About Us
Meet the Team
Monica Chavez

Languages
Spanish 0
English 0
French 0
Marketing & Adminstration graduate
- Advertising Creator and Director
- Market Researcher and Strategy Specialist
- Digital and Online Manager
- Chief Executive Officer and Financial Strategist
- Organizational Development Specialist
- Costumer Service and Post-sale Administrator
Born and raised in my beloved Mexico, I grew up in a family full of passionate entrepreneurs in the shape of mom, dad, brother and sister. It soon started to have an effect on me since at age 9 I had a brownie-selling project at school (first foodie alert), and later on at 20 y/o I had my frozen yogurt shop ready to go! As I emerged to the young adulthood phase and form, I had the opportunity to take over several family business while getting my Marketing Degree, which is the creative and fun part of a business (sorry to any accountant reading!).
Ever since I was little I liked to travel and seek new horizons, meeting other people, cultures and dishes. I lived in France, Spain and the caribbean island of St. Martin, but heart in hand nothing could beat my sunny, charming and guacamolishy Mexico! I’ve always been really fond of nature, camping, hiking, and of course snorkeling and diving. I took my first dive at thirteen years old! If you don’t know why I’m in love with the nature over here, I gladly extend you our invitation to come and see it for yourself (nope, it’s not some marketing trick)!
Yago Rodriguez
I’ve been in the water as far back as I can remember. I was born in northern Spain in 1984 and spent my entire childhood washed by the northern seas and amazed by Jaques Cousteau’s films. Like any kid, I was of course also amazed by dinosaurs, cosmology and distant planets, and literally everything that did not exist any longer or was plainly too far away to witness, specially the deep Ocean. All those distant worlds, all those fantastic creatures! How wonderful must have been to be an explorer!
This craving ultimately sparkled a life-changing decision: in 2008 I dropped all I had and started working and travelling around the globe. From Spain to Malta, Austria, France, New Zealand, Bonaire, St Martin and lastly, Mexico, where I decided to set my own project alongside my incredible wife, Monica.
Along the way I developed a taste for technical diving, underwater exploration and conservation, as well as strict principles and high standards in my work. I’m glad to say that all this eventually leaded into Blue Nation!

13 Years as a Dive Pro
300+ Happy Students
+ 7000 dives

Professional Qualifications
Diving & Academic

Professional Qualifications
Diving & Academic
Academic Qualifications:
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Main Professional Ratings:
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Surveying the inside of the "Mairi Bahn" wreck during a GUE documentation dive.
Photo credit: Kirill Egorov

Conservation & Exploration
Feats & Deeds

Conservation & Exploration
Feats & Deeds
- Coral Restoration. Transplanting nursery-grown coral into degraded parts of the reef, as well as teaching students and performing public speeches. (Check www.crfbonaire.org for more info)
- Turtle Conservation. Monitoring turtle population, nests and hatchings (Check www.bonaireturtles.org for more info)
- Bat Conservation. Monitoring bat populations, cave survey and a lot of bush-whacking. (Check www.wildconscience.org)
- Cave exploration. Exploring unknown dry and wet caves, surveying and mapping. We eventually founded the Caribbean Speleological Society (CARIBSS) back in 2016 to support these and other projects. (Check www.caribss.org for more info)
- Several documentation & exploration projects. With the local Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) Team of Bonaire.

A Bit More About Me
Fun Facts & Stuff

A Bit More About Me
Fun Facts & Stuff
Restless and hyperactive as I am, I ended up living in a number of places around the world and can speak Spanish, English, French and Portuguese...when I don't speak so fast it all turns out gibberish, that is!
People tend to say about me that I'm strict and thorough (whatch out students!), and probably a bit stubborn too (I lied on the "probably").
Always willing to take on new enterprises, if you have some crazy stuff in mind don't hesitate on telling!
Yago after entering the water before a deep dive, probably needing to re-arrange those hoses a bit more 😉