If you are not sure what to do during your next holidays, but you want to do something new and at the same time a life changing experience, perhaps you should consider to spend your next getaway under water. Scuba diving offers an extremely interesting opportunity to experience and appreciate a new universe. The underwater world is very peaceful and quiet. Aside from your own breathing, you cannot hear a sound. It is such a great place where you can relax and forget about the “real world” and leave your worries behind on the shore. I love the fact that you can empty your mind and just let yourself be amazed.
It’s easier than you might think
Scuba diving is not an extreme sport, as many think. The only skills you need are being able to swim and… breathing! When you go for your first dive, you are followed by an instructor who explains everything you need to know. Once you get into the water, you cannot feel any of the weight of the equipment. You just need to remember to equalise your ears (pinch your nose closed and gently breathe out against your nostrils) and not to stop breathing. When you reach the right depth, you don’t have to worry about anything – you can just enjoy the underwater views.
When you scuba dive you will engage with marine life
The key word here is engage. When you scuba dive in you will see fish in a totally new way than you ever imagined. They are not partitioned away from you like in an aquarium. They are not taken away from their home and imprisoned away behind the glass. They are at home. They are in their element and they love to share this space with us. Encountering the bigger fish is certainly a desirable part of scuba diving, but you will not believe your eyes when you will discover the amazing biodiversity present in our oceans. There is a new, fascinating universe down there that you’ve only ever seen in wildlife documentaries. There’s no substitute for exploring the seas first-hand.
Image courtesy of Klaus Stiefel at Flickr.com
Diving makes holidays more exciting
Are you one of those people who go on holiday in a big resort and just chill on the beach from day one? Every day looks the same: breakfast, beach, swimming pool, lunch, beach, shower, dinner, and drinks. Yes, it is relaxing. But dedicating at least one day to scuba diving is a great way to break the boring routine, keep active, and create unforgettable memories, and when you holiday in different parts of the world, you’ll get to experience entirely new species of underwater creatures, making it a fresh experience every time.
PADI, which is a world wide scuba diving organization, offers an amazing program called “Discover Scuba Diving”, which takes just half a day and allows you to learn all the fundamentals of diving under the watchful eye of an instructor. Once you enter the water the reason we dive will become clear instantly. When you have completed your discover scuba diving program you can go on to become a certified diver in just 3 more days. The Open Water course lasts a lifetime and it opens the door to the possibility to become more advanced.
It is extremely peaceful down there
Planet earth is teeming with people, 7 billion of them all with cars and smart phones and a million other loud responsibilities. The ocean is peaceful. It is silent. Everything is in slow motion. Your smart phone will not work. Great news huh? Our lives are so full today. Work is hard and holidays are precious. Holidays are for relaxing. Holidays are about winding down and giving yourself much needed respite. Unfortunately today’s world has trouble letting you go. Emails still come in. Your boss can still call you. Your kids are screaming at you about ice cream, water parks and who pushed who in the back of the rental car. When you go diving it is like someone hits the “pause” button on the world, because it is another world. When you dive you are living in the moment, in the now. You are totally immersed and weightless and free. Now that is what I call a holiday.
You will make new friends when you are a scuba diver
Scuba diving is like any other hobby: it gives you the chance to meet new people. So even if your friends or family don’t feel up for it, you can always try it out on your own. The lessons are usually for groups of four or five people that have exactly the same doubts and fears that you have. Don’t be afraid of putting yourself out there! After the lesson, you will probably go for drinks and talk about what happened underwater – a great way to end the session and make it even more memorable.
Image courtesy of Dave Wilson Cumbria at Flickr.com
Once you try scuba diving, you will feel like a member of a secret society. The emotion that you feel after a dive is indescribable. Thus, you will be sharing something precious with other people from all over the world – the same astonishing experience, one to be treasured. When I dive, I can’t stop smiling afterwards and I know that only other divers can fully understand this feeling.