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January 2002, Andros Island,
Bahamas
 Andros
Island, of the Bahamas was the choice for our first dive site
of 2002. Our trip started with a flight into Fort Lauderdale,
Florida. There we boarded a small plane, along with two other
couples for the one-hour flight to Andros. Upon arrival we passed
through the normal immigration procedures and boarded a taxi arranged
by the Small Hope Bay Lodge, where we were to spend the next seven
days. The weather was great, the sea was calm, and the lodge's
bungalows were conveniently located along the beach.
We unpacked our gear in excited
anticipation of the diving adventures we were to embark on the
following day. Then we began to mingle with other guests and the
lodge's staff. We were very impressed with the open friendliness
and the group solidarity of the staff, so much so that we felt
as if we were in our own home. The hotel manager and staff provided
excellent service and the meals were plentiful and tasty.
 The
next day we had to demonstrate our ability to remove masks and
regulators under water before being allowed to participate in
the diving activities. We then did a couple shallow dives and
the day was over. That evening, as with all evenings, everyone
gathered in the main lodge for dinner and friendly conversation
before retiring for the evening.
The third day was much better,
highlighted by a dive to 164 feet and one with the sharks. Frozen
chum was suspended on a chain while everyone gathered on the sandy
bottom nearby. We managed to get some great photos and video shots
of the sharks swimming around attacking the chum until were completely
consumed.
On the fourth day strong winds
and bad weather prevented diving activities. We spent the time
that day strolling through wooded trails enjoying the natural
beauty of the area and anxiously wondering when we would be able
to resume diving.
 The
next day high winds again prevented us from going to the sea,
so we chose to try "Inland Blue Hole" diving. These
blue holes are caves and tunnels that connect to the sea deep
underground. They are specialty dives and only two persons at
a time are allowed to enter the holes. Unfortunately for Josephine,
one of other guests had already booked for that day and we decided
that Ken alone would join them. Josephine went along but remained
topside and spent her time taking photographs. It was a very interesting
and a quite different dive. She will have to do it at a later
date. That evening the news indicated that the weather would break
so we decided to extend our stay another day.
The next morning, the seas had
calmed slightly but waves were still high. So it was decided to
attempt a deep dive over the wall. The boat trip was quite rough
but we finally arrived at the location and went to a ledge at
185 feet deep. While diving, Ken shot videos of a white tubular
sponge found only below 150 feet. It was a fascinating experience.
During the length of our stay we
learned to greatly appreciate the knowledge and professionalism
consistently demonstrated by the dive master and his crew. This
coupled with newly met good friends and enjoyable photo opportunities
resulted in a thoroughly enjoyable trip. When our week was finally
over and it was time to leave, we did feel that the trip was incomplete
without having dived the famous "Ocean Blue Hole". However,
we both hope to do that at another time.
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video title (size/ length/ download) |
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sharks feeding (1,660 kb/
1:33/ ±7 min) |
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turtles swimming (1,020
kb/ 0:55/ ±4 min) |
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french angel fish
(647 kb/ 0:34/ ±3 min) |
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176X144 pix, d/l
time of 56k modem with actual rate of 4kb/sec |
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