28th/29th of January 2018

Hellooo! 😊

28/01/2018: Except for shopping, resting, eating, exploring the city, swimming, ... nothing was planned for yesterday. The anticipation for my upcoming three-day boat tour kept growing and growing. The only picture I have for you from that day is of the many bats flying around here. It's insane! And they make a lot of noise! 😄

I went to bed early to get as much sleep as possible.

29/01/2018: Today I was picked up at 06:15 in the morning and driven to the dive shop. From there, we were taken to the boat in small groups, where we will spend the next three days and two nights. It was already quite exciting! We are a super nice group of about 30 people from different nations. On the boat, we had breakfast, an introduction round, and safety briefings on how to behave on the boat. We have a total of eleven dives ahead:

I have my own room at the bottom of the boat and I'm really curious to see what it will be like to sleep while the boat is rocking. 😄

Thirty minutes before each dive, there is a briefing. Our dive instructor tells us all the necessary facts about the dive spot we want to explore. He also draws the reef on a whiteboard and notes all the necessary numbers that we need to remember in order to navigate underwater. This includes the depth at which we should dive and the degree numbers so that we know how to set our compass.

I was very excited because these would be the very first dives without a dive guide. That means I had to do everything on my own for the very first time: navigate with the compass, control my air, search for fish, find them, and identify them. It didn't work out at all on the first dive. 😄 Iris (a Belgian girl) and I came out at a completely different spot than agreed, so they had to pick us up with a small speedboat. Fortunately, everyone here takes it with a lot of humor, you might hear one or two jokes at most. 😄 The second dive was much better, not yet perfect, but we already saw some beautiful corals and fish. The third dive was even better, so we are improving with each dive! The food here is amazing, freshly prepared on the boat, and you also have a great view:

It's fascinating how different the underwater world can look compared to Thailand. I'm so happy and grateful that I can experience this here!

After the third dive, we had dinner and during the sunset, the briefing for the last dive of the day began. The fourth dive was a night dive. My first night dive without a guide. I did all my diving certifications in the 'PADI' system, a diving organization that requires you to always dive with at least one buddy, not alone. That means I'm never alone underwater, but still without a guide or 'pro', which makes it extremely exciting. Especially when you have to jump into the dark water while the boat is surrounded by many reef sharks. 😄 Fortunately, reef sharks are harmless, but you still have a funny feeling. This dive was also great. When you come out of the water, you have to inform the boat master how long and how deep you were underwater, and you have to sign to confirm that you are back on the boat. It's very reassuring to know that they check so often to make sure everyone is back. It's just funny that all the signatures somehow look the same. 😄

The whole day was already an incredibly beautiful experience and I can't wait for the next two days! I will report back!

Greetings from the Great Barrier Reef!!! 💛💛💛