It's been a while since the last post and quite a bit has been going on! Since Chinque Terre in Italy, we've made it to multiple ports and areas including Elba, Rome, and now in Palma, an island off the east coast of Spain.
We've done three dives so far with the first two being shallow and learning basic skills. The third brought deeper and harder tasks to accomplish. After one of the dives in Elba the group got to hike to the top of one of the taller mountains around and see beautiful views of endless ocean and mountains.
After Elba, we had another dive off the island of Pulau. Weather forced us to move quickly to Civitavecchia, Italy, the major cruise ship port for Rome. We got to see the island of Monte Christo on the way over. The day after our first night in Civitavecchia, we awoke before the sunrise to get on a train to Rome for a daytrip. The group started together at the Colosseum and another ruin on a nearby hill, and were released to explore alone after. A few of us cruised around the city going to St. Peters cathedral, the Pantheon, the Trevvi fountain, and the Spanish steps. Most of the groups got lost around the city and we barely made it back to the train in time. We had another half day in Civitavecchia before a four day passage to Palma and it was my turn to be skipper. There wasn't much action but it was fun being in charge for the day. We had our first real storm on the boat on the third day of passage. We had 30 knot winds and 20 foot swells. Trying to have class down below was miserable and a few of the kids were forced to surrender their lunch to the sea as they were unfamiliar with constant back and forth motion. I was lucky enough to hold everything in but we'll see what the future holds.
We're in Palma currently, but leave tomorrow for another dive close by, and onward to mainland Spain!
