Diving buddy and vacations!

Hi folks.

My name is Michel, I'm from Quebec/Canada and I work in the military.

I am somewhat new to the diving world; I got hooked to it during a 3 week trip to Thailand last year and have since been getting myself some gear and looking for underwater places to explore and train! I have been reading this forum alot, actually it is my main source of information for anything that is diving-related.

I haven't found myself a diving buddy yet so that is part of the goal of this thread. I'm living in Quebec city but I wouldn't mind having to drive to train with someone of similar interests. So far I've been doing o2/co2 tables, recreational diving in rivers, lakes and saltwater (heck, give me a meter of visibility and I'll dive ) and some 25m pool training. I've been snorkeling with my girlfriend but she has trouble equalizing, so anything 15feet or more is done without safety buddy. I am aware that diving can be dangerous matter and I do concentrate around diving safely, never pushing my limits too much. Currently I can get to 30' deep, do a 3min wet static(pb is at 4m20, but dry) or swim around underwater for about a minute. I am confident that I could do quite a lot more under the watchful eye of a dive buddy . I've got long fins, a good mask/snorkel and a 3mm wetsuit(lacking hood). I recently got myself a diving buoy so I don't get run-over by boats or what not and a rope attached to it to have an idea of my depth. Finally, with all that said, I would not mind diving with someone better, or worse than I am. I am sure that simply having the added safety of a dive buddy would make room for improvement, for both of us.

Lastly, I am planning some vacations during our christmas break and I'd definetly love to find a good spot to relax on the beach and snorkel/dive into some crazy corals and fish! I am thinking about going to mexico/caribean/southern usa, etc. Really, any good spot that I could fly to and enjoy without ripping my budget off! So feel free to let me know of your favorite spots! Oh, while we're at it, if you know a good vacation spot that could have us get some apnea course while were there, that would be a plus!

Thank you for reading!

-Sk