Mauritius Dive Instructor Training Day 1

Due to flight delays, I arrived at the dive center in Mauritius after 10pm. This is usually past bedtime for SCUBA divers. The place was deathly quiet with no signs of life. After messaging all contacts and receiving no response, I nearly resigned myself to sleeping on an outside couch with an army of mosquitoes. A little doggy saved me from being drained alive by making some gentle growls.

A bubbly young British girl appeared, introduced herself, and happily chatted away and showed me to my room. It is ridiculously huge with an ensuite bathroom. I’m not complaining! It just far exceeds expectations, as it will provide free accommodation for the next two months or so. My stay will involve lots of Dive Instructor training including some specialty courses.

I met most of the crew early the next morning. They are a lovely, enthusiastic bunch. They were planning for the day ahead and gave me the day off to settle in. One team member took time for an orientation and helped me attach all my new bits of SCUBA gear, which I am yet to use.

I used my free time to unpack in my luxury suite and hit the shops by foot to stock up. I would just need to feed myself while here. The conversion rate at the time is 2.8 Rupees to 1 ZAR. To be conservative, I just divided everything by two and watched what the locals were buying. The biggest surprise was R84 for 100g of Nescafe coffee! A small bag of apples was also not cheap… I would need to learn what’s in season. There are also tons of fancy restaurants and various establishments in the Northern part of Mauritius – specifically around the Grand Baie area.

It has been advised that I take my day off seriously and enjoy this quiet time, as tomorrow we will all be reporting for duty at 06:20 sharp. Then all activities will encompass Dive Instructor training. The calm before the storm!

Next: Hauling Gas – Dive Instructor Training in Mauritius