Under the Sea: Discovering a Whole World, One Dive at a Time
Encounters with divers from around the world, a giant sea turtle, and the strange sensation of free-falling underwater
📍El Nido, Philippines
I always find myself making calculated decisions with a touch of caution. This time, too, when considering which diving tour to take, I chose two dives instead of three. After completing the tour, I realized this was exactly the right choice - the perfect amount for a body that hadn't dived for a whole year.
I arrived at the diving club early in the morning, feeling those butterflies of excitement in my stomach. My last dive was exactly a year ago, when I met Nemo at the Great Barrier Reef. Funny how time flies, and here I am - tightening my diving belt again.
We were a small, intimate group - three certified divers (thanks to the course I took in Mexico) and three complete beginners. On the experienced side of the group, I met a guy from Malaysia and a girl from France. We all arrived alone, which makes the encounter even more interesting. As often happens in tourist areas, arriving alone basically means you're open to conversations with new people.
When diving, the first question always comes up: "How many dives have you done?" It's a polite way to check experience levels. I had about 10-15 dives, the French girl had 6, and then the modest Malaysian guy quietly shared that he had already completed 72 dives.
"How long have you been diving?" I asked in complete surprise. "Two years," he answered simply. "Me too," I laughed, "quite the small difference..."
I inquired further: "So you've really made it a hobby?" I was trying to understand if this was his profession or just a very expensive hobby.
"I'm trying to reach master diver status and accumulate as many dives as possible," he explained and shared that he had dived extensively around Malaysia, reaching some of the most dangerous diving areas. "That's where you see nature at its best," he said, his eyes lighting up.
It turns out he's here for just one day: to dive, then continue to the next island, stay there for a day to dive, and so on. It was fascinating to hear his story and see the passion in his eyes when he talked about the places he had dived. Whenever you meet someone so enthusiastic about their field, it's contagious.
The French girl, on the other hand, was quite anxious. The instructor suggested she stay close to him. For a moment, I feared her anxiety might be contagious, but I quickly adjusted to the water and the sensation of being underwater again.
Overall, it takes a minute or two to get used to it again, especially after realizing I hadn't dived for a whole year. It was a bit funny, and perhaps even dangerous, because there were things I had completely forgotten and only remembered when they were pointed out to me: "Oh, right, that's how you equalize pressure... Yes, deep and long breaths..."
The first dive was mainly about adjustment. We saw the underwater life, but the water was very murky, so it wasn't particularly exciting. More like a warm-up for the next dive.
We had to wait an hour between dives to regulate the pressure that builds up in the body during diving. I recalled the lessons with Ricardo, my instructor in Mexico, who would emphasize this point over and over. The wait was pleasant; we sat on the boat, drank hot coffee, and talked about the places we'd seen around the world.
In the second dive, which was at a completely different site, the underwater landscape was simply breathtaking. The water was clear and blue, and we saw schools of colorful fish passing by. I'm always fascinated by their ability to move as one group, as if they share a collective mind.
And then we saw it – a giant sea turtle swimming with ease as if life were just perfect. Little Nemo was there too (far from his home in Australia, I wondered if he came here on vacation). This experience sent shivers of excitement through me.
Now I was feeling comfortable underwater, so comfortable that I started doing silly things like simulating free-falling, releasing air, and basically "falling" to the sea floor. Or curiously following a colorful fish, only to suddenly realize I had distanced myself from the group almost too much.
I wondered if we would suddenly reach the fish's home and he would say to his mother: "Mom, look what I found!" And she would be surprised to see that her fish son had brought home an overly curious diver again.
When we returned to the boat, I felt that special quietness that comes after a dive. Something is mesmerizing about the underwater world – a quiet, slow world full of life so different from our own. Perhaps that's what draws me back again and again – the knowledge that I am a guest in a completely different world.
On the way back to shore, I rinsed my mask and fins in fresh water and looked at the sea. I wonder how many secrets are still hidden there, how many wonderful creatures live peacefully beneath the surface. And perhaps, who knows, maybe there's a small fish now telling his friends about the funny diver who thought she was falling.
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