24° Dive fever or deep dive rush?

The departure time from the boat changes daily due to the tides. Initially, we left at 7:30, but now it's 9:30. But the routine is still there... and the days fly by.

Wake up, have breakfast, pack towels and computers, and leave. At the base, put on socks, booties (no, for reasons I don't understand, she can't call them shoes), put on the wetsuit, and grab the weights. The rest of the equipment is brought to the boat by the guys. Pee one more time and get on board. The instructor introduces today's crew and our boat, 'Big Fish'. While the guys slowly navigate through the coral labyrinth, I prepare my equipment. First, attach the BCD to the tank and secure the corresponding weights. Suse left me the BCD/jacket to try out. Then attach the regulator and test if there is enough pressure in the tank. You also need a dive mask (no, you can't call it goggles) and fins. And the most important!! The dive computer. It's super smart and tells you exactly how deep you are and how long you can stay. In the past, we used to do this with calculations and tables. But who wants to do that? Thank you, dear technological progress!

By now, I've gotten used to the waves and boat rides and really enjoy our trips to the dive sites. When we arrive at the first spot, all the equipment is checked again, and the instructor gives a brief about the upcoming dive. The guys help put on the jacket, then the fins and the mask. Final buddy check and backroll on 1, 2, 3, Go! Then we descend together and follow the instructor in buddy teams. Communication is done through hand signals, and if someone discovers something cool, they tap on the tank with a metal rod. Otherwise, all you can hear is your own breath and possibly passing boats. Welcome underwater, far away from everything up there, weightless in an incredibly fascinating world of animals and plants! Currently, the water is around 29°C, but for the past two days, it was only 24°C. That may not sound like much to you, but underwater, it makes a huge difference. Sometimes you can see the cold current and know, oh oh, I have to go through that now. But when the water is warm, I'm always really sad when almost an hour is up and the instructor shoots his buoy and gives the signals for safety stop and ascent. 'Big Fish' comes to pick us up, and the guys take off our fins. With the remaining gear, we climb the ladder. We take off our equipment and change our tanks. The one-hour surface interval is spent by the others having breakfast. I just drink my tea, collect trash, and listen to music. Then we move on to the second dive site, and the whole fun starts again. Back on board, we completely dismantle and pack everything. When we arrive at the base, the instructor goes through his standard speech again. Please take all your stuff back up and wash it in the designated tanks. Neoprene on the right, BCD & fins in the middle, masks & cameras on the left.

Afterwards, I got into the habit of swimming laps in the pool. My lunch date (Chuckles, the most gluttonous dog of all time) eagerly awaits and is happy that I share my food with him.

My diving record so far:

14 days

28 dives

25.8 hours underwater

In addition, I took my Deep Diving specialty course with Jan here and passed. At 40m, I had to solve two small calculation tasks and ideally not offer my regulator to other fish in a deep dive rush. By completing this course and the number of dives I've done, I am now an Advanced Open Water Diver. Wuhhuu.

For me, it's not deep diving for a few days, but going up the mountain.