Off the Beaten Path Holiday Escapes

My SCUBA diver instructor Captain Cachi checks my gear one last time, and we start slowly descending into the waves of La Parguera Bay in Puerto Rico. This is my first dive ever, and I’m both thrilled and nervous. I have done the basic diving exercises a few dozen times while still on the boat: Learning how to blow water from inside my mask, how to put the mouthpiece back on should I accidentally let it go, how to equalize the pressure in my ears as we descend—but doing so underwater is a different story altogether. As I sink beneath the ocean surface, leaving the air world behind and entering the underwater one, I instinctively hold my breath. Cachi points to my mouthpiece, instructing me to inhale. “Breathe!” he motions in silent language—and I finally start gulping the air, just as we become fully submerged. I look up and see the ocean surface of La Parguera Bay quivering above me—a mind-boggling sight I’ve never experienced before. Read Full Story in TravelWorld