There you go glad you got away 
enjoy
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I think some high dollar weed is in order your on vacation
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I’d have a tough time going back to Cuba because it’s so hard to find weed 
tell him to find some cigars it helped me cool down a bit haha
I have had similar issues to what your partner is going through but I’ve recently changed my mind state and trying to not let weed control my environment but it did for almost 30 years.
For example I lived in Europe for 13 years and although I visited many countries I never made it to Italy or Belgium mainly because I had no friends there to hook me up and a lot of places like Paris and Prague I smuggled weed on the plane but I regret that mind state now, it is very restricting. I did however visit Amstedam over 25 times… go figure haha.
I hope you guys have a great trip, where are you? It looks like paradise(sorry I’m sure you’ve said where you are but my 2 year old doesn’t let me read everything I’d like to)
Enjoy 
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So, sometime in the afternoon yesterday my mother was banging on our room door. My stepdad had collapsed on the beach. Apparently, he had rented one of these things that is motorized and it’s sort of like a hoverboard, skimmer thing on the water. No idea what it’s called. Anyway, when they got up to leave the beach he fainted. The man is 75 and has 7 stints and diabetes, had just scuba dived the day before. So the man and I grab water and run down there in seconds flat. So he’s dizzy, sounds drunk. Hmm… We are thinking blood sugar after water isn’t helping. So, we run and get orange juice. While all this is happening, I’m like I’m gonna get the medic and he’s insisting that I don’t. He doesn’t want a spectacle, blah blah blah. Just stubborn as hell. Well, I can be stubborn as hell too. So I tell him that if he can’t stand and walk after the oj that I was getting the medic. Sure enough, he’s wobbly after much time had passed and I ran and got the medic in 2 minutes flat. His blood pressure was fine, sugar was fine. Was over exertion and the heat, but he gave us quite a scare. The medic had come, no spectacle at all really. Checked him out. Him and the man helped him off the sand to the resort cart and drove him back to the room. He was fine by dinner thank dog. Scared the shit outta me though. Whew!
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On a seriously lighter note, I booked the man and I a couples massage in the palapas right on the beach for today. That’s gonna be amazing and we may snorkel this afternoon. My time has been screwy since I got here. And I am typing this at 6:30 am wide awake. I am not a morning person either. Lol
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wait what?? How are they renting out stuff like that to a 75 year old? Also dont let him scuba again…the instructors in general care more about selling a trip than the safety of people going on them. Had a couple of fights back in the day with instructors trying to take people they shouldn’t. One person passed out underwater!!
If he or the instructors insist on doing scuba again ask them to produce their PADI certificates and have them confirm your stepdad’s. Take down their info and see how keen they are to take him after that.
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Its sad that you had that experience diving… I am a current PADI OW Instructor, and you GOTTA follow standards. 75 isn’t too old to scuba, BUT! he should get a clearance from a doc saying he is healthy enough to do it. I’ve seen 80 yr olds that dive like 25 yr olds, but they gotta be fit for it.
@Meesh Pops sounds like a fun guy, seriously! I hope I’m surfing on a foil board when I’m 75!!! And yes, the older our parents get, the more stubborn they get too. I had to do the same with my pops (If you can’t get out of the chair and take the phone from me, I’m calling the ambulance). Sadly, pops passed 4 days later, but he did go to the hospital that day.
Enjoy the snorkeling, I havent been in the ocean since January, and I am beginning to dry out 
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Yes but sadly on a tropical island very far away from the USA, a whole bunch of PADI instructors do whatever they want. And its because of a broken work system that relies on commissions for decent pay. Real shame that. And as a surfer I would not recommend anyone, regardless of age, to hire a motorised surfboard. Just go on a jetski or those types of craft. The various muscles that come into play when you surf cannot be trained any other way besides surfing. The motorised boards are even more taxing on your body. Great way to spoil the rest of your holiday.
Having said that, hope you have funsies on the snorkel trip! Those are always awesomely fun…but wowsers do I have some storied to tell about when I worked as a snorkel tour guide in the Caymen Islands. 
edit: Also sorry if I’m coming across a bit negative but I worked in this industry for 3 years so having seen all the pit falls just wanting to help you avoid them and have a fun time.
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Please don’t paint all instructors with the same brush. I know exactly the situation you speak of, and its real indeed, but not ALL instructors / divemasters / dive operators are unscrupulous. You DO get what you pay for, ie the cheapest option isn’t the best. I also worked on a few islands, and the shops I was at would have required a docs checkout, signed medical release from the doc, AND while many shops are commission driven, not all are (the two I worked for weren’t). Usually those are the more expensive shops, and they make their money on their reputation and have been around for many years. I have also seen a PADI Divemaster who was on vacation, diving with us, run out of air (when asked, he said he had half tank, 3 mins later he was out of air and shooting to the surface, stupid idiot, calls himself a divemaster? I wish I could have yanked his cert right there.)
That being said… @Meesh Scuba is plenty safe for your dad IF he’s in good health. Did he have a doc checkout and sign a release for him? If the shop didn’t even ask for that, I would look for a different operator, thats a sure sign of one of the budget shops who just takes money and doesn’t care too much about their clients.
Not all shops are untrustworthy. But the cheaper ones are usually cutting corners somewhere 
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Dang bro, not trying to start a fight here. I’m glad you experiences as an instructor or diver was so much better but the company I worked for in the Caymen Islands floated the rules all the time. Other companies on the island did too, as we heard about it every afternoon in the local bar where we all drank together. These were 5 star resorts catering for people like Bill Gates or companies that worked with the cruise lines. (who are notorious for suing and yet still rules went out the window…)
I also spent a year working in Playa del Carmen (Mexico) for 3 different 5 star resorts that also floated the rules. And all the instructors from other hotels and shops did the same. Heard similar stories from people who came from other islands too. Not trying to bad mouth PADI instructors as a whole just saying that they seemed pretty quick to not care about proper procedure where I happened to be. Hell I was suppose to be a the videographer on most scuba trips but ended up being like a 2nd guide. I never even completed my open water certs for it…On mainland USA they are strict and proper as hell though. Same here in South Africa, my friend who traveled with and went diving with me on maybe 50+ occasions in the Caymens wont let me go diving with him here because I dont have certs. So yeah not all shops are trustworthy but the price isnt an indication of that.
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Not saying all the expensive ones are trustworthy, more that the budget ones usually aren’t. I spent time in both Utila, Honduras and Cozumel, Mx. I saw it all, from zero to hero programs, to legit operators that cost more, but everything was spot on and done right. Playa del Carmen is sadly flooded with instructors (foreigners technically cannot work as a DM in Mexico), and they sell their soul to live there. The shop I was at in Coz had a good reputation, and a waiting list a mile long for new hires. I also saw big hotel operators in both Coz and Playa “lose” divers or 3-5 hours (and you know the current there will bring ya to Cuba). I know one of the instructors that a “big name” company left adrift for 5 hours!!! Thats some scary stuff!
US shops work on commission even more, and have most certifying organizations scrutinizing everything (PADI, SSI, etc). The smaller islands have less oversight for sure.
Those rich guys usually pay to flaunt the rules. The shop I was at in Coz had one guy who flew in on his own jet try to do that. The fact that we politely refused to break standards, explained why and offered to get him to the level he needed made him a return customer instead of a pissed off one. He respected our decision (but many wouldn’t and would huff off).
I think you have good and bad shops everywhere. Resort ops I would prefer to avoid. Cattleboats too. Small boats, been in operation for 20 years, I’d like that…
And trust me when I say, scuba accidents DO get swept under the rug. I saw it in Coz with other operators, as a shop manager, WE heard about things, but it never made the news. Maybe really bad incidents made it to scuba boards, but god forbid they tarnish the tourist appeal with real reporting on ANY dive related accident.
Just don’t want @meesh to be worried about pops diving. Just do a little searching / asking about the shop… Its a wonderful world down there and I know plenty of good senior divers, and good shops…
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Oh did this change recently? I was there around 2004 / 5 and the american instructor I lived with had a work permit. His fellow instructor was an Argentinian who also had a permit. I couldn’t get one though because and I quote" We don’t give out temporary work permits to South Africans anymore because too many of you have been caught smuggling drugs"
And yeah man that current was a blessing or a curse depending on the dive…for the one wreck you had to approach at an angle to make sure you hit it just right on the descent and everytime there was an overweight person or a person with not enough weights, I had to propel the fuckers down or back to the ship wreck if they overshot…never been so fit in my life. Damn instructors weren’t as invested as me in getting everyone on film and framed nicely in hopes of selling vids. fun times
edit: Wait I’m confusing a dive instructor with the dive master…been a while. Yeah DM couldnt easily get ones back then too.
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Yeah Instructors can get work visas, and shops work around that with courses like MSDT. But DM, you need to be a national citizen, and have a “Libretto del Mar”.
I love drift diving, truly the lazy mans dive. But my captain was always picking me up within 2 mins of surfacing, its amazing they not only follow the bubbles, but our two captains would also put a mask on if the viz was good and peek on us from the side of the boat. Best drift for me was nearly 2 miles in 90 mins.
Hitting certain spots, in current, with newbies, can be a challenge. There’s the C53 on Coz, depending on the day current is going north, or south (most days it goes south there, when it goes north it will screw up a dive cause it goes to boring sand flats then). Devil’s Throat (a bucket list dive) we turned down SO many requests because of its technical requirements (swim thru that starts at 70ft, and goes down to 130ft and exits out of the wall). I only got to do that on a staff dive. Thats how few the shop trusted…
Ok, @meesh, if we could interrupt the massage for a moment. I’d like another pic of that turquoise water 
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Staff dives where the best dives!! Even got to dive the cenotes for free on them and the dives would be twice the length of the client ones! Easily the best dives ever
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Oh, stepdad is a professional level diver and has dived literally all over the world. Been diving for 50 years or so now.
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My sweetie was feeling lazy today which was fine by me. We floated around on rafts in the ocean all morning then had our couples massage overlooking the beautiful beach listening to the sound of the waves. Freaking awesome! By the time we finished there it was lunchtime then we had naps like proper lazy vacation people and are just chilling until dinner. Tomorrow we are going on a boat ride over to Iguana Island for snorkel and lunch with my mother while stepdad goes diving. As far as scuba diving goes, all I know is all the divers I know want to be wherever those 40 foot whale sharks are lol… Apparently the most he’s ever seen in one place is somewhere in the sea of Cortez in Mexico and I don’t believe he was even on an actual dive as there were hundreds and they were feeding near the surface and Mom and him both got to swim with them and Mom can’t scuba due to inner ear problems. I believe it was some sort of ecotour. It’s hard to keep track, honestly those 2 have been everywhere.
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Swimming within feet of a whale shark is a humbling experience. Thats a friggen schoolbus swimming with you! I did get in on a dozen or so of them during my time on Utila. Always blew my mind like the first time all over again. And they are gentle, no interest in us, even afraid of us… But wow, what a beautiful creature! Pacific side gets bigger pelagics, Caribbean side has some, but nothing like the Pacific (humpbacks galore in Cabo). Isla Mujeres is known for the whale sharks in the Caribbean, Utila has em seasonally…
I havent gotten to dive with them, only snorkle, in most carribean nations its against the rules to scuba with them…
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