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I never thought I would be a swimwear model: Deakin and Blue swimwear review

5/4/2020

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When I reached out to Deakin and Blue I thought it would be a long shot. I knew of the sustainable swimwear company from social media and had been eyeing up their diverse range of full suits and bikinis for my next trip. I’m training to be a dive professional and told them about my plans to volunteer for good causes using my newly acquired dive skills once I've got my qualification. The ocean needs all the help it can get right now and I can't wait to get involved with marine conservation projects and humanitarian causes. They liked the sound of my plans and very generously let me pick a swimsuit from their extensive range. Read on for a full product review, with some snippets about my Mexican travels thrown in for good measure. And scroll on for my swimsuit modelling debut.


I primarily wanted a new swimsuit to wear under a wet suit while scuba diving. I have tried different combinations of undergarments over the years and
I found two halves easier than a full swimsuit, so due to not wanting to buy more plastic, had settled on wearing an old sports bra and swim shorts I found in a charity shop. Not the most glamorous! So it was a treat to pick something designed more appropriately for the job. The model I chose was the Hepburn. It's designed with activity in mind and is more substantial than almost all bikinis I’ve ever seen. The tops are sized like bras so you can get a really good fit and decent boob support, with the arms of the top being cut low enough that there's no chaffing when swimming lengths in a pool. I chose high-waisted bottoms for comfort under neoprene, and you can pick the size of the bottoms independently from the top which makes a lot of sense. The range also includes full suits and more skimpy numbers in a huge range of size options so they have something for everyone.


All Deakin and Blue have high sustainability credentials. Their website explains that the material used is "
ECONYL® - a 100% regenerated nylon fibre made from post-consumer waste such as old fishing nets and industrial plastic." They are also built to last and are made tougher than most other products. The material feels nice against my skin, dries well and holds up to saltwater, swimming pools and waterfalls. A solid month of 3 dives a day in sea water and being dried in direct sunlight and I've seen no change in colour or stretchiness. The first time I wore it was at the stunning Roberto Barrios waterfalls near Palenque in Mexico, where it dried quickly enough that I didn’t need to perform an awkward towel dance to change my underwear in public! However, awkward towel dances are made easier with the front zip on the top. As demonstrated after swimming at the mossy green cavern that is the cenote in the heart of the city of Valladolid.
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My life as a divemaster trainee involves being wet for large part of the day. I love that I can take half my wet suit off and go to the loo (not an easy feat wearing a full swimming costume). And I don’t feel too naked, so I’m happy to wander around during our surface intervals without anything more on.


I’m so pleased to have found a product that suits my needs so well. I’m not at all comfortable wearing triangles held on with stringy bits and I need something that can offer support when lifting tanks and equipment on and off dive boats. The fact that Deakin and Blue have these design features covered is only made more brilliant by their eco friendly credentials - all happily delivered in beautiful, non-plastic packaging. I’m sure my new swimsuit will last ages but I know where I’m getting my next one. 



So now for the swimwear model moment. Here is a picture of a real person, on a windy day, about to do her 800m snorkelling swimming test in the choppy ocean. Thank you so much Deakin and Blue for the swimsuit and for the confidence you’ve shown in me in providing me with a product.
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Cenotes: Cavern diving in Tulum, Mexico

24/2/2020

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You know those photos on Instagram that don’t look real? The white sands and turquoise ocean, or the perfect sunset from a mountain top. They must be photoshopped to look like that. And that’s what I thought of the cenotes. The famous caverns and caves in the Yucatán peninsula were once dry, allowing stalactites and stalagmites to form and providing homes for humans and animals some thousands of years ago. Now that the water level has risen, the thousands of cenotes provide a playground for scuba divers. And those photos of light streaming in beams through the water? Well it looks even better than Instagram. Read on for my experience with Dive Tulum.


The town of Tulum isn’t really my usual kind of destination. The beach (which I never saw) is lined with resorts and the town is full of souvenir shops and overpriced restaurants. But it was certainly worth enduring the sunburnt drunk people to experience the diving. There are dive sites to both the north and south of the town, my guide Gisela and my dive buddies and I headed north to an area with several cenotes called Dos Ojos. We bounced down the dusty road in the kit-loaded truck to peer into the depths of our first dive - El Pit. Access to this deep dive is down a tall wooden staircase. Once in the water, the first amazing thing was the visibility. No tides, currents or sand to muddy the waters. Having said that, quite soon in our descent to 30 metres, there’s a patch of hydrogen sulfide, making the water all blurry, an interesting phenomenon to encounter. Continuing down and we had to make use of our torches. The formations from when the caves were dry are fascinating. I especially enjoyed being able to see the lights of other divers from a distance. It really gave a sense of perspective in this huge cavern. The Instagram moment happened on our gradual ascent. On turning back towards the surface, the sunlight was streaming through the opening. Bright blue beams intersecting the dark blue water with tiny little divers underneath to give perspective to this beautiful image. Wow.

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The second and third dives were at Dos Ojos - Two Eyes, so called because the two cenotes are connected by a series of shallow tunnels and channels. There are two routes which involve manoeuvring through small spaces - a test of buoyancy skills. It felt really adventurous. Torches out to peak into the dark crevices, not knowing what would be around the next corner. The final dive including surfacing in the bat cave. Looking up at the dozing bats from the surface of the water was unreal. With just a small opening that the bats use - divers have unique access to this special place. Again the contrast of light and dark created a wonderful scene of dark rock formations backlit by the light blue of the water near the surface.


Gisela was an excellent guide. She knows the cenotes and their history like they’re her back garden. Thanks Gisela and Dive Tulum for a fantastic introduction to the cenotes and to cavern diving. I can’t wait to come back for more.


Have you dived any other cenotes? What did you think? Comment below.
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Diving in Puerto Escondido: Mexico

12/2/2020

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Let’s be honest, if you’re travelling to Mexico specifically for diving, you’re not going to come to Puerto Escondido. The draw of the Yucatan Peninsula with its clear waters and abundant marine life - along with the famous cenotes - are paradise for divers. But if you find yourself in the area, is it worth diving in the Pacific Ocean? Read on for my experience.
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The surfer town of Puerto Escondido is on the Pacific coast in the state of Oaxaca and a night bus away from Oaxaca City. The long beach of Zicotela has a strip of obnoxious, westernised cafes, bars and restaurants and some places to stay. The sea is so rough that only the brave and/or those with surf boards venture into the water. But the water contains many wonders if only you’ll look. I flip flopped my way to visit Aventura Submarina dive shop to find out more.
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A huge thanks to Deakin and Blue who supplied me with the sustainable swimwear. I love it! Stand by for a full review...
Instructor Diego and owner Jorge welcomed me warmly and talked me through the dive sites that they have here. There are a range of options within a 20 minute boat ride and the rocky bottom provides a great habitat for eels, angel, puffer, box, lobster and numerous other aquatic life forms. The all important question for me was visibility. The only things I’d managed to find out online had been complaints about the lack of clear water. It’s not the Caribbean but for our dives it was 10-15 metres.


We were going out as a group of four. I was efficiently kitted out with a nice new and colourful wetsuit before a briefing and the short truck ride to the boat. Our first site was just 5 minutes away. With a further briefing and a backward roll we were in. There was plenty to see and it was fun peering into the cracks between the rocks. Diego was great at spotting and even spied some nudibranches (I would never have noticed!).


Our relaxed surface interval was in a quiet patch of ocean where a turtle poked its head above water. The second dive was similar and included a massive lobster and loads of grumpy looking eels!


The whole trip was great. Diego said to me that it’s diving like friends. Aventura Submarina isn’t a super-swanky operation. Don’t expect free snacks, or glossy brochures. It is a friendly and welcoming shop with good equipment and knowledge, and an openness to explore the watery world. If you’re in town then I highly recommend diving with Aventura Submarina.

Have you dived on this coast? Let me know what you thought. Especially if you managed to find a nicer part of town than I did!
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Pueblos Mancomunados: indigenous villages and hiking near Oaxaca, Mexico

9/2/2020

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My first activity when arriving to Mexico City was to take an historic walking tour of the centre of town. The bulk of this tour was focused on prehispanic history, before Cortez and is Spanish soldiers showed up. The indigenous cultures weren’t completely obliterated by the Europeans. They’ve had a difficult time until the very recent past but are now being supported a bit more. Pueblos Mancomunados is a cooperative of villages with interconnected resources focused on hiking but also supporting biking, horse riding and zip lining! I wanted to escape the city of Oaxaca for the mountains and visit the Zapotec people there. This is how I did it and what I learnt.
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The office of Expodiciones Sierra Norte offer organised tours including transport and food. This was extremely expensive, especially for a solo traveller, but they were happy to give me information to visit on my own. Their office in central Oaxaca is marked on maps.me and they were very patient with my rudimentary Spanish language skills.


Transport


I went to the second class bus station the day before to book my ticket to Cuajimuloyas. The Faden Bus Company is to the left when you enter and has a notice of the destinations above the window. It was 60 pesos and I got to pick my seat. The bus leaves at 7am.
On the day of my visit we were all loaded into the minivan and the journey took less than two hours.
To return, buses leave from the place it drops you at around 6pm and at 7am and 8am if you stay over. (Don’t necessarily count on the buses being on time.)


Sleeping


I went to the tourist office (which isn’t where it’s marked on maps.me, ask for directions) and sorted a place to sleep for 200 pesos. This was in the hotel across the street. It’s possible to stay in a more traditional cabaña for more than 200. The hotel had everything I needed. Hot shower, plenty of blankets and a comfy bed.


Hiking


This was a bit confusing. There are some routes that you don’t need a guide for but most of them you do. My bus friends and I weren’t sure how difficult the route finding would be, so started off to the next village of Benito Juarez on our own, but had to stick to the quiet but dusty road. From Benito Juarez we made it to the view tower and bridge with a little help from maps.me, and back to the village in a rather unorthodox manner... so in order to return to Cuajimuloyas via the scenic forest route, we hired a guide in the tourist office in Benito Juarez. We paid 300 pesos between us for the guide. I highly recommend spending a bit more time deciding on which trek you want to do and get a guide from the beginning. The trail would have been impossible without one, you’re supporting the local economy and you learn so much more!

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Manuel the guide - 76 year old grandfather with a bad knee - arrived to lead us back. He had a great sense of humour, knew about the plants, and took great pains in teaching us to pronounce the name of the village we were heading for. (It’s a Zapotec word with several spellings!) The 8km trail through woods, up and down mountain sides, next to (sometimes through) fields and big rock formations was demanding. The altitude is around 3000m above sea level so every hill had me huffing and puffing. Plus the sun is very bright and my pale skin was easily burnt.


I wanted to see a slice of real life. Seeing donkeys in the fields and farmers cutting oats, meeting Manuel and eating in a comedor in Cuajimuloyas where the family were busy around me was lovely. Traditional farming and family life have been the life of the Zapotec people for hundreds and hundreds of years and it’s great that they can now turn their way of life into an ecotourism initiative. Everyone was friendly and helpful, with the pace of life allowing time to sit and watch and chat.


I stayed just one night and got the early bus back, but I wish I could’ve stayed longer. If I were going again I’d take the bus to Cuajimuloyas (now I can say the word) engage a guide to walk to another village to sleep. Then perhaps continue to another town the next day. There are shared taxis from all the villages and the tourist office was open beyond 8pm, so transport back to the city is guaranteed from wherever you end up and you’ll be able to find a place to sleep even if you arrive later in the day. I left most of my stuff at the lovely Hostal Pochon so could easily walk with my stuff between villages. Take warm layers though, as soon as the sun starts to set, the air gets chilly - temperatures reach 2 degrees C at night.


Let me know if you have any questions, if you go, how you do it and what you see. There are 9 villages to explore and the fresh mountain air will have you refreshed for your return to the city.
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    Hannah the traveller

    is a travel and lifestyle blog with focus on running, vegan eating and of course global travel.

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