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You love large fish and the strong feelings!
Every summer, from June to September, come to swim with the whale sharks.
Every winter, come to dive with spotted eagles rays and bulldog sharks, guaranteed 100% till March.
Divings emotions ensured
by Phocea Mexico !
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Here is our 6th newsletter (and first one in english), let’s gather to share our passion…
When you read this newsletter, just know we will have made our first trips to whale sharks of the 2010 season and… and, yes around 40 sharks during this very first trip… Incredible and terrific and even if we’ve already seen them more than a couple of times, each time, this is the same feeling and the same pleasure to see them again and to be able to swim among them, without needing to swim so much as they are so many that this is pure magic.
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So, do not hesitate to enjoy this exceptional situation we have in Mexico, take advantage of our last minute discounts with the agencies and allow yourself this pleasure… Do not forget our topic : « you will swim with whale sharks or otherwise we will refund you ».
Click on this link to check on our website the description of this dreamful day excursion.
Do not forget that you can be aware of our latest news on the Phocea’s blog and we will be more than happy to answer all your comments. You can also become one of our friends on Facebook and so, keep in touch with us, Mexico and its fantastic dives….
June will be a quite full month as, except the beginning of the whale sharks season, we have a strong IDC session, Camille is more than ready to fulfill the promise of 100% success, but we will also welcome many of our French dive clubs friends that want to enjoy our dives in Playa, in Cozumel and to the cenotes.
Vincent, to speak about him, has a « full cave » session and again 3 candidates will have the opportunity and happiness to taste the marvellous fresh water caves.
And, obviously, everything is offered with the Phocea service….
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| Discovering the Mayan country |
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You have discovered the fantastic dives of the Mexican Carribean and its cenotes, so, why not optimizing your stay taking few time to discover the richness of the Mayan culture, its wonderful archeological sites, and to this purpose, Phocea Mexico proposes you to do it in absolute freedom, at your pace, with different tours from 3 to 5 days in Yucatan… And, if the road does not frighten you, in 7 days, leading to Palenque. We organize, you enjoy! |
We suggest you a schedule with pre-booked charming hotels with breakfast, and between each stop, you are free to choose your own itinerary and breaks, following your heart.
You will discover a picturesque Mexico, warm people as well as a breathtaking history.
From the frenzy Merida where you will experience an ambient in which folklore has its true meaning, quite alive (especially on week-ends), to the colonial Valladolid where you will have a stroll among its colorful houses with traditional dressed people, going through villages that will conquest your mind thanks to their charm and their quietness, without forgetting the natural « wild » protected parks that you will go through.
From the wild Coba to the wonderful Chichen Itza, and the eery Uxmal, you will dive into this Mayan culture so disappointing, sometimes worrying and so cutting edge for its century….
You will also discover, aside the road, many Haciendas, often renovated and turned into museums, restaurants… But, you will also be able to go through a few haciendas, the rarest ones, still in activity, producing the Sisal, the « Green Gold » of the early 20th century (90% of the world production).
This industry collapsed with the new synthetic fibers, and especially nylon, in the 40’s, it is somekind of a trip through decades and centuries you will participate in…
So, do not wait anymore to contact us and click on this link to check the complete description of our tours.
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Here it is…. You get there… On the top of the top… You have dreamt about it so long, and now it’s done…. You are a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.
A new world is opening to you : white sand beaches and tropical seas. Congrats, an important step has been completed in your professional development in the scuba diving world and we are happy to congratulate you.
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Though, remind that as in any other profession, the more skills you have, the most welcomed you will be on the market.
Indeed, to make sure you get your ticket to the life you dream of, the key of success remains in polyvalence… Beyond your easy ability to teach, the professional course goes on, ensures you to stay and remain on the highest level of technical and theoretical knowledge.
You will also have the opportunity to discover new activities in scuba diving you don’t even imagine the different interests and that, maybe, will constitute for you a new passion… To be able to shoot great underwater pictures, to learn the basic technics to explore a wreck and so many other things….
After your IDC, you will hace access to different courses that will allow you to teach different specialties such as Enriched Air, deep dive, wreck dive, underwater photography… Just have a look, we are pretty sure there is at least one specialty you will be keen on and that will match your expectation…. Be aware that a few specialties have specific requisites. So, ask for more information.
Usually, Instructor Specialty courses are scheduled in a session called « MSDT Prep ». Indeed, with the ability to teach at least 5 different PADI specialties, and with at least 25 certifications, you can ask for the MSDT recognition (Master Scuba Diver Trainer). This course includes a minimum of 5 specialties, and is focused on the standards of each course and on how you can teach your students these specific diving technics. Another advantage of this course is that it is 100% based on practice… So, you will have the opportunity to execute different kinds of dives during this course…
But, this is not over after the MSDT course, you will be able then to participate to the IDC Staff Instructor course… During this course, you will learn to organize an IDC, to evaluate the Instructor candidates and, this is the best way to update your knowledge and skills as a scuba instructor. This course will allow you then to get into the process of teaching to future instructors, supervised by a Course Director. You will also be able to, independently, schedule and make your own Assistant Instructors sessions and this way, to take a little farther your Divemaster candidates, interested in their professional development…
If you have a wider vision of things, Phocea Mexico centre can help you to become a Master Instructor or a Course Director too. This year, we have been pleased to know that one of our ancient IDC Staff candidates has become a Course Director.
Beyond the sector of professional teaching, you can if you wish so, lead to the technical diving and this way, become an underwater speleologist guide for example. A complete Full Cave course will offer you all the technics and knowledge necessary to supervise certified divers in sheltered environments, what will allow you to make people discover underground marvels and enjoy the incredible underwater and mineral landscape of the speleological diving.
Of course, Phocea Mexico professional course centre offers you this whole bunch of courses and so much more…. Do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any question about your professional development in scuba diving. Our specialized team will be perfectly able to orientate you towards what fits you the best, and who knows, help you in your business plan, to access the highest level of recreational diving… !! |
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| They became real professionals! |
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You may have followed the adventures of our candidates sitting for the April IDC exam on our blog (only in french).
For the ones who have not, there is no problem, everything is here.
Otherwise, starting on June the 1st, you will know everything about our next session.
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Anyway, we are proud to inform you that, at the moment you are reading this letter, our candidates are all living their dreams, earning their lives from diving. In addition, one of our students has been offered a job by one of the examiners during the exam. Congratulations to all of you, we are proud of you… !!!
Next session:
In order to ensure a top quality service for June, we are going to have 2 sessions to prepare everyone for the exam on the next 26th and 27th of June.
Indeed, as we have a great number of candidates for this date, we are going to divide the group in two class-rooms. This way, Camille will be able to spend as much time as he needs with anyone. That too is part of Phocea Mexico’s service, we give our best to bring you the highest level of service.
1st group:
IDC: 1st to 11th of June
EFRI: 12th & 13th of June |
2nd group:
EFRI: 12th & 13th of June
IDC: 14th to 24th of June |
Both groups:
Exam (IE): 26th & 27th June
MSDT: 29th June to 2nd July |
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March 15th 2009, 1:30pm
The ritual way back from the cenotes to Phocea is taking place as usual, our guides unload the equipment, while the vans release more than happy clients.
The ambient is smooth…
Except than today, there is a great difference : Ghislaine and Jean-Michel’s eyes are shiny, as if they had just fallen in love. |
Regarding them, they have just surrender under the charm of Xibalba ( God of the Underworld) and his underground empire (the cenotes )… In just one day, they have already left a piece of their heart down there, under the forest and the rocks.
I had just completed at that time the long process that leads to the speleological diving instructorship. That is quite naturally with great enthusiasm that I explained them the different certification levels… My words opened a way to new breathtaking ideas…. See you next year probably to go through the next step… and maybe find back the piece of the heart left to Xibalba.
March 9th 2010
After sending many e-mails to Didier, determining the different possibilities depending on Jean-Michel and Ghislaine expectations (both of them cannot do anything without the other one…), they actually came back and they decided to temper their mind participating to the « intro to cave » course, with the following limitations :
Penetration is limited to one sixth of the entire gas volume, without decompression nor restriction passage, and without directional main change at this level : an excellent option for a progressive and pedagogical approach of underground diving.
Meeting back again and setting the planning, we are already adjusting our equipment, that is until now quite new for my students, and as we know, this is just diving that we become divers so that we give our best to jump into the water as soon as possible, Leading to Cenote Cristalino…
From the very first day, I’m quite surprised by the aquacity of my future « cave surfers », and especially by their concentration and will to work again and again till perfection ( they’re almost worse than me….). As a result, we had a 5 hours session in the water through stress circuits, kicking technics, valve shuttings and also a visit of ducklings intrigued by our pachidermy… The following days pass without any problem, and despite a little tire on the 3rd day, we deal with the planning quite well thanks to the motivation of my passionated divers (and their patience too…).
Totally sure they did not cross the ocean just to work, here comes the fun part.
We’ve been to underground strolls for a few days, without any exercise, only paced by the rays of our lamps taking their time to examine all the wonders in the surrounds. Ghislaine is happy and told me she found down there something maternal, eternal among these thousand-year-old stalagtites.
Perfectly pleased with her experience, she will probably won’t go to the next step and will stay at this certification level (restriction passage is definitely not for her she admits).
On the other hand, Jean-Michel is absolutely astonished with the beauty of our last dives in Nohoch Nah Chi and we should hardly grab his arm to prevent him from going farther to the dark face of the force (the green force in his case….), but to get there, the next certification level is required, with complex navigations, decompression and restriction passage. New perspectives that are feeding his dreams.
He just needs to leave a little longer the piece of his heart he left to Xibalba he thought he’d take back, and he gets the perfect pretext to come and visit him again next year.
And, speaking about everything but diving, sit around a delicious grilled chicken near Tulum we end up with our odyssey. At least for this year !
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