Today we completed the final 2 dives of the course. We drove about 2 hours north to Tulamben. This time we simply walked into the ocean, no boat. You put your gear on at the shore, except for the fins. Then you walk up to waist deep water, put your fins on, and swim out a bit more with the snorkel (to save tank air). In this case we dove down to the bottom where it was 4 meters deep, then kept going from there.
Dive 1 (14.5 meters/44 minutes):
This dive was to a WW2 shipwreck (an American ship called Liberty). We didn't really see the wreck as a whole, since it is pretty big. But I saw what must have been one of the guns, really long (maybe 5-10 meters). The entire ship is basically an artificial reef now. Lots and lots of fish, coral, and other life. We saw garden eels, a whole field of them. They life in holes in the sand, and stick most of their length out and point their head into the current to feed. The closer we got to them, the further they went down into their holes until they disappeared completely. Really impressive, this big area of sandy/rocky bottom, and then every 2 feet or so is this eel sticking out of the ground. Also saw a stingray on this dive. Other fish too numerous to mention - life everywhere!
Dive 2 (14 meters/45 minutes):
For this dive we went down the shore a bit in the other direction, to the "drop of". This is basically a cliff. Except its underwater, of course. So we are swimming alongside this cliff, and the entire cliff face is covered in corals and fish. This is nice especially for a novice like me, because you can swim close to it without worrying about damaging anything (or getting hurt). Swimming over top of stuff is much more difficult, because you go up and down as you breath (since your lung volume and hence your buoyancy changes). I'm already a lot better at controlling by buoyancy than I was on the first day, but certainly can't just hover in mid-water like my instructor. So when I'm swimming over top of sensitive life I try not to get too close - you can damage things very easily. The general rule is never touch anything, then you don't damage things and things don't defend themselves.
The volume and variety of life on this second dive was truly astounding. I will post some pictures later but they don't really do justice to the real thing. I would have to go back every day for a month to learn everything that is down in that one area.
My air consumption was lower on these 2 dives. Yesterday I went through a tank (down below 50 bar) in 30 minutes, today on the second dive I still had 50 bar after 45 minutes. You start out with a pressure of 200 bar, and when you reach 50 bar it's time to go up. This is because you don't want to ever empty your tank all the way, otherwise water could get in. As long as the tank has some pressure, no contamination can get in. Both Toto and Eve said when they started they would use a tank in 30 minutes, but now they can go for an hour on a tank. All about breathing control.
I will have to do some research on what I can eat or medication or herbal remedies I can take to make it easier to equalize the ears. This is still difficult and I also tend to use more air when I'm struggling to equalize. Not surprising though, always found this difficult when flying as well.
The drive there was neat too. Saw lots and lots of rice paddies. The contrast is always interesting - you have a rice paddy being plowed with 2 water buffalo, and right beside it a guy operating an excavator and a modern concrete bridge being built.
I promise pictures soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment