PADI Certified!!

We have spent the past 5 days getting SCUBA certified at the Great Barrier Reef. We had 2 days of in-class and pool instruction and then onto the boat for 3 days of eat, sleep, dive. We were spoiled with amazing food and entertaining company. We accomplished a total of 8 dives and 1 snorkel dive at a few different locations along the reef. Half of the dives were led by an instructor, including the night dive! and the rest we were free to explore. The reef far exceeded all of my expectations, from the size and variety of the mountains and valleys of coral, to the sharks, sting rays, parrot fish, fish of all shapes and colors, and Nemo!  It was an exhausting few days, with early mornings, heavy equipment, and putting on wet 5mm wetsuits 4 times in a day, but every time we were under the water it was a new and fantastic adventure and we are already looking into our next dives, possibly in Fiji  :) 

We are spending a night back in Cairns, which is a lively, beachside city, and then renting a car and heading north to Daintree for a few nights of camping. We plan to hit a couple of spots that Ricky had visited with this program, including some waterfalls, and then hike and swim near our camp site. Should be loads of fun :)  I'm loving the accents and slang that I constantly hear. It's been great soaking up the rays in our swimmies and sunnies haha. The people are awesome and I know that the next adventures are going to be a thrill.. although breathing 18m under is hard to beat!