It's been almost a week since Eli took his Discover Scuba Diving class here in Tenerife. I have been bursting at the seams dying to put my thoughts together about this whole experience. Finally here I am sitting down on our 10th floor patio surrounded by wet bathing suits, towels and snorkel gear hanging to dry on the patio chairs and smiling at the fact that we have a two children who have fallen in love with the ocean, one who wants to become a certified open water diver!
Let me backtrack a little and reminisce. Scott and I met in 2000 for the sole purpose of diving! Yes, that was it. My friend, Kimberly and I just needed a place to stay and Scott lived in Key West. Kimberly asked Scott if that was cool and he said yes, we could couch surf and then he'd take us out on his boat to go dive! We met, fell in love with each other and our passion for the ocean grew. Yes, that is the super duper short version of our story.....but you get the idea. We both love being in the ocean. After all, we did name our first born after renowned freediver Enzo Maiorca!
Fast Forward 23 years later and Scott and I are married with 2 kiddos who love the ocean. And now here we are watching our little Eli creating his own affection for the ocean by adding SCUBA to his repertoire! He insisted he continue on after his "Bubbles" experience on his 10th birthday. He even used his birthday money to pay for some of the class.
PADI instructor Sho was impressed with Eli's "book knowledge" and pool skills and was confident Eli would have a great time. The pool skills went smoothly and there wasn't even a need to change tanks because they hardly used any air while conducting class in the pool.
After the pool, Sho drove us 5 minutes to Marazul. Aside from the road (if you call it that....it's more like a car manufacturer's nightmare of rocks, potholes and dirt), the name Marazul, which stands for blue sea, stood up to it's name. Just before the vast Atlantic Ocean swallows up the view, there is a section of an old banana farm that has a sea hole carved out by natural rock/volcanic rock formation on 3 sides allowing only the clearest of blue waters to shimmy in and out. It's the coolest "old school" dive experience I have ever participated in, and I wasn't even the official diver. I went to freedive and watch Eli "discover SCUBA diving."
Concrete and rock steps led down to the the entry of Marazul where there was space to call a platform and an entry into the water. Off to the side of the platform was a ladder that lead back to land.
Does anybody else's heart swoon at the look at sweet Eli in his wetsuit, all kitted up for yet another dive adventure?
Where is the GoPro camera when you need one? Nope, we still don't have one, but that's okay. Just know that this Mama dove right in with Eli and Sho. Talk about helicopter mom. I was hovering all over the place, trying not to distract Eli on his dive (down to 12 meters) and yet wanting to get as close as possible to give him a high five and blow kisses. I held back at first but eventually I couldn't resist. Ha ha.
After about 30 minutes or so, I looked up at Scott, who was patiently sitting next to Enzo. "Want to get in?" YES! We swapped gear and Scott jumped in. I sat with Enzo who kept saying, "Enzo's turn, Enzo's turn. I go ocean." Unfortunately the depth of the Marazul was too deep to allow Enzo to hop in. Although Enzo will never go diving, he has a small hole in his heart, I couldn't be happier that he finds such joy in being in the ocean.
We were told Eli's dive would probably last around 30 minutes depending on air usage. When Eli finally got out, Sho stated it was one of the longest "Discover Diving" classes she ever experienced. They were in the water for almost 45 minutes. Eli was so calm and relaxed, he didn't overconsume his air from anxiety but rather breathed like an old pro! She was impressed. Oh be still my beating heart. My little boy has fallen in love with the very thing that brought his Mama and Papa together. Boy this brought back so many memories from when Scott and I first met.
We expected Eli to fall asleep on the ride home. In the end, he stayed awake and kept asking questions about us, diving and freediving. What great memories that we can now share with Eli!
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