Cozumel Mexico - November 29, 2010

We always start our trips with a dinner at Coconuts!

It's been six months since we sunk into the blue and as it always is when it's been a while, there is a bit of trepidation and wonder at that first leap into the deep.  Checking all the gear, getting your head in gear, thanking God for the chance to dive and to be one with nature and that Nitrox was invented!

Then Roger is saying,"ready Cheri, ready John?". And we am.  So baby steps to the edge and splash.  I'm in! 

Feeling my ears crackle and pop.  Stopping every foot to clear them.  Wishing they would clear faster so I could be down near the coral more quickly and then a few minutes have passed and i am exploring, hunting, and finding critters I've never seen before!  Yah!  This is what I am here to do.

John and I gave up diving in groups a few years ago.  When you dive in a group, it's always a kick fest where the divers think that the more reef you cover, the better!  We on the other hand think that sitting and watching is a whole lot more fun.  Nature quickly goes back to doing what it was doing before you dropped in blowing bubbles everywhere!  So for a mere $50 a day more, we can have our own dive mast and go at our own pace.  Heaven!

This trip John is diving with 2 cameras of his own; a far cry from camera caddy!  In the early days he used to carry a spare camera for me.  That was in the days of film where you had one lens on a camera per dive. Today we have moved to small, unbelievable Canon SD 780s that fit in tiny housings. 

We both carry a 'big camera'.  Those include the camera a Canon SD 780, housing a Canon WP DC31, an Inon S2000 strobe, and a video light.  John has decided yo experiment with lighting and has outfitted a second camera that is just housed with a red filter fit into the inside.  Using the cameras custom white balance feature he is trying to create the natural look in his images.  By the end of the trip he's getting some excellent shots.