Certified divers!

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After taking the pool and theory part of our diving certificate in Stockholm we had the pleasure to complete the open water part in Tahiti. Our intention was of course from the beginning to be able to dive in the tropical waters and to see the great variety of fish and corals that can be found here. Last weekend it was finally time!

The first two dives took place in The Aquarium, a calm and shallow site in the lagoon of Tahiti. At about 6 metres depth we glided over the white sand surrounded by colourful fish and forgot all about equalising the ears! We also saw an octopus and a stone fish (very poisonous and difficult to see because it is perfectly adapted). The instructor Franck brought some bread so we could hand feed the fish. And they came in dozens! We also caressed corals and sat on the rail of a shipwreck. In the wrack we saw an almost round black fish with white dots. Amazing! Clara liked especially a species that she called Banana fish. It has a very long face with black, blue and yellow features. Our mutual favourite experience was an orange fish defending his little anemone territory by showing us his teeth, completely unimpressed about the fact that we were ten times his size.

The second trip was led by funny Dominique who showed us two scorpion fish, also those very poisonous ("You touch them, you are dead in a minute"). They look however absolutely fabulous with their white, red and black stripes, feather like fins and pout. Furthermore we dived into a small plane wrack. Both Franck and Dominique made the dives a game and we hardly noticed that they were testing our skills.

On Sunday two dives were scheduled with instructor Raphael. We left the lagoon to dive on the outside of the reef and on the way out we headed straight into a heavy rain weather. The waves made it more demanding to get into the water. Well under water we had to work against the strong movements of the currents - a completely new experience. At a depth of 10 metres the reef stretched in all directions. And what a reef! It was massive and covered with corals in all shades of purple, blue and yellow. And a hand full of small divers hovering above it. We went deeper to a maximum of 21 metres.

This time we were not alone with the instructor. The other couple was having a lot of difficulties so we could not fulfil all exercises and had no chance to look closer at the fantastic scene. The bare feeling to be that deep and to be so close to the reef was however amazing. On the second trip of the day we had to do a lot of mask cleaning (like 25 times...) and were waiting for the instructor to catch our fellow divers who were drifting to the surface every now and then. This part was not really impressing but we are certified and are looking forward to get out and dive again!

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