One of the main reasons for picking Cancun in Mexico was to see the Cancun underwater museum. My friend really wanted to do this!

We looked at both snorkeling and scuba diving at this site and decided on scuba diving.

We were both excited to try scuba diving for the very first time. I was a bit nervous. My nervousness had merit. By nature I am a bit of a klutz so I was worried I might mess up following instructions and harm myself!

On the day of we took public transportation from our resort to the scuba diving company’s office. It cost us $1 each one way.

We did our dive with a company called Marina Punta Este:  http://www.puntaestemarina.com/

It cost us $90 USD. This included training and two 30 minute dives. One at the MUSA site and another near the reefs in Cancun.

We were there early. They made us fill out disclaimer forms and got us on a boat. There were three people that was part of our crew. The guy who drove the boat was called the Captain, a trained instructor, and another dude that was there to help prepare the tanks and to dive with.

We drove out to a shallow part of the sea to receive our initial training. We were a group of six divers. All of us received flippers and nose/eyes masks.  On the way the instructor taught us to breathe through our mouth using the mouth breathing attachment, hand signals to communicate , instructions for  checking the equipment for air level, depth etc.  , taught us the best way to swim under water with all our equipment, how to get water out of your mask, how to pop your ear (important, since as you dive you will feel your ear popping), and emergency procedures such as how to get your breathing tube if you drop it while under water, and how to breath from someone else’s tank. Every tank has two breathing attachments. One for yourself, and one emergency one if you ever had to share with someone while underwater.

Once we reached the shallow area for training one of the guides strapped oxygen tanks to our backs ( quite heavy when in the boat ), and made us put the breathing tube on and pushed us one by one into the water. You sit facing inward on the edge of the boat and the guide pushes you into the water. As expected your first reaction is panic and a need to come out of the water. Most people are not used to breathing through their mouth. Your nose and eyes are covered by a mask. You are taught by the guide to stay in the water and learn to breathe at a steady pace. This is important. If you breathe too fast your oxygen runs out at a faster rate and you cannot dive for as long. You are trained in the water to swim with your gear, breath properly, get water out of your mask, get water out of your breathing tube, perform hand signals, keep an eye on your partner, check your air supply and perform emergency maneuvers. The most important item to learn is to stay calm and control your breathing.  During these exercises you will get salt water in your mouth/nose.

We got back into the boat and started heading toward the underwater statue diving location.

At this point I was feeling a bit nervous. When I was initially pushed over boat I kept on coming out of the water and I only stabilized after my guide pushed me back 3 or 4 times. I was a bit worried about diving in a deeper location. I was worried about panicking and wanting to come up and not being able to do so rapidly.

However, I decided I was going to go through with it. Can’t let fear ruin life experiences. I did ask my guide if I can jump in last.

Once we got to the location, everyone jumped in one by one. There was a rope tied to our boat, when you jump in you go underwater and hold on to the rope and make your way down to the ocean floor. As you go down the rope, you need to stop and pop your ears, and keep on breathing at a steady pace. The pressure is changing as you go down. I was a lot calmer and comfortable. Being able to swim down to the floor itself was an incredible experience. You may still be a bit scared, but you should not let that prevent you from trying this experience. It is very much worth pushing yourself.

Once we reached the bottom our group itself swam together to see the statues. They were beautiful and unique.  I have attached some photos below of the statues (borrowed since we didn’t buy the photo package).  We swam around and saw different statues, and after about 30 minutes used the rope to swim back up to the boat.

The second dive was to be at the reefs. The sea that day was rough so didn’t get a chance to do the second dive.

This was an incredible experience. If you have the opportunity I would recommend you give it a try. Doesn’t matter what you see underwater, just being able to do a dive will give you a different perspective of the underwater world!

Our guides were extremely helpful and we felt safe  during the entire activity. Highly recommend Marina Punta Este.

For information on Mexico and other tours see post on Mexico : http://www.financegirltoronto.com/2016/05/mexico/