In February, I completed my open water PADI certification with Liz at Jaguar Divers in Playa del Carmen, Mexico and I could not recommend her more! I am not being compensated for this review, I genuinely want to share my experience.
I had tried scuba once before many years ago and failed the mask clearing skill due to pure panic. I have wanted to get my open-water (OW) cert but have been scared since then. A friend completed her cert with Liz and recommended her to me.
Upon reaching out to Liz and telling her my fear of the mask clearing skill, she gave me encouragement and recommendations for how to work on this at home/in my pool. This made me feel from the get go that her motivation is definitely successful students!
She sent me a PDF book and videos to watch and study for the theory and written portion of the certification, and we scheduled out our days. She checked on me occasionally before our meet days to see how my studying was going, which was a nice accountability. PS- You DO need to actually study.
Day One
We met to review the book work and any areas I had questions about. She took the time, drew pictures, showed me equipment, etc to make sure I understood. I then had to take section quizzes, we went over the answers and explanations again. Finally, my 50-question final exam. After that, we fitted me for my equipment. Liz provides all your equipment for you, including a dive computer to use to learn with (which apparently isn’t so common).
Day Two
On the second day, we headed to Casa Cenote in Tulum for our closed-water dives and skills. We spent time going over the equipment, how to set up the rig, how to check your own setup to prep for a dive and your buddy’s. Then to the water! This Cenote is beautiful and so so perfect for learning to dive, and let’s be honest… a Cenote > pool.
We worked on about 15 dive skills, including my nemesis mask-clearing skill. Liz was SO patient and encouraging with me. I took 20 minutes to muster up the courage to fill my mask and Liz just patiently allowed me the time I needed and wrote me some underwater notes to encourage me. We then took dive 1, which I remember nothing about because I was in a slight panic. Normal.
We had a quick lunch of sandwiches we brought, learned to change tanks and headed back to the water for part 2 of skills (30 total) and at the end, our second dive of the day, which by this point I was able to begin to enjoy! Diving in a Cenote is super special and magical.
Casa Cenote is well-known for a crocodile that lives there. We were very lucky to catch a glimpse of her at the end of our dive!
Day Three
The last day, we went out with a dive boat for ocean dives 3 and 4. We went to much deeper depths (around 60 feet) in these dives and I had to perform some of my skills in the salt-water, including removing my mask. We had two lovely dives where we worked on buoyancy, relaxing and enjoying the essence of diving. We saw incredible amounts of fish, two sharks and two turtles during these dives. I also learned how to enter and exit the water from a boat, how to disassemble and clean equipment.
I am confident that Liz is why I was able to get through this certification with my anxiety and fear. I am so grateful I found and chose her as my instructor.
If you are curious or committed to your OW certification (and beyond), Liz is your person! She is highly skilled as a diver and instructor. She is quick to respond (in and out of the water), calming, warm, empathic and encouraging. I can’t wait to do more dives with her — and I hope you choose to experience diving with Liz!
