Fish, Drowning, and Boats. Oh My!

Fish, Drowning and Boats, Three of my biggest fears. So when the idea of scuba diving was pitched to me, obviously my thoughts were nope, no way, never. But after finding out I was signed up anyway, despite my obvious debate, I knew this was just something I was going to have to get through, Our adventure began bright and early at 9:30 a.m. when a van picked us up and took us to the boat port. After boarding the dive boat, we were soon introduced to all the scuba equipment we’d be using for our dive. Thankfully, most of it would be handled by our dive guide, so that helped me to feel better.  We were divided into three groups: one advanced group and two beginner groups. The five of us were in Beginner Group #2 and we were the last group to dive. This was a good thing because it gave me extra time to watch others go first and calm my nerves. Plus, before our turn, we had the chance to jump in for a quick swim in the open water, which helped me get a feel for the water and the location we were in. When it was finally our turn, I was so nervous to go however, I ignored my fear as we began to gear up. We put on our wetsuits and strapped on our gear and were lowered into the water. After everyone was in we began our decent under the water and at first I was scared but after taking a few breaths I wasn’t anymore. We were taken under to a rock surrounded by fish and we got to feed them pieces of bread. We swam around and overall we all really enjoyed it. We were under for about 20 minutes and we went to a depth of about 15 feet so it was very beginner friendly. After our first dive we dried off and were served some lunch. We then just relaxed and chilled on the boat for a bit until it was time for our second dive. During our second dive, the instructor took pictures of me and Mia. Then we all swam around, looked at fish and  came back up to the surface. Then we made our way back to the dock to end our day scuba diving. It was very unexpected that I would enjoy it so much considering how afraid I was at first. Being in the water made the fish less scary because it felt like I was a part of them rather than being an outsider floating on the top of the surface. There is also a feeling of weightlessness in the water that makes it feel like flying. Not only did we all enjoy it but we are currently working on getting our scuba diving licences. We will be getting those in Zanzibar.