The underwater world

After Cuba I had some time to fill to await the arrival of my mum and sister so I decided to spent it underwater. That is, scuba diving.

I'd never dived before, but I'd heard only good things from friends so I decided to get my PADI open water dive certificate. I found a great company Scuba 10 in Playa del Carmen and signed up.

The most daunting thing about it is the gear. The more gear you put on, the more alien you look and feel. Big tanks on your back, hoses coming out everywhere and your whole body covered in a black wetsuit, it certainly isn't the most fashionable sport.

But once you're underwater everything changes. The first descent is incredible. as you reach the bottom and look up, it's like you really are in another world. The surface looks like the sky into another universe, and the bubbles that float from your tank slowly climb to the surface and pop away.

Over the course I did five dives, each one gaining more confidence, and spotting more things. (The first few dives you don't notice much of the amazing marine life because you are concentrating too hard on breathing, inflating, deflating, not drifting, following your instuctor and not hitting any precious coral. But after all thats ok, then you can enjoy it!)

We saw an octopus, a rare sight in the day time, and the way it changes from white to grey when it breathes. I spotted a giant lobster, a manta ray, a graceful turtle swimming all the way to the surface and back down, and a shark! It was only a nurse shark, but at the time I didn't know so I was certainly freaked when I saw it staring beadily out from a dark cave.

Being underwater is as unnatural for humans as trying to fly, so I felt priveledged to be able to interact and appreciate the diversity and beauty of the underwater world.

At least now I know once I've explored enough of the globe by land, there's a whole other world down there.