Ocean of Bravery in Indonesia
I am a scuba diving instructor. I work while traveling or I travel while working.
I took me a lot of bravery to first become a scuba diver. I was terrified by the depth of the sea. Years ago I reluctantly did a try dive. From the first breath I took underwater I was hooked to this magical, mostly unknown world.
After this very first dive I could not give up. What I saw underwater was so spectacular that I wanted to see more. I was enchanted by the whole thing. The way I felt underwater was totally new to me. I felt free, I felt relaxed, I felt happy.
I wanted to live underwater. The best way to spend as much time underwater as possible was to become a scuba diving instructor. However, it was not the only reason. When I learned to scuba dive I was a terrible student but I had an awesome instructor.
I wanted to be just like that. I wanted to be an awesome instructor to help people to overcome their fear of underwater. So I did. I worked hard to become an instructor and since becoming one I have taken many people underwater. Beginners and experienced divers alike have been lead by me under the sea.
I have dived and worked in many countries. I have experienced many different diving conditions, from calm waters to ripping currents. From crystal clear to rough visibilities.
Every time I enter in the sea either for fun diving myself or to teach or lead people, I feel like entering a forbidden zone where only few of us are allowed. My heart races at the beginning, I feel humble and respectful towards this immense world.
I feel brave for entering this world of water and fish and corals. The best place I have dived so far has been in Komodo, Indonesia. The best scuba diving in my life and the most challenging conditions I have experienced since scuba diving.
I did not do much teaching here since most of the divers coming were already certified for diving.
The underwater world of Komodo made me brave. Sometimes currents here can be very strong. To lead people underwater is a lot of responsibility, even more so if the conditions are challenging.I remember one dive I did with two experienced divers at Crystal Rock, one of the most challenging dive sites in Komodo. Upon arrival to the dive site we could see the currents charging from the surface. After careful consideration I decided to do the dive because I knew we would have seen LOTS of fish action. And I knew my divers, they would have been able to handle the conditions.We jumped in and descended right away. We had to swim into the current for a bit since we had to reach the rocks to be able to hook. Every few seconds I made sure my divers were ok and could handle the current.
My heart was kind of racing, I was standing very close to my divers watching them carefully for any sign of distress. They were doing great, loving it.
The current was coming towards us and it was so strong that we could not move. We stayed hooked to the rocks and waited. Then We saw them.
A group of five White Tip Sharks was coming towards us on the hunt. My heart was racing and I looked towards the divers. They signaled they were ok. We watched with our eyes wide open.
The sharks kept hunting on a school of Trevallys. They were about 2-3 eters away from us. It was a beautiful display of action. The currents was so strong that the sharks were surfing it. It was magical.
Suddenly two Grey Reef Sharks joined the party. We could not move, not just because of the current but also because what we were witnessing was a once in a lifetime experience.
We stood there for about forty minutes, until one of the divers signaled he was low on air.
At that point we had to fight the current to get to a shallower depth for our safety stop. When we ascended we all had a smile on our face that said it all.
Underwater is the place where I feel the bravest. Underwater is my place. I want to be brave to explore more and to learn more from this powerful element. The ocean makes me brave and makes me humble.
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