The Initial Descent

After months of trying to figure out what my next step would be post-graduation and plans that changed 50 times (well maybe not 50, but you get the idea) I decided to go out on a limb and do something that truly makes me happy before I get caught up in the "real-world".

For those of you that know me, you know that my dad, two brothers and I very much so enjoy scuba diving as our favorite hobby, I can't think of anything else that makes me genuinely happier than being below the surface of the water. It is the most peaceful place you can be, or in my mind it is.

So, I decided to jump on a place and travel to a place I've never been before to study to become a Dive Master (and possibly Dive Instructor if I can afford it). From the date where I contacted the dive company in the British Virgin Islands who I am working for, to when I left the states was just over two weeks. When I broke the news to some people, the first thing they asked me was "Why?" i quickly replied with, "Well why not? After my committed 2 or so months working to get my certifications I can get a job anywhere in the WORLD if I wish." As for my close friends and family that know me well they immediately expressed their excitement for me.

The timing was perfect and it truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It just felt natural to do this, in fact as I'm sitting here in my little apartment on top of the hill writing I got De ja vu.

Anyways, enough with the background. Not only am I working and studying to get my D.M. certification, I decided to take this opportunity to work on my writing skills and write a blog about all the beautiful dive sites on this amazing island I am on. Once I get my initial dives done where I have to complete different exercises underwater, I will be creating videos to show everyone the world that exists under the surface of the Caribbean Sea.

One long car ride, three flights, a few glasses of wine, two cups of coffee all in about 30 hours of traveling I finally arrived on the beautiful island of Tortola. I was greeted by Neil, one of the staff members at Sail Caribbean Divers, picked up some groceries, dropped off my dive gear at the shop and settled into my apartment on top of a little hill.

My place is a 10 minute beautiful walk from the dive shop which is located in Hodges Creek marina at the bottom of the hill. Every morning as I begin my walk, I am warmly greeted by Raul, a 50-something island native who sits in his little green chair in the shade of his front lawn all day (or so it seems). And sure enough, every afternoon walking back up the hill after a long day of diving his huge smile is there to ask me how my day was. Everyone here is overwhelmingly nice and no one means absolutely no harm. I have never felt safer in a foreign country than I do here.

In fact, one of the main ways to get around is hitch hiking. At first, as a female I was a little hesitant about this, but all the girls at the dive shop reassured me that they have never had an issue or heard of anyone having an issue while hitching. I actually caught my first ride today, as I was walking around to the passenger side to get in I admit I did second guess myself, but the old man was just as harmless as ever and he dropped me off right at the bottom of my hill.

I forgot to mention that we have chickens and goats in our backyard as well as all over the island. The goats just hang out on the side of the road as cars quickly pass by, they are not phased by anything. I literally fall asleep and wake up the sounds of chickens and goats, surprisingly it doesn't bother me much at all. My neighbors also have pigs that just had babies a few days before I arrived and they are the cutest things ever!

As far as diving, my first dives on Tuesday, I was tested on using the compass and navigating myself and my Dive Instructor, Kim, through the entire dive to return back to the boat safely. The second dive site was called Dead Man's North, which is right off of Peter Island. This site is easily one of the more beautiful ones I've been to. The bottom is just so abundant with sea fans, colorful coral and of course beautiful marine life. We saw a huge Lion Fish under one of the ledges, but one of the PADI and Island rules is that your not allowed to spear with a student. So now that we know where he lives, I hope we can go back and get him because I desperately want to try lion fish, I've heard it is absolutely amazing!

I had the afternoon off and spent my free time studying for my Emergency First Responder course (which I took & passed today, yay!) and took an hour nap. Afterwards I grabbed my things and walked down to the dive shop, not without chatting with Raul for a few minutes first of course. I helped load up the boat and once 6:15 came around we took one of the smaller dive boats out into the sunset. Just as the sun was slowly fading away, Kim and I suited up and back-rolled off the side of the boat into the water. My first night dive! We adjusted our lights when we were on the surface and descended into the dark ocean. What a weird feeling, diving into the ocean at night. So overwhelmed by all the new scenery and aquatic life. When we got to the bottom we covered our flashlights with our hands so our eyes could adjust (well as much as they could) to the dark water. It is a weird feeling knowing that you can only see where you are pointing your light. The dive site that we were at was on the corner of Cooper Island, and just when we started descending the current picked up and we could easily tell, so we made it a short dive, only lasting about half an hour. We were hoping to see Parrot Fish sleeping, supposedly it is an interesting thing to see. The fish only sleep one time a day (at night, of course) and when they sleep they cover themselves in a jelly-like cocoon to protect themselves from predators at night. But, you can't shine your light directly on them because if you do, you will wake them and cause them to break away from their cocoon and then they will be agitated and it leaves them susceptible to predators. Again, once it came time to turn around I have to guide us back to the boat. Obviously completely different at night then during the day. I successfully got us almost right below the boat to where we could see the glow stick they had hanging from the boat. What a great experience.

Once we got settled in the back in the boat, we looked up and were overwhelmed by the abundance of beautiful stars. Just sitting in the back of the boat looking around and up at the stars, I couldn't help but feel extremely grateful to be here. Diving everyday with the nicest people from all around the world, I honestly couldn't be happier.

#text #scubadive #dive #bvi #tortola #caribbean