Going Under and Staying Under: Part One

As I mentioned in last week's post, I have signed up for my open-water diving certification class. So, today was day one of the four-day certification.  It was pretty cool.  I had a really chill instructor named Yaqoob (the Arabic version of Jacob).  It was myself and another guy (British).  We started out with a swimming test, followed by a water-treading test, followed by 2 1/2 hours in the classroom watching videos (did you know that Jacques Cousteau invented SCUBA gear?).  After that was all done, we got the SCUBA gear and headed into the pool.  It was a big leap into the water. I must say that it took some getting used to.  We did all the exercises (mask clearing, sharing air with a buddy, finding your respirator etc,)  The big challenge was finding what is called 'neutral buoyancy',  This is when you don't sink or float up, you just kind of 'hover' in the water.  I don't feel bad about it though, from what I understand it;s a hard time for everyone.  Well after the initial ordeal at the bottom of the 'end', and swimming around in circles like a goldfish, we got out and ended the day.

After the initial introduction to being completely submersed, I retreated to the outside restaurant.  Just being in the water for about an hour, worked up a very intense hunger.  Maybe it has something to do with effect of the air-mix in the tank... or maybe I was just hungry.  Well, whatever the reason, I poroused the menu for something to devour. The selection was everything you'd expect from a resort on the sea... and some things you wouldn't.  Camel meat for one!  Well, I was intrigued.  I had never had camel before, what on Earth would that taste like?  After pondering the idea for a while, I decided to jump in with both feet!  I ordered the camel burger!  With some trepidation I tried it when it arrived.  It was not at all what I expected. It was actually much like very lean beef, but with a 'after-taste' of 'game' that was ever-so-slight  It was actually quite tasty!  So after my burger, I gathered my things and ventured forth back into Muscat proper.  I quickly found a spot at one of my favorite coffee shops and enjoyed a nice proper Americano and unwound!

The next day started quite early.  WIth all of our 'classroom' and 'pool-time' already out of the way, it was now time to get on the boat for some actual ocean 'practical application' of the skills we worked on in the pool.  Directly under the boat was a large sea turtle, within a few minutes we had seen a few honeycomb moray eels, some huge cuttle fish (actually saw one change color, that was cool and  kinda weird), and the entire cast of Finding Nemo. Later on on that dive I was able to see a lionfish, one of the varieties of fish, which I never saw last year snorkeling (beautiful and very poisonous).  I am still quite stoked about that.  I also had the opportunity to sea a stonefish. Stonefish are very good at camouflage and also extremely venomous.  Luckily for me they are not aggressive!  When you dive you see so much more.  Being that much closer allows you to really get a good look at your environment.  I was amazed by how much more life you see when you can get closer than just floating at the surface.  So, all-in-all I did my first two dives, and I am half-way to my open-water diving certification.  Next weekend I complete it!  I am sooooo looking forward to that! I m absolutely stoked. My advice to anyone who had ever thought that learning to dive might be a good idea, DO IT!  It is an experience like no-other! It comes highly recommended!  Well, until next time!