I probably have expressed my love for the ocean countless times. I snorkel and have done freediving using long fins quite a bit. I get the chance to explore more underwater where I’ve seen different kinds of corals, fishes, turtles, and even sharks. But in freediving, there was always that feeling that I was “free” to go as deep as I can and go back up when I finally needed to catch air. In the back of my mind, I sort of was aware whenever I was no longer comfortable at a certain depth or period of time and that I could just go back to the surface. I could also do twirls and tumble around eezy peezy…
Now, Scuba diving was something I’ve always wanted to do but had a lot of hesitations in actually trying out. You have to understand and mind a lot of factors when you scuba – breathing, equalization, depth, time underwater, speed in descent or ascent, navigation, and your air supply levels – plus the fact that you have to carry equipment on your back while swimming. Most of these you also have to think of in freediving but it just seemed too scary that you can go so deep, stay longer underwater, rely on a device where one mistake can cause a serious injury or death.
I did know that I still had to try it at some point to overcome the fear and also to actually know if I would like it in the end…
My friend, June, has been inviting us to do a bunch of activities and I finally said yes to do a Scuba Dive Taster. I haven’t properly been to the ocean in 3 years and it was going to be a girls trip so I thought it would be fun no matter what! After stressing and not-stressing about logistics, Sunday morning came and we were off to Sesimbra, an hour south of Lisbon.
The head of the shop had us sign a health waiver and we had to answer No to everything if we wanted to dive. Do you have claustrophobia? No? Maybe I do? Let’s say No. lol Then she explained the parts of the scuba gear (tank and gauges), how to quickly fix a watered mask, and how to breathe – she looks at me and tells me not to stop breathing cause she knew that freediving involves holding your breath for as long as you can… oops! I guess that’s the most important thing for me to keep in mind!
We put on our wet suits and I feel like a banana having a hard time breathing… penguin walk towards the ocean and have the rest of the demo there. Unfortunately, there was only 1 instructor that day to assist us 3 (June, Aya, and me), June has done scuba diving a hundred times so she agreed to just tag along. They practiced a bit while I was watching and then I waited until they were done.
It was finally my turn but alas the instructor didn’t speak English – so much for trying out survival basics before diving! Lol Good thing I was paying attention earlier and I basically have the whole concept down in my head. So with a couple of test breathing, we were off. Slowly kicking and getting deeper, my instructor behind me signaling with his hand for me to equalize and asking me if I was okay, I answered with the OK sign every time. Every time even when I had a small feeling of panic.
At the second sign from my instructor, I felt a small panic when there was a pressure change and I knew we were already a bit deeper. I suddenly felt worried that I didn’t practice enough how to get water out from my mask and was afraid it would happen at the deeper end. I wanted to go up the surface but I stopped myself because I didn’t want to waste time haha I checked again on my breathing and made sure that I had long inhalations and exhalations and then I was good for the rest of it. I knew I would be okay once I start appreciating the silence and the life underneath.
We finally reached the site, which was more of a grassy weedy patch, and there were enough fish to give me the feels. Too bad I didn’t have a camera with me but I did get the chance to just absorb everything. The experience was exactly as I remembered and it didn’t matter that I was carrying a scuba gear and there was a man behind me. I noticed every time my instructor would lead me to a direction, to go deeper, in between large grass, and when to stop. I tried checking for the gauges as well just to see how fast my air was going, it was hard to reach for them though so I didn’t get to regularly monitor them – the instructor was also there so I didn’t really have to.
Overall the experience was good. I got to finally experience scuba diving and be in the waters of Portugal for a good long period. We didn’t expect much since it was too close to Lisbon and that the site was also too close to the beach, but it was definitely enough for a taster… or I’m just a sucker for the ocean. I immediately thought of taking my husband next time and do freediving there haha
Sesimbra was definitely a great place to explore. We had a wonderful seafood lunch at O Canhão and hung out a little bit more at Praia da California. It’s always just nice having a girls day out!
We’re also heading to Asia next year and I’m thinking of taking a full course there – it’s cheaper and the water’s much warmer! Can’t wait!
Have you ever scuba dived? How did your first time go?
-K
The Remote Island Girl 