But back to the diving. Yesterday, I did two dives towards my Advanced Open Water: Underwater Navigation and Peak Performance Buoyancy. The Underwater Navigator challenged my multi-tasking. When diving, I find I could my inhales (i.e. "inhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6"--used to do this during yoga as well). During this dive, I had to count fin kicks, watch a compass, try not to crash into the bottom, and still was counting my breaths. Needless to say, although my orientation on my square was impeccable (my instructor was above me watching the compass--she saw that I was right on target), I didn't get to the starting point (I think I way undercounted the first side). Oh well, I did ok with the natural navigation and swimming in a straight line. I don't plan on diving without a guide at any time soon or in unbelievable murky water, so I should be ok.
Yesterday's second dive was the Peak Performancy Buoyancy. I hovered underwater, having to rise and fall based on the air in my lungs. Then, I did it upside-down, which was interesting, since I was used to bubbles hitting my face while diving...upside-down, they hit your belly. Then, we swam through some triangles that were set up underwater. We went sideways, upside-down, and regularly. It was a fun dive, and I think my buoyancy is better now that I'm at a good weight for me. Not too much to see on either dive yesterday, though.
Today was my day to go deep...30 m. We started with the Deep dive at a site called The Canyon. We swam out into a reef, then descended down into a canyon to 30 m. Before the dive, we had to take a quiz and time ourselves, so that at the bottom, we could do a similar quiz and see if it took longer (it should, due to the nitrogen in your body--makes you seem a bit drunk). Well, I rocked the quiz underwater! I finished in less time than on the surface. While at the bottom of the canyon, Catherine (my buddy--she's a divemaster in training) and I looked around a bit. Then, we swam out and saw lots of fish and coral. During our safety stop, I did my first underwater somersault and danced around with Catherine. We then drove further down the coast to our second dive site, where we relaxed for a bit and ate some lunch. I had a full glass of karkade spilled on me by the waiter, which caused Catherine and I both to exclaim that a vampire exploded on me! Let's just say we've watched too much True Blood lately.
Our second dive, the Multilevel/Computer dive, was incredible. We started at a site called The Bells. You descend down a narrow passage, then swim out through an arch. We swam along a coral wall and saw incredible amounts of fish and eels. The best one was a huge lionfish (and yes, I know things appear bigger underwater, and this guy was bigger than any others I've seen). To the left, all you could see was blue (I watched for sharks, but didn't see any). We stayed at 28m for a bit, then went up to 18m, then up to 12m. The site was beautiful, and the wall extended beyond visibility (no idea how deep it goes, don't think many people do, but apparently lots of folks have died there trying to go as deep as 80m). Then, we swam into the Blue Hole and saw some skin divers...not my cup of tea. While on our safety stop, I performed two more somersaults and did some rolls. It's amazing being so far below the surface, look up, and see fish and sunlight overhead. It almost looks like the surface is much closer than it appears. It was a great dive...lots to see, challenging environment, and the thrill of wondering if a shark might swoop in from the left to have me for lunch!Anyways, upon return to the dive center, I filled out the paperwork that certifies I am an Advanced Open Water Diver...and promptly signed up for four dives tomorrow, including a night dive at The Canyon. I will return to Cairo on Tuesday exhausted, but exhilarated.
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