by jvalle0514 | Jan 4, 2020 | 0 comments
Born and raised in Mexico City I grow up surrounded by concrete, asphalt and not that much water. The idea to SCUBA dive was as foreign to my brain as time traveling! But while attending college trying to become a Biologist, I had the opportunity to discover the Underwater World and the wide range of possible adventures waiting for me. That was back in the 80’s and since then I have not stopped diving.
I believe that we take people not for a tour but into an adventure and life experience, every dive is different, every dive comes with the possibility to see something amazing …and come back to the surface and realize that you will be talking about your dives for long, long time.Those are the moments I like to share with my divers.
I believe that the ocean belongs to all of us and it’s our duty to preserve and respect it, to teach the new generations to love it, and hopefully, do a better job than us saving it.
Besides diving I enjoy traveling, dancing, challenge my mind, meeting different people, and whenever possible, expanding my understanding of human nature. My mother language is Spanish but I handle myself well in English and a bit of Portuguese.
Originally from the French Alps, Vanessa discovered her passion for the sea, when she started diving at age 13 in the South of France.
A few years later, after diving different places in the Caribbean Sea, she finally decided to become a dive professional. Starting as an underwater videographer, she then became a PADI Instructor. After working in the Riviera Maya, her work took her in South East Asia where she worked in prestigious Dive Resort and Live-a-board…
However, after a few years travelling and diving the world, it is in Cozumel’s crystal clear waters that she decided to settle in.
Her love for the Ocean multiply itself when she can share it with others.
“Cousteau once said: “People protect what they love” so I feel that by sharing the beauty of the coral reef and its inhabitants, by giving my divers and students the best experience possible, I help to make a difference to save our oceans and a difference in people’s life…”
Born in New Zealand I was raised on an island, only ever two hours from the beach, in the fourth largest NZ city with a population not much bigger than Cozumel.
While working in the education team of a global development organization I travelled to Nicaragua and then took leave to backpack my way through Central America. During this trip I signed up for my PADI Open Water certification in Belize. I was terrified. I was afraid of swimming in the ocean, had a panic attack underwater but I persevered and ultimately I fell in love with this new world.
I spent all my holidays over the following years planning dive trips and in 2017 I returned to Mexico to find Cozumel and the most beautiful reefs I had ever seen. After this trip I only lasted three months in New Zealand before I quit my job, sold all my belongings, and arrived in Cozumel with two bags.
Education has always been a passion of mine and prior to moving to Cozumel I was a high school Science and Chemistry teacher. So it made sense to combine my passion for education with my passion for diving and now my classroom is the Mexican Caribbean and I couldn’t be happier.
I love to help people face their fears, to experience the world under the sea for the first time, to improve their skills and build confidence, and to educate them on the importance of protecting our global reefs.
Professional photographer and videographer from 2001.
He got certified as a diver in 2008 in order to make underwater video and photography.
Became Divemaster in 2009 and since then he´s been living in Cozumel, working as an independent underwater cameraman, both at the sea as in cenotes and other projects above the water.
Scuba Diving is for me more a passion than a job. You know how when you are a kid you want to be a fireman, a pilot, an astronaut… Well I wanted to be Jacques Cousteau, to live in that silent world I was so much attracted to. Growing up my interests migrated from Oceanography to Marine Biology and I finally ended up studying Biochemistry. However a twist of fate in 1998 made me decide to leave my career to dedicate myself full time to my passion: Scuba Diving. That’s how I can say with all certainty that I do this because of my own decision and conviction. Since then I have been a full time scuba instructor mainly in the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Mexico. During that time I have acquired an extensive experience as a Divemaster, Instructor, cave and technical Diver. I have to date more than 7000 dives. I have lived in Cozumel Island for the past 16 years during which I had the opportunity to dive all around the island and in all known cenotes. I have also worked in Asia; in live aboard boats in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
My current interest is teaching Scuba. An activity for which my friends say I have a knack for and a lot of patience. I want to share the silent world with everybody! I want everybody to know how important the Ocean is for all living things. I want to put a big smile on my students’ faces while they learn to scuba dive and at the same time they discover a water world that seems so alien but from which we all come from. I can take a whole family into their firsts immersions or do something more extreme with those who have the experience, what is important to me is that everybody learns and enjoys it. At this stage in life I am more concerned with quality than quantity. That’s why I have recently dedicated myself to fine tune the way I teach, I don’t like to just follow recipes but to adapt to my students particular needs to give an unforgettable experience at the recreational or technical level.
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