Month: September 2022

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Bahia de Los Angeles

Masks were mandatory in Mexico, so we had to wear them whenever we were out of the vehicles.
Since we were foreigners, the local authorities set up a roadblock so they could spray us down with anti-viral mist.
After they speayed us, they sprayed the inside of the cars.
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Post with huge pictures

We had beautiful sunrises to go with the beautiful weather all week. The only bad part was how many days we were up to see the sunrises.
David positioned himself with a shark in the background, but it was a bit too far away to get a good picture.
Divemaster Boy Joe gives us the briefign for tonight's dive while divemeaster Girl Jo helps with the map.
I managed to get a quick shot of this shark between my fins as he swam under me on the wall.
Another shot of the reef shark swimming over the shallow sand flats.
This reef shark is heading from the wall into the sand flats.
This is a nurse shark that was swimming right past me. Just as I took the picture, she snapped her head to the right and looked straight at me, Christie Brinkley style. "Now give me SEXY SHARK!"
This was about as close as I got to a shark. I didn't see this one coming until just before he swam into my viewfinder. He was probably about 3 feet away at the time.
Another stingray with a hanger-on who's looking for a an easy meal. They looked swimmign along over the bottom together.
I managed to get this picture just before he lunged for my throat.
The propellers of the Turks & Caicos Explorer II. Also a school of shade-loving. fish
I like the coloring of these giant anemones. Just don't touch.
TOday's Flamingo Tongue for Steve C.
Going by growth rate estimates, this huge brain coral several hundred years old, and still growing. Take that, Al Gore.
Why is Barbie underwater with lead weights tied to her feet? Maybe the first question is, "Why is Barbie dressed like a value-priced working girl?". Or maybe we could just ask Bob S what he knows about this - but something tells me he's not talking.
A French Angelfish, the cousin of the queen.
This is more garden eels than I've ever seen in one place before.
A Queen Angelfish shims undersome bright sponges.
I got a picture of this cowfish just as he was saying, "Mooo..."
The sun deck wasn't always this empty, but today Nic had it all to himself.
This is the control panel of the machine that makes the minty fresh nitrox for our tanks.
Bob S is always on the lookout for potential danger. Or maybe he's envisioning the future. Or he might just be staring off into space while waiting for his brain to unlock.
Bob M watches Steve C check his computer manual while David logs his nitrox analysis.
Steve C on the pirate dive. The tutu has to do with a strange convergence of dive themes. The Dispensibles' pirate dive coincided with the crew's tutu dive, resulting in the first ever Pirate Tutu Dive.
This is Calum on the pirate dive. Parrots don't do well under water, so Calum carries a duck on his shoulder. Unfortunately, Calum over-estimated the lung capacity of the duck.
Calum found himself much closer to the same shark as David. We'll all miss Calum.
This old guy swam right through our group. You could almost hear him grumbling about the decline of the neighborhood.
Here is the gnome after whom the gulley is named. He's sitting in about 97 feet of water, which is the deepest I went all week.
Later, Kris briefed us prior to our dive in "Gnome Gulley". Coincidentally aligning with The Dispensibles' 5th guiding value, Kris always dresses appropriately.
Divemaster Kris wore his elephant outfit for his briefing on the site called "Elephant Ear Canyon". Here, he demonstrates his sign for elephant ear coral.
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Second Dive Trip Post

Today Jo wore her flamingo outfit. She's holding the conch shell that the divemasters blow to call everybody to the dive briefing.
Bob M fell asleep while we were sitting in the main saloon after the night dive. Hijinks ensued, and just be happy I didn't post the next picture.
This shark seems to have a little friend.
Another shark I saw today. He looks like he's on his way to gobble up some divers.
I'm surprised at how many species of fish like to lie on the bottom.
At the start of each dive, I take a test picture to check my camera and strobe. At night, there's not enough light to let my camera focus on things that are far away, so I took this picture of my hand. Now I know what my hand looks like under water.
This guy's peeking out of a sponge that's almost his color.
It's really hard to get a picture of lionfish from the front. They prefer to turn their backs on you so you're looking right at their spines. This one seems more curious. Or something.
Trumpetfish are among the best hiders in the sea. This one's doing a great job.
A cowfish. See the horns?
I like how the tubeworms look like flowers.
Calum found a great way to save save energy while diving. And sometimes, Bob didn't even notice him hanging on to his tank.
The top deck is shady, it has a great view, and there's plenty of seating to hang out between dives.
I liked the way these blue fish contrast with the yellow coral.
This little guy blends in well with the coral he's sitting on.
This isa pretty big brain coral that we passed right before going over the edge of the wall.
Arline and Rich are a couple who were on the boat the same week we were. We hung out with them on the upper deck between dives.
This is the first shark we saw today. It wasn't the last.
This is the door to the forecastle at the bow. My cabin was right next to it at the end of the hall. I've never actually used a real-live turn-the-wheel-to-unlock door latch before.
The captain let us fly the official Dispensibles flag from the ship's mast.
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First Dive Trip Post

As we approached the island, my window seat gave me a great view of the coastline.
As soon as we got on the boat, Calum got comfortable with captain’s seat on the flying bridge.
Calum didn’t take it well when the captain told him that he couldn’t sit there any more.
The crew said that they tow this small boat in case of emergencies. Could be, but it sure looks like the boats that the paparazzi use to follow The Dispensibles everywhere we go.
Bob M. and Nic watching the island go by as we leave the harbor. the tables are already set for dinner.
The Turks & Caicos Explorer II is set up pretty nice for photographers. This is the table that we used to set up and charge our camera gear.
Divemaster Kris had some work to do on the first night out.
They had low-placed dim lightign on the upper decks, making for great stargazing. The Milky Way was clearly visible, and David pointed out a bunch of constellations.
Bob M getting his gear ready before our first dive.
Sunday is always formal dive day for The Dispensibles. David and Calum before putting on their gear.
Steve reprised the now famous green leisure suit.
Nic went full Transylvania Formal, including the cape. The mermaid is Divemaster Jo. It turns out that the Divemasters dress up according to the theme for each dive site. The Dispensibles were right at home!
Before each dive, the Divemaster gives a briefing to let everybody know what to expect. The briefings include a map of the bottom like this one.
We heard that sharks patrol these waters, so Bob S modified his tank to help him blend in.
We didn’t see nearly as many lionfish in Turks & Caicos as we have in the Western Caribbean, but they’re still around.
Calum looking quite dapper in his underwater tuxedo.
Nick kept the cape and Dracula headgear on for the dive. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any batfish.
David’s bathing suit on the formal dive looks almost kilt-like.
this Grouper is only a foot or so long, but they get really big.
Bob likes to sneak up on barracudas from behind, and pinch their tailfins. It’s funny, as long as you have lots of bandages and Bactine on hand.
Shortly after we dropped over the wall on the first dive, we saw our first shark. We saw sharks on pretty much every dive we did all week. Sharks are cool.
The first of many turtles that we saw during the week.
Jawfish are the grumpy old get-off-my-lawn guys of the sea. If you get too close they switch from giving you dirty looks to backing into their tunnel homes.
Squirrelfish, also known as soldier fish, are common all over the caribbean.
We dove at the former set of a French TV game show. This structure used to be a huge spherical cage on the ocean floor. A big storm busted it up, but the pieces are still there.
One of the wall pieces curves upward at both ends, like a giant skateboard ramp.
It’s amazing and pretty cool how the sea life is reclaiming this structure.

Second Day

Steve C pays close attention as the crew instructs us in using the life jackets and lifeboats on our first night on the boat.
There was a great sunset as we were sittign down for dinner. David had a seat by the window.
Bob was walking down the hallway to his cabin, and the downlights were casting spooky shadows on his face. I told him to “look creepy”. I think he did pretty good.