Perks on Earth

When I was 14 years old I did a scuba trip on Syros island in Greece. All I remember was the size of the speedos our instructor wore and how stressed I was that my air would run out. However, since this 14 year old Ella fear, I have heard so many amazing stories about diving beneath the waves. Koh Tao, our next island stop, is world renowned for its scuba diving and backpacker affordable prices. On our way to the island, listening to the three boys chat excitedly about getting their scuba licenses, I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist the opportunity.

Dermot had been in contact with Carabou dive school, and when we got to the pier they were waiting for us with their pickup. Koh Tao had been without a doubt my favorite island on the trip this far, and just the short ride from the pier to the dive school convinced me of this. Winding roads and tall jungle tightly pack onto the island which is surrounded by crystal waters, locals and tourists alike zooming the roads on scooters and shouting their hellos. When we arrived we quickly signed up to the courses and settled into their dorms upstairs, meeting fellow divers who’s stories had us anxious to start our journey under the waves.

Learning that the fantastic Ella and Suzi (my gorgeous angle friends from Edinburgh) we’re Koh Tao bound, we made plans to dive in two groups- boys vs girls. Reuniting with the girls on the Saturday, it was straight into the classroom for the three of us. Our instructor, Cynthia, was absolutely amazing, and made the entire process so easy and enjoyable for the three of us. The first day comprised of some theory and a skills lesson in their dive pool, and though we didn’t see any exotic fish or coral, the experience of being underwater with all the gear was so enjoyable! Leaving the pool after three hours, the three of us fell into the ocean, excited to test out our new knowledge in the open sea the next morning.

We went with an SSI dive course, which gave us 4 open water dives before we got our certificates. The first dive completely shocked me (probably because I was comparing it to my time struggling for air with a Greek man in very small speedos..). Jumping off the back of the boat into the waves I was filled with apprehension as to what was in store for us. The conditions weren’t ideal for us so we did a free decent (went down without using a bouyline). I had been anxious about equalizing my ears but having learnt all the techniques in the pool the three of us managed to get to the bottom smoothly, landing safely on the sands 10 meters below the surface.

That first dive did something strange to me, dissolving any angst or worries in the first five minutes as we set off behind Cynthia to explore. Something incredibly meditative overcame me as we swam slowly around the reef, taking it all in for the first time. Surrounded by Parrot fish, we saw such an incredible wide array of marine life, from the corals to the reef worms and too many fish to count. It was absolutely incredible, and after 50 minutes and our air running lower, I was sad to return to the surface. The dive bug was taking hold.

Over the next two days, the dives just seemed to get better and better, accumulating in our last dive at Twins, where we swam over two nearly identical rock formations and corals, with Remora fish catching a ride on our tanks and legs as we swam. We saw eels, manta rays, hermit crabs, giant groupers, trigger fish, a little yellow box fish, and soooo much more. Swimming through shoals of little fish filled me with awe and perspective, this whole world so close to us but so different, an so vastly unexplored. Something about diving humbled me, opening my eyes to the raw beauty of Coral reefs, really hitting home messages of why we need to protect this entire fragile ecosystem. Reaching the surface after that last dive I was lost for words, just smiling at Ella and Suzi, knowing they shared in my awe at the experience we had just shared. Though Cynthia congratulated us on our Open Water Diver course completion, we were all disappointed at the realization that we wouldn’t be going beneath the waves again anytime soon. Celebrating that night in fishbowl we all delighted at the experience we had. Ella, Suzi and I open water divers, and Dara and Dermot Advanced Adventure divers, having completed a 30m dive, night dive, and a wreak dive (we were envious at all I promise).

Koh Tao as an island boats so much regardless of the diving it offered, but my experience at Carabou dive school will forever hold the island as home to my first experience of true mediation, and peace under the waves.