Every once in a while you have one of those experiences which even as you are doing it you know will be unforgettable, and you try to awaken and heighten all of your senses to take in as much as possible, in a vain attempt to preserve every moment as a perfect record. This afternoon, I had such an experience, undertaking my first scuba dive off the island of Utila in the Bay Islands of the Caribbean Coast of Honduras.
After a day of reading the theory book, then an evening of the same theory presented in the cheesy, zany, over the top way Americans excel at, and then a morning of working through the multiple choice tests, I was very keen to get in the water. After being introduced to the smorgasbord of equipment, we finally got on the boat and motored out of the creek in to the bay. Once we had all gear on - wetsuit, flippers, mask, snorkel, BCD jacket, weight belt, tank and so on, I took a step off the back of the boat, and plunged in to the water - and had my first experience of breathing under water. After a session of skills in shoulder deep water, learning to use the regulator, clear the mask, borrow your buddy's regulator in case yours stops working, we got back on the the boat and motored over to another diving spot.
Stepping off the boat the second time, knowing I was about to descend to around 10 metres, I felt a little bit of dread, wondering if not being able to touch the bottom would cause me any concern - those brief thoughts that would shoot up from my unconscious, reminding me about all the ways that humans aren't built to be in deep water. It was however, au contraire, suddenly a door to a whole new world was opened and I was so overwhelmed I didn't have a chance to think about being 10 metres underwater and relying on human technology to keep me alive.
On the instructor's signal, I deflated the air from my BCD and slowly began sinking to the bottom of the ocean, about 10 metres below. As I descended the bright sunlight became more and more defuse, the pressure in my ears built up and was then released, and I felt the weight of all my gear melt away. Suspended in water I felt weightless, able to slowly glide in the water, letting myself relax and drift slowly to the bottom.
Initially it was quite difficult to control my buoyancy, expanding my BCD by pumping air from the tank in to the air pockets in the jacket to rise, and letting it out to descend. But once I had it all under control, off I went, heading towards the sandy bottom, 8 metres away, and beginning to notice the new world that I was surround by. Whilst the reef was not as colourful as Ningaloo in WA, there was still an array of colours - huge brilliant purple leaves of seaweed swaying in the current, large schools of various tropical fresh, with all the colours of the rainbow and more in their most iridescent form. As well as the visual entertainment, the feeling of weightlessness - no more heavy tank and weight belt dragging me down - I was floating weightlessly was incredibly liberating. Without any need to concern myself with the need to return to the surface at some point soon, I realised that I was breathing under air, and could float about like a fish.
The even more exhilarating experiences came as I grew more comfortable, and started to paying more attention to my surroundings, rather than worrying about my depth or what the instructor was trying to tell me. Diving through other people's bubbles, as they glimmer a silver colour, there meniscus bending as they make their way towards the surface, fading in to the light of the sun. At one point I was completely surrounded by bubbles, unable to see anything but bubbles bouncing off me and tingling my skin on their inevitable path to the surface and disappearance.
Turning over and paddling around on my back, watching the gentle light filtering down from the surface, with the only sound being the rhythmic breathing - on the inhale as pressurised air rushes in through the regulator, and then the sound of the air forming bubbles on the exhale. Floating in the abyss, feeling weightless, with the colours diffused as light passes through the water, it made me think of being in the womb, an incredibly soothing experience.
So tomorrow, it's back to theory in the morning then a further confined water session, followed by another dive.
After a day of reading the theory book, then an evening of the same theory presented in the cheesy, zany, over the top way Americans excel at, and then a morning of working through the multiple choice tests, I was very keen to get in the water. After being introduced to the smorgasbord of equipment, we finally got on the boat and motored out of the creek in to the bay. Once we had all gear on - wetsuit, flippers, mask, snorkel, BCD jacket, weight belt, tank and so on, I took a step off the back of the boat, and plunged in to the water - and had my first experience of breathing under water. After a session of skills in shoulder deep water, learning to use the regulator, clear the mask, borrow your buddy's regulator in case yours stops working, we got back on the the boat and motored over to another diving spot.
Stepping off the boat the second time, knowing I was about to descend to around 10 metres, I felt a little bit of dread, wondering if not being able to touch the bottom would cause me any concern - those brief thoughts that would shoot up from my unconscious, reminding me about all the ways that humans aren't built to be in deep water. It was however, au contraire, suddenly a door to a whole new world was opened and I was so overwhelmed I didn't have a chance to think about being 10 metres underwater and relying on human technology to keep me alive.
On the instructor's signal, I deflated the air from my BCD and slowly began sinking to the bottom of the ocean, about 10 metres below. As I descended the bright sunlight became more and more defuse, the pressure in my ears built up and was then released, and I felt the weight of all my gear melt away. Suspended in water I felt weightless, able to slowly glide in the water, letting myself relax and drift slowly to the bottom.
Initially it was quite difficult to control my buoyancy, expanding my BCD by pumping air from the tank in to the air pockets in the jacket to rise, and letting it out to descend. But once I had it all under control, off I went, heading towards the sandy bottom, 8 metres away, and beginning to notice the new world that I was surround by. Whilst the reef was not as colourful as Ningaloo in WA, there was still an array of colours - huge brilliant purple leaves of seaweed swaying in the current, large schools of various tropical fresh, with all the colours of the rainbow and more in their most iridescent form. As well as the visual entertainment, the feeling of weightlessness - no more heavy tank and weight belt dragging me down - I was floating weightlessly was incredibly liberating. Without any need to concern myself with the need to return to the surface at some point soon, I realised that I was breathing under air, and could float about like a fish.
The even more exhilarating experiences came as I grew more comfortable, and started to paying more attention to my surroundings, rather than worrying about my depth or what the instructor was trying to tell me. Diving through other people's bubbles, as they glimmer a silver colour, there meniscus bending as they make their way towards the surface, fading in to the light of the sun. At one point I was completely surrounded by bubbles, unable to see anything but bubbles bouncing off me and tingling my skin on their inevitable path to the surface and disappearance.
Turning over and paddling around on my back, watching the gentle light filtering down from the surface, with the only sound being the rhythmic breathing - on the inhale as pressurised air rushes in through the regulator, and then the sound of the air forming bubbles on the exhale. Floating in the abyss, feeling weightless, with the colours diffused as light passes through the water, it made me think of being in the womb, an incredibly soothing experience.
So tomorrow, it's back to theory in the morning then a further confined water session, followed by another dive.
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