I could. I kept repeating
the process and stopped only when Manu tugged more forcefully on my arm. I
dared to open my eyes and saw that the mask was now clear.
‘Okay?’ he
seemed to gurgle as he offered me the sign.
I looked around
to get my bearings and everything seemed fine so I returned the gesture. Manu
then pointed to his mask again, this time placing a heavier emphasis on the
fact that only a small amount of water should be allowed to breach the seal. I
had a second attempt at the task and this time managed to complete it as
instructed. I gave him the now familiar gesture and he beckoned me to sink
deeper. All the while, he kept pointing to his ears, which was the instruction
to equalise the pressure as I descended. I did this by gently squeezing my nose
and breathing out until I felt the pain ease. When we finally levelled off my
depth gauge read eight metres. As an uncertified novice, this was the maximum
safe distance to which I could descend.
Manu let go of
the rope and started to swim in a horizontal line. I followed closely behind.
The others had descended to twice the depth where I could not follow, but Asia
swam up to meet me. She started to swim alongside me, but soon became bored of
this and decided to show off by performing slow motion somersaults in the
water. Her twists and turns were like an aquatic ballet that both titillated
and amazed me.
The majority of
the fish were below us. On occasion, a straggler would swim up until it was
almost within touching distance. I reached out to them, but as if repelled by
an invisible magnetic force, they always seemed to move just beyond my grasp.
It was frustrating not to see anything larger, but I guessed that was the price
I had to pay for being a beginner. I felt a bit guilty for keeping Asia from
exploring more of the reef, so I let her and Esteban go off on their own for a
while. It was not fair that they should miss out because of my inexperience.
Manu led me back
up to the surface after just fifteen minutes. He did not want me to stay under
for too long on my first dive, but the others remained submerged for longer. He
promised that once everyone was back onboard he would move the boat to another
dive sight and take me down again to somewhere that I would hopefully see a bit
more. Manu then went back into the water to check on the rest of the group. I
took off my fins and BCD while I waited for them all to return. Asia was the
first to surface, followed closely by Esteban and she was giddy with
excitement.
‘You will not
believe what I have just seen,’ she said.
‘And what is
that?’ I asked, but before she could answer she was distracted by the next
couple to surface.
‘Did you see it?
Did you see it?’ she repeated, frantically.
‘Of course,’
answered Dee, as she clambered back onto the vessel. ‘I thought it was going to
give Izzie a heart attack. I’ve never seen her so afraid.’
Her dive buddy
was climbing back onto the boat at the same time, but did so with much more
urgency.
‘See what?’ I
asked, impatiently. ‘What has gotten you all so excited?’
‘A shark!’ Asia
exclaimed with glee.
‘A really big
shark,’ added Dee, as she put her arm around Izzie to comfort her.
‘A shark,’ I
repeated sceptically. ‘It wasn’t dangerous, was it?’
‘Who cares?’
Asia replied. ‘A shark is a shark and that was just awesome.’
There were times
when Asia could be a bit too American. Whilst she proceeded to gush about her
“awesome” encounter, the final pair returned to the boat and surprisingly, they
were a bit more reserved about what they had seen. I guessed they were just
trying to play it cool. Asia, however, could not have been more excited. She
went straight to Manu with a barrage of questions.
‘It was a tiger
shark,’ he confirmed.
‘A tiger shark,’
she repeated. ‘That sounds dangerous – please tell me it was dangerous.’
‘They can be
man-eaters,’ confirmed Manu. ‘The question as to
the process and stopped only when Manu tugged more forcefully on my arm. I
dared to open my eyes and saw that the mask was now clear.
‘Okay?’ he
seemed to gurgle as he offered me the sign.
I looked around
to get my bearings and everything seemed fine so I returned the gesture. Manu
then pointed to his mask again, this time placing a heavier emphasis on the
fact that only a small amount of water should be allowed to breach the seal. I
had a second attempt at the task and this time managed to complete it as
instructed. I gave him the now familiar gesture and he beckoned me to sink
deeper. All the while, he kept pointing to his ears, which was the instruction
to equalise the pressure as I descended. I did this by gently squeezing my nose
and breathing out until I felt the pain ease. When we finally levelled off my
depth gauge read eight metres. As an uncertified novice, this was the maximum
safe distance to which I could descend.
Manu let go of
the rope and started to swim in a horizontal line. I followed closely behind.
The others had descended to twice the depth where I could not follow, but Asia
swam up to meet me. She started to swim alongside me, but soon became bored of
this and decided to show off by performing slow motion somersaults in the
water. Her twists and turns were like an aquatic ballet that both titillated
and amazed me.
The majority of
the fish were below us. On occasion, a straggler would swim up until it was
almost within touching distance. I reached out to them, but as if repelled by
an invisible magnetic force, they always seemed to move just beyond my grasp.
It was frustrating not to see anything larger, but I guessed that was the price
I had to pay for being a beginner. I felt a bit guilty for keeping Asia from
exploring more of the reef, so I let her and Esteban go off on their own for a
while. It was not fair that they should miss out because of my inexperience.
Manu led me back
up to the surface after just fifteen minutes. He did not want me to stay under
for too long on my first dive, but the others remained submerged for longer. He
promised that once everyone was back onboard he would move the boat to another
dive sight and take me down again to somewhere that I would hopefully see a bit
more. Manu then went back into the water to check on the rest of the group. I
took off my fins and BCD while I waited for them all to return. Asia was the
first to surface, followed closely by Esteban and she was giddy with
excitement.
‘You will not
believe what I have just seen,’ she said.
‘And what is
that?’ I asked, but before she could answer she was distracted by the next
couple to surface.
‘Did you see it?
Did you see it?’ she repeated, frantically.
‘Of course,’
answered Dee, as she clambered back onto the vessel. ‘I thought it was going to
give Izzie a heart attack. I’ve never seen her so afraid.’
Her dive buddy
was climbing back onto the boat at the same time, but did so with much more
urgency.
‘See what?’ I
asked, impatiently. ‘What has gotten you all so excited?’
‘A shark!’ Asia
exclaimed with glee.
‘A really big
shark,’ added Dee, as she put her arm around Izzie to comfort her.
‘A shark,’ I
repeated sceptically. ‘It wasn’t dangerous, was it?’
‘Who cares?’
Asia replied. ‘A shark is a shark and that was just awesome.’
There were times
when Asia could be a bit too American. Whilst she proceeded to gush about her
“awesome” encounter, the final pair returned to the boat and surprisingly, they
were a bit more reserved about what they had seen. I guessed they were just
trying to play it cool. Asia, however, could not have been more excited. She
went straight to Manu with a barrage of questions.
‘It was a tiger
shark,’ he confirmed.
‘A tiger shark,’
she repeated. ‘That sounds dangerous – please tell me it was dangerous.’
‘They can be
man-eaters,’ confirmed Manu. ‘The question as to
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