This week marked the beginning of our first summer enrollment scuba diving course as the students made their way to the beautiful islands of Bocas Del Toro, Panama. The students had many activities to look forward to in Panama including viewing the intricate coral reefs and wide variety of sea animals, an official NAUI Dive certification, sea kayaking and many more water sports!
Students readied the vans Saturday as they strapped in sea kayaks and prepped their bags for an early departure Sunday morning to hit the scenic road to Panama. After a 5 hour car ride, students arrived at the Panama border to a significant change of temperature and soaked up the beaming sun as they prepared to load up the boat and head to the island of Solarte! Upon arrival students unloaded their bags and set up camp at a beautiful wooden style beach house owned by a long-time resident overlooking the vibrantly blue Carribean Sea. Monday was the first day of scuba diving training as students learned from Outward Bound Costa Rica Executive Director Jim Rowe how to properly assemble gear, important safety precautions, and many other details about their certification process. Along with practical experience diving underwater, workbooks were also assigned so that students could learn about the different events that can happen while diving and becoming well prepared for their upcoming certification test. In between diving and studying, students were reluctant to have a delicious mango tree nearby where they could cut fresh fruit for lunch and dinner alongside their homemade meals.
During nightfall, some of the group enjoyed the tranquility of the Carribean waves splashing against the mangrove trees as they slept outside their tents under the clear sky. An early morning sunrise awoke students each day as they continued to prepare for their examination while learning essential certification skills in the water including how to breathe properly if regulator access is unavailable, how clear a mask if water leaks into it, the proper way to monitor the oxygen tank, and many other techniques. When the students weren’t preparing for their exam, they had the opportunity to enjoy other water activities including wake boarding, knee boarding, surfing, bougie boarding, stand up paddling, and just relaxing on the cool sand.
Instructors Spencer and Niko led group discussions in learning about the newly introduced book “7 habits of highly effective teens” where they examined important aspects in becoming a high-achieving teens. Wednesday after completing the practical test for the in water portion of scuba diving training, students dove into a ship wreck where they witnessed the remnants of a ship 17 years ago and its newly inhabited marine life that surrounded the crash. The next day, the group hit the books one more time and prepared for their 85-question certification exam to which we are proud to announce that everyone passed! Later on that evening. students took some time off the water and headed into a culture-filled afro-carribean village where they interacted with the locals. For Independence Day students will chow down on traditional American mac & cheese and chili dogs and prepare for a multi-day sea kayak expedition to Isla Cristobal and to take on their first service project in San San Pond Sak!
Stay updated with our summer expedition groups every Friday and check out more pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest! Pura Vida!