Articles tagged with: Tenerife Dive Sites

Sayonara Fellow Divers :-( Goodbye Tenerife

Diving Tenerife - A beautiful island

The last week of my internship. I can’t believe its already been 8 weeks! These weeks have brought me so much joy! I met people I will never forget, I’ve been laughing so hard with tears in my eyes and had amazing experiences underwater. I’m going to visit the deep corner for a bit and share one of my favorite quotes:

“Sometimes we are lucky enough to know that our lives have been changed, to discard the old, embrace the new, and run headlong down an immutable course. It happened to me … on that summer’s day, when my eyes were opened to the sea.”

— Jacques Yves Cousteau

My first dive with Dive and Sea Tenerife was at Abades 1st reef, and on Sunday I finished off with style in just the same place! Abades is one of the better exploration dive sites in Tenerife, it is endless what the reef can share if you look really close!

I’m going to miss everybody and I am very thankful for the opportunity. Randall did a good job bringing me from PADI Advanced diver to Divemaster! And I learned so much from Flounder and I am very impressed by his endless patience teaching me the mask clearing skill! And the other interns, Steve and Alan, THE Americans! We had so much fun! And sweet Starfish, I will see you in Singapore! I’m ready for the Tempura Shrimps!

I’m going to miss all of my nicknames, Ollie, Thor and Olivos. Going back to Karoline is going to be a bit boring.

Ciao, Adios, Hadebra and Byebye!

Diving Tenerife - A beautiful island

Finally a PADI Divemaster :-)

Diving Tenerife - San Miguel

I’ve been waiting for this moment since the start of my internship, I’m finally a DIVEMASTER! The feeling I had when we finished off the last assessment was so incredible! A lot of hard work has finally paid off. The path to Instructor suddenly doesn’t feel that long!

We started off the week doing Starfish’s Rescue Diver. I had so much fun being the tired, panicked and unresponsive diver. Starfish really got the feeling of being in a serious situation when I grabbed her mask and tried to climb her as a panicked diver. The same day I finished off my Search and Recovery and Rescue Assessment. It feels very good every time I tick off something from the “will I soon be a Divemaster”-list.

Tuesday we headed off to Alcalà, which is one of my favorite dive sites here in Tenerife. We always see turtles here. Not only one or two, but three! They are so friendly and curious. We had 3 certified divers with us Lynn, Paul and Nick so we all enjoyed our recreational dives looking at beautiful rock formations, fish and turtles!

The next day we were ready to drive off to Abades. Starfish and I were going to map Abades to draw an understandable map with bearings, depths and kick cycles. We were really happy about the result and in the end of our dive we saw a HUGE octopus out in the open chilling at the reef. I was ecstatic!

Thursday we started the day in the pool with DSD’s. Two kids, and their dad from France. This was the first time I heard Randall bringing his entire dive lingo out in French! Even if I didn’t get a single word he was saying I enjoyed both the confines and the Open Water Experience. As Randall and myself were going with the DSD’s and the mom, which is certified, Flounder went off with Lynn and Paul for the last dive here with us in Tenerife this time. When we came back I did my Divemaster exam… and damdamdaaa… I passed!

Friday, THE day! First we went straight down to the pool to tick off the last skills I needed to do in the pool. While I was swimming my 400m, Flounder and Starfish practiced skills! The next step was to bundle up the kit, go down to the Marina (other side, open water) we decided to go a little crazy and do my Deep Assessment in a very wavy condition. Randall, Flounder and I had a proper workout swimming out and descended next to the Marina Wall. It was a lot of surge, so we swam hard for 10 minutes before we hit the 18m depth mark. Did one necessary skill and headed back, then with the current. Felt very good when our legs were all like jelly. So I finished off my Divemaster almost rolling up on the beach in the waves!

The last day of the week we had two DSD’s Ting and Rory from England. We had a nice pool session before we headed off to Alcalà to see my favourite turtles once again!

Next week is my last, eight week. And my very good friend Malin is going to join us to do her PADI Open Water course. It’s going to be an awesome week!

Diving Tenerife - San Miguel

I am so close only a few more items to complete and I will be a Divemaster!!!

Diving-Tenerife-Divemaster-PADI-Dive-And-Sea

This week has been a bit different with mostly administrative work and finally completing my PADI Divemaster Manual now studying  towards my Divemaster exams.

We started off the week in the pool to go through the 24 skills you need to learn to complete your Divemaster. It’s so much fun to see how much my skills have improved since we started.  Now I just have to look forward to the Divemaster marked Skill session.

Stamina exercises has been a task this week as well. I finished off my 100 Meter tow and 800 meter snorkel at both 4 points out of 5! I Couldn’t be happier!

We had two beautiful dives at Abades with Katie, Ian and Heather . The visibility, air consumption and weather was impeccable! Before we headed off for Abades we tried El Puertito and Alcalà, but both places had bad conditions. Better safe then sorry!

Two more weeks to go, and my Divemaster certification is breathing me in the neck!

Diving-Tenerife-Divemaster-PADI-Dive-And-Sea

Tenerife….. I want to stay forever

Diving Tenerife Dive Sites

Another busy week here at Dive and Sea Tenerife. This has been a very “real” Divemaster week for me. I’ve been a part of every dive and I have been assisting, briefing, leading and helping out where it was needed. And I love it! First time leading all by myself was a bit frightening, but I powered through and learned so much from it!

We have been exploring two new dive sites, to me,  this week. First we went to Playa San Juan and then El Poris, I was leading both and it’s amazing how focused you can get when you just need to trust your compass and visual references to get back to the exit point.

Last Sunday we had an amazing night dive at Radazul! I love night dives, their so exciting and mysterious. And it was Lewis’s first night dive as well, and he did very good! Monday we headed off to Abades to dive with the vibrant fish life. The visibility was PERFECT and we got great pictures of the second reef. Next day it was time for mapping Tabaiba for my Divemaster. So much to think of when mapping, but Tabaiba is always fun whatever you do!

Alan and Steve is back in America and we really miss our awesome Americans. So at right now and until Monday it’s only me as an Intern.

I simply love life here and want to stay forever…

Diving Tenerife Dive Sites

PADI Open Water and Advanced Courses……..

Diving-Tenerife-Turtles-1 (12)

This week has been hot and sunny in Tenerife! Lewis decided to continue his diving education and we went to Alcalà to do his Navigation and Peak Performance Buoyancy. As always he did a good job and we enjoyed looking at the two turtles that lives there. Both very curious! Alcalà is such a good dive site with deep water entry and cool rock formations with vibrant aquatic life!

Thursday we were supposed to go for a night dive at Tabaiba, but after a couple of Lewis’s Advanced Dives we realized that it was too much of a surge to dive. We drove over to Abades to see if the conditions were better, but unfortunately to choppy waters there as well. Either way it was a fun road trip, singing in the car and Alan and I had a dance session in the car park.

Friday we had a PADI Open Water student. Flounder and I went to the pool with them, and as Randall and Mick did the confines we practiced skills. I’m so glad my skills are improving! And in all the seriousness, it is so much fun! Kit set up and speeches before skills are so hard, it’s like learning a new language. Submersible-pressure-gauge-low-pressure-inflator-hose, tongue-rolling words right there!

After work we went to the Americans flat to make tacos and played beer pong! That game is so much fun, and the first run I had beginners luck out of another world! Alan and Steve are leaving us on Tuesday. It’s going to be sad to see them go, and hopefully I will visit them in America at some point!

Diving-Tenerife-Turtles-1 (12)

Scuba Diving – Learning a new language!

Diving-Tenerife-Aquatic-Life-Sharks-Sting-Rays-Fish (83)

This week has been hot and sunny! Lewis decided to continue his diving education and we went to Alcalà to do his Navigation and Peak Performance Buoyancy. As always he did a good job and we enjoyed looking at the two turtles that lives there. Both very curious! Alcalà is such a good dive site with deep water entry and cool rock formations with vibrant aquatic life!

Thursday we were supposed to go for a night dive at Tabaiba, but after a couple of Lewis’s Advanced Dives we realized that it was too much of a surge to dive. We drove over to Abades to see if the conditions were better, but unfortunately to chappy waters there as well. Either way it was a fun road trip, singing in the car and Alan and I had a dance session in the car park.

Friday we had a PADI Open Water student. Flounder and I went to the pool with them, and as Randall and Mick did the confines we practiced skills. I’m so glad my skills are improving! And in all the seriousness, it is so much fun! Kit set up and speeches before skills are so hard, it’s like learning a new language. Submersible-pressure-gauge-low-pressure-inflator-hose, tongue-rolling words right there!

After work we went to the Americans flat to make tacos and played beer pong! That game is so much fun, and the first run I had beginners luck out of another world! Alan and Steve are leaving us on Tuesday. It’s going to be sad to see them go, and hopefully I will visit them in America at some point!

 

Diving-Tenerife-Aquatic-Life-Sharks-Sting-Rays-Fish (94)

Time to leave Tenerife :(

diving-tenerife-El-Condesito-Wreck-13

And so my final week here at Dive and Sea Tenerife has come to an end :(. I have learned so much and my diving has gone from amateur to professional. The people that I’ve met and the places that I’ve been I will always keep with me for the rest of my life. Im definitely going to miss Tenerife!

Alright so anyway my last week here has been pretty fun got to do my last dives a tabaiba which made me very happy! The first dives where with Richie who was a PADI divemaster back in the mid 90′s, his bouyancy was awesome. We then went to back to tabaiba to do Lewis’s deep, wreck, and night dives for his advanced course. Unfortunately though we had to cancel the night dive due to a current and bad vis, but its always better to be safe than sorry.

Overall this internship has been amazing. The people that I’ve met here I plan on staying in contact forever, we’ve had so many good memories. And hopefully we can go on dive trips together in the future.

Ill miss el medano beach and the burgers at flashpoint. Ill miss the night life at las americas and of course I will miss all of the diving here. Even though its the end of my internship in Tenerife, it is only the beginning of my journey with scuba diving. I’ll miss you all……………. Alan out!

 

Diving Tenerife - Dive Sites