Well the posts have not be nearly as frequent as I was expecting them to be when I made this blog. Thanks 16 hour work days! I have a bit of downtime today, so I'll post up again. This time, it'll be about my Scuba Diving experience.
On my last time to Guam, I got scuba certified. I was told the diving out here was great, and I had to try it. My initial reaction was "No way!" Why spend all the time underwater looking at fish when I could easily spend it on a boat CATCHING fish? Besides - why would I want to go somewhere that I can't breath without a special apparatus? That just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
The more I was out here, the more I heard how great the diving is on Guam and how much fun it is. "Yeah, fun alright. Fun for you. I'm staying dry." A little bit of perceived claustrophobia, a little bit of a fear of the unknown, and that whole I-don't-have-gills-and-can't-breathe-water thing was keeping me away, and there was no changing my mind. That is until I kept hearing how cool it is. And until a pretty girl came along (yeah, that's you, Susanna) and told me I should do it so we can go diving together. Next thing I know, I'm signed up for PADI's Open Water certification.
The classroom courses were... interesting. I'm not sure if they increased or decreased my level of fear. So much to remember! Don't ever hold your breath? But that's a natural instinct when I'm underwater! What if my regulator stops working? What if I run out of air? What if I ascend too quickly? What if a school of man-eating sharks decide I look like a tasty morsel? So many things to go wrong. Well, I've gotten this far. I'm not backing out now.
So now it's time for my first confined water dive as part of the class. I was expecting this to be the pool, but no - they're throwing us out in the deep end (literally) and we're going into the harbor. I get all suited up and snorkel our way out to the drop zone. OK, I'm starting to get into this. I always have loved snorkeling. But then it comes time to actually make our descent. The shore doesn't seem to far away, so maybe I can book it back to dry land before anyone notices... Or maybe that's not realistic and I just need to suck it up. I put the regulator in my mouth and take a few dry air practice breaths to make sure my tank actually has air in it. You just never know with these tricky Guamanians. I let all the air out of my buoyancy control device and start sinking. The water hits my chin and then I get to the scariest part of the dive - the moment my mouth goes underwater and I have to breath. I kept my eyes above water still so I knew there would be a quick exit if things went disastrously and I inhaled air. Little did I know this first breath would be the intro to my new most favorite hobby in the world.
The sheer anxiety I experienced in that very first breath underwater was unreal. Adrenaline shot through my body and my heart rate would've made a drum roll sound slow. I must have taken 10 breaths per second - it's amazing I had any air left for the skills we had to practice. By now, my entire body is underwater, and lo and behold, I can actually breathe! My body can actually function under water! A massive calming overcame me as I took in this new world that I have never really seen before now. All my fears were gone and replaced with awe and excitement. This is going to be a fun stay in Guam.
The skills practice went on and we mixed it up with actually going around and exploring the reef and looking at things. This was so cool! I was swimming right with all the fish! Some of the fish I used to keep (or attempt to keep) in my aquarium were even hanging out right here, in the wild rather than caged in by glass. The further we got into the course, the more I was loving it. We saw everything from coral to small reef fish to sea turtles. After one weekend, I became a fully certified PADI Open Water diver. On the final piece of the my course fee - a bonus boat dive - I got to see the most exciting thing yet. A shark! I will admit, the whole time I thought about diving, I was still a little fearful of running into a shark. Once again, the fears completely subsided as soon as the Black Tip Reef Shark swam into view. I wanted to see more sharks! No more were around though. I'd have to be satisfied with seeing the Moral Eels and Barracudas.
Since being certified, I haven't missed a single day of diving that I've had off from work while I've been on the island. The exploration of underwater would have to continue in less structured environments. Luckily, the local dive shop, Micronesia Dive Association, runs free shore dives twice a day on the weekends. My wallet thanks them thoroughly.
I arrived back on island just before midnight last night (Friday night on Guam), and of course I was back in the water on Saturday for my next dive. This time, I was armed with a new toy - an underwater camera. I'll post more about that next time though. I don't want to overwhelm you with everything all at once.
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