Open water diving course

Today we completed the Open Water Diving course. It was amazing.

We were picked up by a coach from the hotel at 8:45 am. In the beginning, we sat outside the diving school and talked to each other. Sometimes in German, sometimes in English. All mixed up... and it was really no problem. The diving equipment was already packed, so we didn't have to prepare anything.

Julian was still our diving instructor. A great person. Calm and consistent. Someone who takes away the fear of diving, but then still says in a determined way what to do and what not to do under water. That is very important because if you don't follow certain things underwater, it can lead to major problems and damage. But Julian explained everything in such a way that you shouldn't have any fear.

We went to the US Army Transport Liberty wreck. It is a wreck from the US Army that sank here during World War II. It's a diving paradise for every diver or those who want to become one.

Once we arrived, we organized our place and prepared our equipment, including the diving cylinder. We were allowed to do that all by ourselves, which was right. Then came the typical check. TbsL. Divers need clean air. T - buoyancy, b - weights, s - seven buckles, L - air (regulator). The buddy (the one you dive with) has to check that. Everything was in perfect order, and so we went into the water with about 25-30kg of additional weight.

Julian asked us if everything was okay 👌 and then we went downwards. On our first dive that day, which was our third dive, we had to do some exercises that were very important for us. For example, navigation, diving without a mask, and controlled emergency ascent. We passed everything, and not only were we happy. Julian made slightly delighted movements underwater. We knew we would soon make it.

Afterwards, we dived to the Liberty. Little by little, we went a bit deeper until we reached our maximum depth of 18 meters. On the way there, the world around us was forgotten. We were totally impressed by what we saw. Lots of colorful fish, even several green sea turtles. Corals like you only know from books. Julian reminded us over and over again to be careful with our fins. It is relatively easy to destroy the coral world. So it was also always our task to make sure we float in the water. That means always controlling buoyancy and downward movement. You are totally occupied with yourself and the underwater world. Julian even laughed once when he saw my big wide-open eyes. That's how I imagined it. Indescribably beautiful. Julian sometimes played with the fish too. You could have thought that they knew him. Time flew by. Just before one o'clock, we went back out of the water. At least that's what we wanted to do. It wasn't easy to get back on land. First, there were the waves that partly pulled you away again; secondly, we had to take off our fins, which was quite a task with the waves (fortunately, I had two buddies); thirdly, the stones in the water were very large and very uncomfortable to walk on, not to mention the 30kg of excess baggage, and all on our backs 🤣

But we made it and then stayed outside for lunch for a little over an hour. I ordered Mi Goreng and Rainer Nasi Goreng. During lunch, we talked to the other divers about everything we did with Julian and everything we saw. After an hour of lunch, we dived again following the same procedure.

This time we had less pressure in terms of learning and practicing individual exercises. Now we had fun diving. It was so much fun. We could focus even more on ourselves, and Julian only corrected us occasionally. He took a lot of great photos. Both of us and the fish. It was really cool. The shipwreck was very long and big. It was at a depth of 4-30 meters. However, we only dived down to 18 meters as per PADI regulations. Over time, so many corals had formed, which was very impressive.

Once Julian told us underwater that Rainer and I should kiss each other. That means: take the regulator out of the mouth, let the air slowly escape from the mouth, and then press lips together. I showed Julian the bird 🤣. He found it very funny and laughed. I wasn't quite there yet.

After about 50 minutes, we slowly ascended again. At about 5 meters depth, Julian pretended to run out of air. I had to react immediately and gave him my alternative air supply (octopus), took his right arm (with a special grip), and swam with him to the surface. So the final part of the test was also passed.

Once we reached the surface, we cleaned all our utensils with fresh water. Both from the outside and the inside. Then we showered and went back home.

We had so much fun achieving all of this. I think Julian was also quite proud of us. Originally, we only wanted to snorkel in Bali.

Now we just have to answer 200 questions online and then we will receive our Open Water Diver certification.

Time will tell if we will be regular guests at -no fear diving- 🤣🤿🐟