Mexico (Puerto Morelos)

[firstbreath]

Just got back Mexico from my first ever dive. Everything was wonderful. I did a two-tank dive in the reef out from Riviera Maya. We were able to spot an Eagle Ray that had a good 5-6 foot wing span...amazing. Also was able to see a yellow stingray, along with an abundance of other sea life.

Apparently, that's the second largest reef in the world (first being the one in Australia of course). I guess they have a problem with Lion Fish in Mexico, so dive masters are given the green light to kill them if they see them. I guess the Lion fish eat all the baby/little fish, preventing them from growing up. We spotted one of them and our Dive Master killed it. However, when we surfaced our Dive Master got introuble with the local DNR. I guess the process he used to kill the lion fish was illegal. He was using some sort of spear gun to do it...and he got it taken away right after our dive. They argued in spanish for about 20 minutes (didn't understand a word that was said), before finally taking his weapon and leaving.

The weather was clear and the water was about 80 degrees. Visibility was great, not sure on the distance though. The first dive was 30 feet and the second was 40. Apparently I need to practice my breathing. I was only under for about 30-35 minutes before running out of air (started with 3000-2500 psi). I was the first one to surface in both dives...oh well. Any tips?

Can't wait to get out again...I'll probably go somewhere local in WI in the later spring or summer time.