Introduction and Personal Dive History

My name is Hans and I like to scuba dive. I discovered diving through my parents and Jacques-Yves Cousteau. When I was young, we would go to the Florida Keys and dive Loo Key and the canals. We would pick up some lobsters in season and chase Parrot Fish and French Angel fish all over the reef. I loved diving from the very start. I always wanted one of those boxes that Cousteau wore on his back in his movies in the 80's. In my teens I had to suspend that dream as I turned into a bratty young adult. Diving ceased to be a priority and I didn't dive for about 15 years.

My wife, Allie, and I got certified by Tom Lee of Hoboken Dive Center in May 2003. We immediately did Advanced Open Water and Nitrox. Then we did Rescue diver. At this point we had a decision to make; were we going to be dive professionals or not? We decided against becoming dive masters as we watched many of our friends descend into PADI hell. Instead of diving for themselves, they teach, teach and teach. We decided to pursue a technical path. Our inspiration was a friend name Paul and some really cool pictures and stories about cave diving. I am one of those bozos that read all of the recent hero dive books. Those stories really amped me up and got me excited.

Allie and I got our Advanced Nitrox and Deco Procedures from Elite Divers in Rockaway, NJ. Then we went on to get Cavern and Intro to Cave Diving training from Michael O'leary. A year later, I finished my Full Cave with a friend named Jeff under the tutelage of Michael.

Then at the end of 2006 I got the bug to get a rebreather. I did a discover CCR class with Andrew Driver of Blue Foot Diving. We tried the Kiss and the Meg. At the end of the day, I was sold on the Meg. I ordered one. Three months later and I got it. Two months later and I was trained and making hours on the unit.

While all of this was going on, in 2006 Allie and I decided we should move to Mexico. We had been traveling to Mexico and other beautiful places and we didn't really want to go home after 7 days. So we started to make preparations. The original plan was to move in 2007. Due to work and other life issues, it took us until January of 2008 to make the move.

That is how I got here. Here is living in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico cave diving three or four days a week. Diving has really shaped our life. It has taken us all over the world and I expect it will continue too.

Since we arrived here, Allie and I have gotten hooked up with Pietro of Karst Diving, Patrick, Scott and the crew at Protec Mexico, and Steve Bogaerts. In March, I spent three days training under Steve for side mount. Which, is about the coolest way to dive. If only I could side mount my Meg! This is the first step in a series of classes that will prepare me to do some exploration. I plan to stretch this training out over the next year so I have plenty of time to practice skills and develop appropriate levels of comfort.

That leads us to the objective for this blog. I will detail my experiences diving and living here in Mexico. In the next year, I will be training and practicing with the express objective of directly performing exploration and mapping or assisting in those efforts. One of my goals is to contribute to the community that has given me so much by increasing the breadth of knowledge about the underwater rivers here in Mexico. Another of my goals is to fulfill my deep desire to explore places where no other human has been before. And finally, I want to take a shot at writing.