The snorkle in a dark place explains your obsession with the place 
Good shit about the clean ups though. Thatās definitely respectable and a damn cool legacy!
Not me on the car LOL. that video was shot like a year before I did my divemaster course there. I know so many people in the video though, its such a small island.
You can see my face in this video if you spin around 
I might have a mask on though 
lol
Thats Palancar Caves, one of my favorite sites for its giant formations and swim thrusā¦
No snorkles in my nether regions, but that drinking a beer out of your mask? Done that! (its part of your DM graduation ceremony, lemme tell you, ya want one beer to fuck you up? Drink it thru your nose!). Its called āClearing your maskā and is more a local custom right of passageā¦ The Skid Row shots? Its called Guiffity, and its made with local moonshine rum, and some herbs. BLECHā¦ Did it for the t-shirtā¦ Would never order it on its own!
I love the fact that the dive center still sends me weekly photo updates. First, to know that the column is still there and wasnāt an idea that fizzled out 6 months later is really cool. Second because you can REALLY see how much of an impact the regular cleanups DO make.
For my love of the ocean, if I have done anything in my life worth remembering, this is probably the biggest one 
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Much Respect my friend 
Iāve encouraged my boys to do their part and weāve done cleanups on our own and with groups, it never ceases to amaze me the beautiful places that are covered in trash around the world when I see it on tv or in pics, videos. You really can see with todays youth at least an extreme initiative towards fixing all the BS they have acquired and thatās one good thing I do see out of these generations. But Iām a lifelong fisherman since a young young boy and what Iāve seen just in my years on this planet disgusts me. Places I used to fish , never see a soul, now just littered. No joke when we come up from the Niagara Gorge I carry a net full of garbage EVERY TIME. How sad that itās a world wonder and itās full of trash, especially Tim Hortons cups , face masks and fishing line which is SO BAD as Iām positive you know. I commend you for doing such an awesome thing especially in and around the ocean which truly is the lifebreath of our beautiful, precious planet. Just awesome and inspiring 
@Nagel420 Iāve never dove in the ocean but itās a dream I hope to fulfill one day.
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Utila would not like me. Theyād be like āhey drink this beer through your noseā and Iād be like get the fuck away from me! 
I donāt drink much these days so Iām not doing nose chugs!
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You gotta pass your Divemaster class for that honorā¦
You might like the 100th dive traditionā¦
We do it buck ass nakedā¦
Guys AND girls, and thereās lots of cute girls there 
Yes, I did mine buck ass nakedā¦ As a DMT, assisting an Advanced Open Water course. On a night dive ROFL (timing!). But the best part? The instructor was Victoria, the assistant instructor was Sandra, and the 5 students were all young women in their 20s. Victoria was from Colombia, and when I told her it was my 100th dive shes like āOh yeah?!? Yer gonna be nekkid right baby?ā (She was a cutie for sure!)ā¦ So I had her blessing, and the whole class knew what was going on.
The rub? quite literally? My scuba kit is what they call a Backplate and Wing combo. I donāt do the vest bit. BP/W setups have a crotch strap to hold you INTO the kit (think 5 point harness in a race car). Yeah, that 2" webbing wasnāt the most comfortable down thereā¦
Also on the boat that night was Dean and Victor. What I didnāt know what Dean brought his GF, Margarita as well. I was in a zone, just wanting to get this done with. My girls were gonna go in first and come out last, so after they jumped in, I stood up, and dropped trough. Sitting right across from me was Margarita, who had no clue what was going on. That poor girl was shocked at first, but laughed about the incident later.
I hop in the water, and join my girls. Another dive shop ties up to the next buoy over, and I know their Divemaster, hes a good friend of mine, and I know if he sees my kit, heās literally gonna flick my balls or something to fuck with me (my kit is uniquely identifiable, most rent and dont have a BP/W.) So Iām nervous the whole dive as they are ābehindā me, while I keep my girls in front. We wrap up the dive, and I go up first, so I can get on board and get my kit off me and get some clothes on. During my safety stop I am surrounded by a school of like 300 little squid, and it was awesome to watch their colors change, and mind you I am all by myself, nobody else gets to see this. When I start to climb on the boat, the captain is like āya need a light, boy?ā Iām like ānah, donāt worry about it budā and he flips on the light and realizes then that Iām buck ass naked. āBOY what the hell!!! WARN me next time!ā UHM Captainā¦ You saw me jump in buck ass naked 45 mins ago, WHY do you suddenly think Iāll have a swimsuit on when I come out of the water?
LOLā¦
Yeah, those awkward traditions?? They make for THE BEST memories
Oh, and that cute instructor Victoria? She was the one who got to pour the beer into my mask for my graduation. I just remember her whispering in my ear in her spanish accent āDont worry baby, you got this babyā LOLā¦
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So what youāre telling me is that the best gig there is to be the boat captain for 100th dives
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What Iām getting from this comment, Is that you wished you were in the Captainās shoes when I came outta the water, and it would have made your nightā¦
Hmmmā¦ 
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That was pretty good
That captain had an epiphany that night for sure to either stop drinking so he didnāt find himself in that position ever again, or to start drinking harder to drown out that mental image 
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Captain thought you caught a sea snake 
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You found a baby sea snake! Oh he must be the runt of the litter!
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Actually, only boas and tree snakes there, and ya know those boas can get large 
LOL
Had a big 6-7 footer one morning hanging on the tree outside my bedroom window. Definitely an unusual sight to wake up toā¦
Mind you, thereās no screens on the windows on half the houses there. And that was one of those houses (my first one I rented, it wasnt waterfront, it was a bit in the jungle, like a 2 min walk to town)
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Thatās the kind of crap that scares me , deadly snakes, spiders, animals that can devour you. Ya Canada has some advantages I guess. I saw a boa mere feet from my face when I woke up Iād probably lose it.
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PS. Good one 
Canada geese will fuck you up really good.
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No doubt! My aunt owns a horse farm, her stallion got into it with a flock of geese in the pasture. One broke the horses leg apparently with its wing! Insanity but they both saw it happen . Iāve had some hostile ones approach me fishing and at the petting zoo as well. Mean little bastards hissing and pecking at you!
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ahh, they aint deadly to humans. Maybe your cat/dog or chickensā¦ Slow going and mostly outside.
Seeing tarantulas outside was interesting, kinda like wolf spiders around here, and scorpions tooā¦ But ya end up liking tarantulas when you realize they stay outta your way and kill scorpions
I literally have more to worry about up here in NJ with bears, packs of coyotes, and even the rare mountain lion (some have been caught on friends game cams, not a āfriend of a friend who knows a guyā but people I know). Scary that they have been sighted in the area, we ARE prey for them (bears youāre just in the wrong place, theyāre just black bears, coyotes are getting bolder, but mountain lions will stalk ya).
There were saltwater crocs on the island, way back when, but they were overhunted. If they find one now its a one in 5-10 years treat to see. Theres a whole mangrove swamp there should be some in, but they are never seenā¦ I know one person who saw one at Airport Caves dive site maybe 8-10 years ago, and thats the last thats been seen there.
Sharks? I hardly saw any 
Its sad cause they are an indicator species of healthy ecosystems. Lack of sharks means lack of food for them, ie smaller fish. Whale sharks you do see pretty commonly off the deeper areas beyond the reefs, and maybe pilot whales, and yes, even occasionally a pod of orcasā¦ (bet ya didnāt know orcas arenāt just a cold water whale!),
I could also close my shutters, that would keep the boa out, but he preferred to hang in the tree. Never found a snake in the house either
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Man I hate them. They fly right past my balcony every spring/fall and Iād shoot them if I wouldnāt get arrested.
They take over all the grassy areas in my little concrete jungle too. Fuckers.
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Yeah, federally protected migratory species, big fines for messing with em. And other than a swan, and maybe the ostrich / emu, pound for pound one of the nastiest birds out there.
When I lifeguarded years ago, the park had a border collie that knew like 75 commands, that they used for bird control. āJackā was an awesome dog!
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They are little pricks arenāt they, when they congregate it can get REAL MESSY too 
. Ya @Nagel420 smsll price to pay I guess for pristine beauty and tropical sun/breezes. Come to think of it weāve got issues here too. Thank god no mountain lions but bears and coyotes 100% and the coyotes are bold! I bet you wouldnāt trade those memories for ANYTHING! Iāll admit Iām envious, sounds awesome
Yeah. The only thing I like about them is when they block traffic with 12 chicks following behind them. It makes me laugh because youāre right, big fines.
āItās a fucking vicious bird officer.ā
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