I cannot believe it has been three years since I got a new PADI card for diving. I was certified in 1978 by YMCA, yes, I was shorter then, and without diving much in between I have just started to get back into the sport since 2007. The dive master that helped me get my PADI card was Gary Frost from Wall to Wall and he sent the card to me long after I left the islands without charge. (Don’t tell anyone that! Everyone might think they can get a renewed card from him for free!) Anyway, I finally made it back to Grand Cayman in July of 2012 and keeping in touch with Gary I used what is now his own dive shop, “Living the Dream Divers.”
I had three other people join in the on the fun. One had only one resort dive behind him a few years back and two young men who have never tried the sport before. SCUBA Scott (Scott “Happy” Hartwell) took us out to Cheeseburger Reef for a wonderful introduction to the world of diving for the two boys and I certainly did not mind tagging along. I do not know if it has been the years passing that has made the resort experience more professional or just Living the Dream’s approach but they did a great job getting us all into the water.
The second time we went out during our stay on the island we went to Turtle Reef which is short of a mini wall experience. This time we had the honor of Gary himself leading us out to explore the reef. The dive was amazing and, to me, the best part of the whole trip was strangely being able to give Gary the $20 I ‘owed’ him for my PADI card. I guess if I lived in the Game of Thrones world I would be a Lannister for sure. Anyway, enough of the words… take a look of just five minutes out of the nearly two hours in the water.
Do look up Living the Dream if you find yourself in Grand Cayman. From there own website: “We are a husband and wife team that fell in love with the beauty of Cayman Islands scuba diving many years ago. Living The Dream Divers was built from our desire to provide the absolute best Cayman diving experience. Our concept is simple – we take the smallest groups on the biggest, nicest dive boats and provide outstanding personal service with the friendliest and most qualified crew. Whether it is your first time diving Grand Cayman or you are an experienced scuba diver, we provide safe, fun and relaxed dive trips that showcase the stunning natural beauty of Cayman’s underwater world. We cater to very small groups on board our spacious Newton dive boats and tailor our trips to accommodate the experience levels of our guests onboard. Our small, family owned business, personal service, attention to detail, quality and customer needs reflects in everything we do.” From my experience, everything they say is true and will not be disappointed with their service.
