Just got back from Shore Dive in Grand Caymen

I had originally hoped to find a non cruise line dive company in Grand Caymen and go for a nice dive while here. However, our friends canceled the cruise. Originally I was going to let my wife go do a stingray excursion while I had a nice dive. But with that other couple out of the picture I decided to do a single tank shore dive sponsored by Royal Caribbean.

I ended up going on a van with about 15 people to Don Foster's shop, which is probably less than a mile from the port tendering area. It turned out 3 people on the van were signed up for a 2 tank boat dive, 11 were doing a Learn to scuba excursion right there at the facility and I was the only one doing the shore dive. I got a private dive with Sergio. He was a nice guy and I was impressed with the facility and the equipment. (I just bring my own mask with me as a once a year cruise diver)

The reef itself seemed like one of the least healthy colorless reefs I've been on almost devoid of life with the exception of fish 6" or smaller. Lots of fan and vase corral. I liked the facility and people, but the dive itself was lackluster. I did get about 50 minutes of video, I may try to capture some images and post them if anyone is interested.

We also did a shore dive in GC while on the Carnival Freedom a few weeks ago. Of course, the original plan was to do a two tank boat dive, including one on the Kittiwake, but our dive op suffered a temporary "HUA" syndrome and totally hosed our reservation.

Anyway, they took us to turtle reef to give us at least something. The dive was not bad, and we saw lots of fish, including my favorite the Rock Beauty.

Unfortunately, I was so frustrated at the whole fiasco that in a fit of petulance, I decided to leave my camera in their van, and just do the dive. Naturally, I saw so many different fish that I could've gotten some nice photos.