school year I looked at the calendar and saw that I had a full week off in March for spring break. I started searching for award flights and found a great deal. I can fly JetBlue direct from my local airport (15 minutes away) to San Juan, Puerto Rico for just 18,800 miles and $5.60 there, and 12,500 miles plus $5.60 back. That’s the equivalent of about a $300 round trip, and it only cost me $11 out of pocket. Not bad!

I debated between staying in a hotel versus an Airbnb, and decided on the latter. I really enjoyed the place we stayed in Madrid, it was nice to be in a neighborhood instead of many floors above the ground in a hotel. I cancelled my hotel reservation and went all in on the cute Airbnb I found. Carey might even join me for two nights, we will see.

Okay, so maybe that doesn’t sound like much of an adventure yet. Big deal, she’s going to Puerto Rico. I mean, it is kind of a big deal to me, I’ve never been, but that’s beside the point. The really exciting part is…I decided to get SCUBA CERTIFIED while I’m there. I signed up for a training course where I do the e-learning part in advance (online) and then do the confined dives and open water dives over the course of two days while I’m in San Juan. I am beyond excited.

I used to have a saltwater fish tank. I built it up from bare live rock to a vibrant tank with colorful fish and corals, and sea creatures. I would pull up a chair and just watch the tank for hours. The fish who dove under the sand at night. The crab who staked out a small cave and guarded the entrance. It reminded me of my childhood, playing in tidal pools on a rocky Atlantic beach.

I have always wanted to learn how to scuba dive. I’ve been snorkeling a few times, in some beautiful locations, but the idea of actually breathing underwater and being completely weightless really appeals to me. I will admit it’s a little intimidating. I’ve been working my way through the online class and it’s no joke. You can hurt yourself pretty badly if you don’t understand how air pressure, water pressure, and buoyancy work. There are so many things to remember.

My father and sister and two nieces are all certified. Getting certified opens up all sorts of possibilities for travel adventures at the end of the year. Such a huge unlock! A week from now, I’ll be enjoying 80-degree weather in Puerto Rico and watching the last of the online videos before I gear up and hit the water. I look forward to reporting back on how it goes!