What, What... PADI Certified!

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After spending a few days inland Corey and I got restless for the ocean and headed up to Lovina, a small town on the North East side of Bali. There we decided that we would get our PADI diving certification. We breezed through our confined dives and the next day cruised up to the Menjangen Islands for our first two open water dives. On the first dive we drifted along to top of a wall and over some coral, but the next dive we descended to 16m down the wall and saw all sorts of fish and coral; including fan coral and many Angle, Grouper and Clown fish.

The next day we headed to the other side of the island to Tulamben; where a huge cargo ship lies on the bottom of the ocean, shot down in WW2 by the Japanese. This wreck is supposed to be the best dive site in Bali, and lives up to its reputation. The first dive was around the exterior of the ship, scoping out many different types of coral and fish that I can't even begin to name. On our second dive we made our way through the ship from the back to the front. As we entered one of the cargo bays we encountered a Large Barakuda. No one panicked till it turned around and wanted to get a better look at us (food or intruder). Our Dive Master was the first out of the bay, leaving Corey and I to fend for ourselves, panicking all the way out. We must have used up almost all the air in our tanks! That Barakuda was at the top of the list for sights that day! After a short test and many memories Corey and I had our PADI certificates in our hands. Mission Accomplished!

We met a German couple that tagged along to Lovina with us and did one dive in the Manjangen Islands. Golo really loves the ocean and when we met him all he could talk about was diving. So we are off to the Gili Islands off the North West point of Lombok for some relaxation, snorkeling and diving.

PS. Did you know that SCUBA means: Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus...you learn something every day!

Until next time

Your Guide Jordan

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Photos

1st Successful Dive
Fisrt dive in the Manjeangen Islands

What the Hell is that
Corey has a disagreement with the mosquitos and consturcts this clever contraption to keep them out, but he still got bit.

Our Dive Master
Yoman was the Bomb Dive Master, but he hated the classroom and Barakudas!

Moray Eel
Caught this spotted eel cruisen around the rocks near the beach in Tulamben.

Racoon Fish
Snapped this shot snorkeling around a reef near Lovina.

Sunset
A Nice sunset captured just a short walk from our hotel, Lovina.

Just two cool dudes chillin
Stoked after our dive of the USS Liberty in Tulamben.

Our view in the morning
Its not the beach, but the hotel was free with the dive course. It was called Suma. They had Suma good beers and Suma not so good kareoke.

Comments

[Golo]

Hey Jordan, Hey Corey, hope you had fun on Gili Tramangan and you found the big party you were looking for. We're still in Sanur and waiting for our flight to Singapur. We skipped Jakarta because of the flooding. We enjoyed the time we spent together. See ya in Asia (or Whitehorse, Yukon). Golo and Ingrid

[Trena Ballerina]

You up for SCUBA....
Hey dude, I am sorry that it has taken me a long time to write but I am about to embark on my own little adventure. I am heading out to South Korea for a year....and I am leaving in like 20 dayS!!! It looks as though you are having an awesome time and doing some pretty cool things. You should drop me a line and let me know where you are going to be in March or so cause I am for sure going to be coming to Thailand for some sunshine and scuba! Take care and I will be sending out an email with more info soon....miss you! Trena Ballerina xox