Havelock Island

  Havelock Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India
Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sorry it's been so long since I've written but I hope you understand that I was on a secluded island with minimal communication capabilities.  I am now back on the mainland and you should be hearing from me more regularly.

About a week ago I completed the divemaster training and I am now officially a PADI Divemaster!!  I can now go anywhere in the world and get a job leading dives with certified divers and I can be an instructor's assistant.  Unfortunately a divemaster doesn't make much money, it's more of a lifestyle where you can dive for free but your salary may just barely cover your room and board each month.  Vinnie, the owner of the dive shop and guesthouse where I stayed, has extended an offer to work for him when I become an instructor.  This is something I have to seriously consider for my future.  I absolutely love teaching and I think I'm an excellent teacher, so why not teach scuba diving instead of Spanish?  What's holding me back from jumping right in and doing the instructor's course is money mostly.  The course will cost at least $2000 to $3000 depending on where in the world I do it.  This trip is already putting me in debt and I have a condo I'd have to sell.  Right now I'm thinking I'm going to come home and teach Spanish for a couple of years to pay off this debt and sell my condo and one summer I can complete the instructor's course.  If I go through with this I'd split the year at two different locations.  High season in the Andaman Islands is from November/December to March/April, then I can spend another 5 months teaching somewhere else around the world, and then have a couple of months at home as well.  Sounds like a dream to me!!!

So, I guess you want to hear more about my experience on Havelock Island.  The Andaman Islands consist of over 500 islands and only about 30 of them are inhabited.  There are two dive shops on Havelock and Dive India, where I did my training, was the first to open.  Vinnie, the owner, has been diving here for years and is an incredible photographer.  Check out his website at www.vanditkalia.com.  The diving was excellent.  It was common on most dives to see tons of barracuda, snappers, jack, moray eels, lionfish, shrimp, nudibranch (which are tiny colorful flatworms), sting rays, and lobsters.   It's rare but I did see some octopus, squid, manta rays, white tipped sharks, and turtles.  What made the diving so unique was the reefs.  It is so untouched there that the reefs are still extremely colorful and alive.  Luckily Dive India is very concerned with preserving the underwater life so it can remain this beautiful for years to come. 

The swimming skills tests weren't as bad as I thought they'd be.  You are scored by the time it takes you to complete them and the highest score is a 5 for each.  I got two 5's and two 4's.  I was quite impressed with myself!!  The written exams required quite a bit of reading but I got A's on all of them, even the physics exam!!

There are a few "resorts" with cabanas to rent just like where I stayed but that's as luxurious as you get here.  There's one restaurant that serves alcohol and luckily their food is really good but it was expensive so we only went there a few times.  One night we bought a bunch of alcohol and went to beach for the sunset.  Those of us that were working for the dive shop had to be there at 6:00 AM so there wasn't much partying going on.  I hung out mostly with the instructors and other guests that were diving there.


 











I'm back in Chennai for a few hours and tonight I'm taking the night train to Cochin which is on the west coast. 

I hope you are doing well and getting ready for the holiday season.  This will be my first winter without snow and freezing temperatures...I'll try not to rub it in too much :)

Hope to hear from you soon...
peace,
Jen