My boyfriend Tony, at the time, has always been a diving
enthusiast and had tried to convince me to take a few dive courses so I can
join him in his underwater adventures. Just the thought of going in the ocean
filled with sharks and other unknown scary marine creatures, while carrying on
your back heavy tanks, was not particularly exciting to me at first. Now, our
yearly vacation trip to a new destination was coming up and we were doing a little
online research to see where we would go next.
A friend of ours had just visited Belize, a tiny country in Central
America facing the Caribbean Sea. He
kept raving about his amazing experience in Belize and all the great dives it
offered. So Tony and I looked it
up. Impressed by what we read, we
decided to give it a shot. Being afraid
of water, I was interested in all the charms that a beach destination has to
offer but diving. However, Tony was persistent that I took some diving lessons.
Before I knew it, I was already going on a sixty five feet
boat to
Glover’s Reef in Belize for my first diving course. I felt nervous and
tried to focus on all the skills learned and practiced in the pool at the
resort. I was thankful that my
instructor at
Splash Dive Center in Placencia was very knowledge and patient
during my training and practice exercises.
Now at Glover’s Atoll, I kept reminding myself to keep calm, control my
breathing, hold nose and blow and so forth. Once there, the views were
comforting too. Looking at the nearby great coral ridges, with some rising
dramatically and plunging into the ocean into the clear water made me
mysteriously excited of what lies beyond this intense surface.
As nervous as I was inside the sea hearing my own heavy
breathing, I was taken aback by what I saw. Words alone can describe what utter
excitement it was to be for a moment in a different and
strange world. An
ecosphere so close yet so foreign and
mysterious strives beneath. Although
terrified, I was in awe of the fish swimming around me. I saw an intimidating barracuda and schools
of yellow tail snappers. A green moray
eel, with a head larger than mine, was looking on curiously from underneath two
overlapping rocks. Every coral head held its own surprise. I saw Baby
angelfishes, damselfish and tiny arrow crabs and even small worms like the
“Christmas tree” and “Feather dusters” which retracted back into their hard
shells whenever they sensed danger. Even
the sand held its own wonders. I saw a Green Razor fish hovered over the sand
and dived into the sand whenever it felt threatened. A number of rays, fishes, and eels crawled
under the sand as if though playing a game of checkers for their own amusement.
To my surprise, I was also tuned into the sounds around and above. I could hear the subtle crackling sound of
the corals, the crash of the waves against the reef and the feel of the surge.
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| Belize Barrier Reef |
My first experience was both exhilarating and additive. I
had forgotten about Tony who was far lost in the gigantic aquarium of
Belize’smarine biodiversity. Unsuspectingly, I discovered
a new sport and I was eager to do more dives.
Next we did the open water dive at the Gladden Spit in hope
to see the great giant of the Ocean. I was equally astounded here. Unfortunately, after an hours dive, I did not
see a single
whale shark until the second dive. Just as we were getting ready
to leave, in the distant blue of the sea, a silhouette of a large fish was
making itself more visible revealing all the white spots on its body as it swam
towards me. This was indeed a
moment. Diving just 25 feet under water
on a late afternoon of a second full moon, had reached its climax with this
large breath-taking but curious
sea giant coming right up to me. It swam around
me for a brief second just to see who I was and swam out of sight into the
depths of the ocean. Although this
magical experience lasted less than ten seconds and I ended up swallowing
plankton and seawater, it was all worth seeing. I would do it all over again
upon an eye’s blink.
 |
| Whale Shark |
Since these dives, I am a converted diver and a certified
dive master too. If I was told that on the first dive, I would have called it
their bluff! Now Tony and I can enjoy
exceptional
honeymoons in each dive destination we visit. We have been married now
for fifteen years and our love is still going strong and enjoying many similar
hobbies and interests like diving!
If you are interested in learning how to dive you can contact Patricia Ramirez at patricia@splashbelize.com or visit www.splashbelize.com for more information. She will make your diving experience memorable!
In
its June 2012 publication, Scuba Diving magazine featured Splash Dive Center as
a Sea Hero recognizing the many efforts that the dive center has contributed to
community building and awareness of the marine environment.
