Soaked and Sertified

Well, I completed my 2 days of diving at the reef today. I can officially scratch another thing of my bucket list: Scuba Diving and the Great Barrier Reef!

I was pretty tense going in because I thought I would probably get sea sick and I hate that feeling, so I didn't really enjoy the first few dives. Crowded boats, nervous tension, cold wetsuits, forgotten material from my pool dives... by lunch I was contemplating skipping day 2. But by the time I finished the 3rd dive yesterday afternoon, I was quite enjoying myself. I got used to the rythm of who goes on deck when, when and how to get ready for my dives, remembered what I was supposed to be doing in the water, and generally just relaxed as I realized the motion sickness medication was doing it's job quite well. Plus the spot we went to after lunch may as well have been a pool it was so calm.

In fact, I'm starting to think I have a horse shoe growing out of my butt as just about everything on this trip has been going perfectly (aside from the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon being closed). The waters were so calm that even the crew was excited because they got to go to sites that some of them had never been able to go to before. They said this was as calm as it ever gets, and even last week the water was really choppy with lots of people were getting sick on the boat. Perfect timing for me!! The calmness also means underwater visibility was "amazing" to quote my dive instructor. Couldn't ask for anything better!

Have to admit though, it didn't really look any different than other reefs I've snorkeled in, but it certainly was bigger. I guess I thought "Great" meant it would be the most spectacular thing on Earth, but apparently "Great" just means "Super-Duper-Big". And that it was. The size, combined with the visiblity made for some very memorable views. Saw a shark on my first dive, giant (and I mean GIANT) clams, eels, and an incredible array of colorful fish and corals. Even found Nemo hiding in a soft coral plant exactly the same as in the movie!

Anyway, long story short, I completed my dives and am now a PADI certified open water diver. It felt surprisingly rewarding to get out of the water and have all the crew congratulating me, I wasn't expecting that. I went with Tusa diving, and would highly recommend them. Very friendly and helpful crew, good food, and I got my own private instructor for all 4 of my certification dives. They even let me go back out for a free guided dive with the other certified divers this afternoon since I was done my training. Incidentally, it is A LOT more fun Scuba diving when you get to just explore the reef and swim between the nooks and crannies instead of stopping to show you can clear your mask or retrieve your regulator multiple times.

Tommorrow I'll have to put on some clothes again (haven't showered or dressed in days, just been hanging out in my swimmers and t-shirt since I got here!) and join a day trip to the Daintree Rainforest. That's my mandatory decompression day before flying so that I can exhale all the excess nitrogen in my blood, as well as allow my jaw to re-align... does anyone else find their bite is all screwed up after snorkeling/diving, or am I just biting on the regulator too hard???

Day after that I fly to Sydney to Keep Up With the Joneses. I figure that'll be when I finally start getting more pictures up again. Stay tuned.