Scuba Diving – Five Places where you can find a Dive Buddy

Here are some ideas on where to look when searching for a Dive Buddy:

Scuba Diving Stores, usually you will find a message board, some of this ads are from new divers or divers looking for a dive buddy. If you are new to the area or city, ask the salespeople if they can recommend you to get in touch with somebody in particular.

“Find a Dive Buddy” specialized web sites: Divebuddy (http://www.divebuddy.com/) is a good place to start; this neat web site will let you search scuba divers by country, city, skills, dive experience, certification, etc. If you are based in the UK, try UK Divers (http://www.ukdivers.com) they have a forum for scuba divers looking for a dive buddy.

Scuba Diving Excursion Day, in most countries or cities you will find that there are travel agencies specialized in Diving Excursions and charters. Your best option is to book a day trip, but remember to tell them that you will need a dive buddy. If you think that the person you just met will be a good dive buddy, ask if it is possible to go to scuba dive some other day and exchange contact information.

Yellow Pages, yes! Yellow pages…old resource but still effective. Go to http://www.yellowpages.com or the local equivalent abroad and search for “scuba” in a particular city or browse the index if you are using the paper-based version. This is a real international resource; all the countries in the world have a Yellow Page book. Don’t forget to call the local scuba association.

Certification web sites usually have a section where scuba divers can publish their profile and location.

In my opinion the scuba diving certification web sites are the best place to find dive buddies.
But always remember, as in anything, nobody can guarantee that your new buddy is the best diver in the world. On a security note, be careful and ask for references if you are going to dive with somebody for the first time. The best dive buddy is always somebody who is trusted by somebody you know. So, ask your friends first.

And, your last option…google this “dive buddy finder” or “dive buddy” + location, for example “dive buddy California” (do not search with quotes).

Good Luck!

Do you know any other way to find a dive buddy?

Scuba Diving and Snorkeling with Sea Lions in Peru

I did both, Scuba Diving and Snorkeling, many years ago and I can tell you that were awesome experiences! The younger sea lions are friendly and playful animals, while the older are not that friendly, they are not dangerous but a hit could hurt you if they decide to ‘play’ with you, considering the size of this animals, length 8’ 6” and weight 1000 lbs.

As scuba divers, sometimes we look for some kind of interactivity while diving, this is the perfect time to try to do something and get a response. If you have nightmares about sharks biting you, try scuba diving with sea lions! These animals, as I mentioned like to play with the new element in the water, you, the scuba diver. So, don’t be scared if you see one of them coming at lightning speed, for sure he wants to play with you. As a side note, they eat fish, squid, and octopus mainly; and will bite only if provoked. Never try to approach a beached sea lion.

There are many places in the world where you can try this. I did scuba diving and snorkeling during some day trips to Palomino Islands and San Lorenzo Island, the largest island in front of the coast of Lima, Peru’s capital.

My recommendation is that if you are going to practice scuba diving for the first time around this animals or any animal (except crabs, starfishes and seahorsesJ) always, always go with somebody that is familiar with the area and the behavior of the animals.

San Lorenzo Island and Palomino islands location: Lima, Peru
Latitude = -12.1092, Longitude = -77.1927
Lat = 12 degrees, 6.5 minutes South
Long = 77 degrees, 11.6 minutes West

If you are interested, once you are in Lima, Peru you can call or visit some travel agencies in the financial District of San Isidro or in the touristic district of Miraflores, for sure they will help you to book guided tours or boats with scuba diving equipment. If you know very well the Callao port area, you can go directly to the Callao port or La Punta and try to get a boat, I do not recommend this option, but it is up to you.

Do you have any similar scuba diving or snorkeling experiences with animals?