We are well on our way to empty wallets and SCUBA certifications. By the time you pay for classes, basic gear, and open water park entry fees, its a whole vacation budget in one swing.
However, when you have a wonderful Brother-in-law to visit who offers his and his wife's home and frequent flyer miles for airfare it evens out.

I can not imagine visiting Yap, FSM with out diving. I have read too much about it. The first half of our lessons were this past weekend. I survived the first day with just a little trepidation, however could not sleep that evening as images of the bends, burst lungs, and other unknowns rambled through my brain.

L slept well, but had a more traumatic day. She descended faster than she expected and that frightened her quite a bit. She later descended and practiced all the skills with great success. However, she felt bad at the end, believing that she would not pass or get certified.

The next day we returned for the second day of closed water classes. We had quite a few skills to accomplish that day. After a snorkeling lesson, we had to remove and put back on our gear at depth. At the end of that exercise we were to practice hovering. When she surfaced, she had the biggest Cheshire Grin!

I think she will do fine and my paranoia/hypochondria is fading so by the end of next weekend, we should be certified.

-q