Kurt Kucera

Scuba Diver, Car Enthusiast, Outdoorsman

Preventing Vertigo While Diving

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Diving can be a fun and rewarding experience. It gives you the opportunity to overcome challenges and experience the world around you in a different way. However, it also presents a certain set of dangers, one of which includes experiencing vertigo while diving. While most divers have experienced vertigo at one time or another, there are certain things that you can do to limit its severity. In some cases, you might be able to prevent yourself from experiencing it all together. This is imperative in order to dive safely, as complications from vertigo can have severe consequences.

What Is Vertigo?
Vertigo is a sensation that the entire world is moving or spinning, even when you are completely stationary. You might think of it as a severe case of dizziness that becomes worse whenever you move your head. Some people experience vertigo on a routine basis because of chronic disorders. For most divers, it has a lot more to do with the pressure inside the inner ear. There is a delicate balance of pressure that is regulated by your inner ear. It is essentially what allows you to turn your head or be in any moving vehicle and still maintain your sense of balance. When this pressure is no longer equalized, you start to feel dizzy.

Potential Complications of Vertigo While Diving
Obviously, this can present a certain amount of danger while you’re driving, especially if the vertigo becomes severe. The condition can range from a bit of lightheadedness to severe dizziness, nausea and vomiting which essentially prevent you from functioning normally. If you are underwater and you can no longer disseminate which direction you need to go in order to ascend safely, you could find yourself in real trouble very quickly. In addition, severe cases of vertigo can cause you to lose consciousness. Clearly, this is not something that you want to experience while you’re diving. Fortunately, you can take some control of the situation by making small changes to your diving routine.

What Can You Do?
Your first step is to realize that there are a lot of pressure changes when you are diving, thanks to the changes in pressure underwater. You don’t have to go very far underwater to experience these changes. This is where most drivers get in trouble. They have a tendency to underestimate how quickly the pressure can change as they dive down. It’s usually far less than most drivers initially calculate. The key is to dive down slowly and give yourself a few breaks where you are simply maintaining your position in order to give your middle ear a chance to adjust. If you start to feel dizzy, stop where you are and give it a few minutes. This is even more important when you ascend. It’s imperative that you ascend slowly and that you give yourself time to adjust whenever you start to feel like something isn’t quite right.

By simply descending and ascending at a slower rate, you can dramatically reduce your chances of experiencing vertigo while diving. Remember, it’s important to stop where you are and give yourself a chance to adjust to the pressure if you start feeling unwell. This will allow you to dive in a safe manner. In addition, it gives you the chance to enjoy your adventures to the fullest.

The Best Holiday Gifts for Scuba Divers

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The holidays are around the corner. Therefore, people need to start preparing gifts for scuba diving enthusiasts on their gift list. The gift a person will give to a scuba diver friend will depend on their budget.

Choosing the best holiday gift for scuba divers can be challenging, especially for people who aren’t enthusiastic about scuba diving. Moreover, they are many gifts for scuba divers. Therefore choosing the best one can be confusing. People can find these gifts at local dive shops or online. Here are the best holiday gifts for scuba divers.

Ocean-Themed Jewelry

Scuba divers love the ocean. They enjoy scuba diving and taking photos or videos of marine life. Ocean-themed jewelry such as earrings, bracelets, and necklaces reminds them of ocean life.

If a scuba diver prefers to wear a wet suit instead of a suit, handmade bracelet cuffs with marine life designs can be a good holiday gift for them. Masks, diving helmet cufflinks, and snorkels are also great holiday gifts for a scuba diver.

T-Shirts or Hats

Scuba divers don’t always spend all their time underwater. When they are not Scuba diving, they are probably basking on the beach. Hats help protect their head from sunlight rays, which can be harmful. When people buy PADI gear hats, they somehow help keep plastic out of the ocean. It is because they use recycled plastic to make hats.

A t-shirt is yet another gift a scuba diver would love to receive. Before buying a t-shirt, it is advisable to ask the scuba diver which dive shop they prefer. The t-shirt can have phrases such as “I work well under pressure.”

Books about Sea Creatures and Scuba Diving

Before sending a holiday gift to a scuba diving enthusiast, the sender should consider the diver’s interests. If they enjoy reading books about sea creatures and scuba diving, then such books are the best holiday gifts.

For instance, National Geographic books inspire individuals to love and protect the underwater world. Books about scuba diving can also help them become better scuba divers and safe places to do it.

Scuba Diving Gadgets and Accessories

Thanks to technology, there are several gadgets that individuals can give to scuba divers. It includes a dive torch, GPS devices, underwater cameras, etc.

The above are some holiday gifts for scuba divers. The gifts should be unique and fit their budget range.

The Best Diving Spots in Belize

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Belize is an under the radar diving spot, home to the largest barrier reef on that side of the world, and with more islands to explore than one person could ever get to. Because it is only opening up to tourism, there is plenty of untouched sand, little known dive spots, and plenty of wildlife to discover.

These are the best diving spots in Belize and should be added to your list when you travel to the country.

The Barrier Reef

As one of the longest and best-preserved reefs in the world, The Barrier Reef has plenty of space to explore. There are several unique species to be seen, and sea turtles use this reef as a safe hunting ground because it is so pristine.

Ambergris Caye

The word is out now in regards to Ambergris Caye and it is easily one of the most popular cayes and diving spots in Belize. From here you can arrange transportation and a guide to just about anywhere in the region, and the local guides will have their favorite spots they are eager to take tourists to.

The Blue Hole

The Blue Hole of Belize should be considered one of the natural wonders of the world. If there is one dive you should make the time to do in Belize, this is it. Normally the dive will take you 40 meters deep to explore the stalactites that hang from an underwater cavern.

Shark Ray Alley

Shark Ray Alley is a great and easy dive spot that you can actually snorkel. This sandbar is a favorite spot for nurse sharks and marine species come for an easy meal because they know that the locals like to stop here to clean their catch.

Hol Chan Marine Reserve

Reserves are great spots to see a diverse amount of marine life, and Hol Chan Marine Reserve is no different. The location is what makes this spot so special and unique, as a channel or crack in the Barrier Reef that sits along the coast of Belize, there is a strong current to feed the area moving through here. The reserve status also means that the reef is intact here because it is protected.

The Best Diving Spots In Thailand

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The best diving spots in Thailand can be hard to pick out for first-time visitors, which makes local guides your best resource. Thailand is rich in marine life and home to over more than three hundred named spots. With so much coastline and so many different areas to dive in, there is a dive spot for divers of every skill level.

These are the best diving spots in Thailand.

Hin Muang

Dive spots in the Andaman Sea are among the favorites for local guides and the type of dive spots worth traveling around the world for. Beautiful corals, rare marine life, and several species of sharks and other large fish that you only see when deep diving are all within easy diving range.

Koh Kradan Wreck

Wrecks make incredible dive sites and the Koh Kradan Wreck is definitely one of the better spots. The Japanese destroyer is entirely covered by corals, sea fans, and other underwater growth where marine life is bountiful throughout the entire year.

Hin Nok

The beauty of diving in Thailand is that the environment in each dive site is so unique that you can dive for days and see something different every time. Hin Nok features a large plateau and gullies that you can spend days exploring. Sea turtles are commonly found in this area and the elusive and strange Ghost Pipefish.

Shark Point

Named for the sharks that frequent this dive spot, leopard sharks are able to be seen here year-round. Other interesting species that can be seen here include the cute cuttlefish and seahorses. The gullies here protect divers from the strong currents making this a great dive for newer divers.

Koh Dok Mai

Koh Dok Mai is a great cave dive and night dive spot, but it is a spot for strong divers and swimmers. The cave you dive into leads to a cavern that is filled with sea snakes, leopard sharks, and eels.

While there are plenty of dive options in Thailand it is best to pick the spot that matches your dive abilities and offers you a unique experience among the many different types of dives that are offered.

The Simple Path to a Perfect Road Trip

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The best vacations are often the most self-produced. Waiting in long lines, being enslaved to a rigid itinerary, or shelling out hundreds of dollars for a stuffy flight can feel more restricting than relaxing. It’s no wonder, then, that self-guided road trips are such an alluring vacation alternative. While there are dozens of phenomenal options when it comes to planning the perfect trip, picking a direction and just driving isn’t always the best course of action (no matter how tempting it may be). There are several key considerations that can make or break the elusive “perfect road trip.”

First, it never hurts to come up with a goal for the trip, no matter how vague. Is this particular road voyage about catching some spectacular natural views, or would it be more fun to focus on visiting several major cities? A drive up the West Coast and through the Rocky Mountains might be the perfect option for the former, while an East Coast urban crawl will satisfy the desires of the latter. Setting even a simple goal can determine the tone of the trip, and help make planning out the desired destinations that much easier.

After deciding on that general goal, the next step is picking a part of the country to visit. One of the spectacular things about the United States is that its diverse topography provides both natural wonders and metropolitan centers in almost any area of the country. So, whatever the purpose of the trip, it can be fulfilled almost anywhere. The Pacific Northwest is an iconic part of the country that’s on many people’s bucket list to visit. However, the often-overlooked Midwest has its trove of hidden gems worth exploring. Because of this rich diversity, the geography of the perfect road trip is a simple matter of preference.

With a goal and a (general) location decided upon, the amount of planning to be done next is entirely up to the discretion of the travelers. While some prefer more structure to their trip, with a day-by-day plan as to the sights and destinations, others are more apt to discover their path as it unfolds before them. Regardless of the nature of travel, having these two aspects of the journey decided, the goal and the geography can turn any trip into the perfect road trip.