Port Douglas Day 6: The Great Barrier Reef - SCUBA DIVING

So, the first time we went to the reef, only Jon and Monja went scuba diving. After hearing them rave about it, we knew we had to try it for ourselves. 

This is why scuba diving is scary... No, let me change that, this is why scuba diving is an adventure. 

Once you say yes to scuba diving, you fill out several packets of information about your medical history. This detailed background check, while thorough, got me a bit uneasy because it made me think about the risks associated with diving. Looking over at Jamie, I think he felt the same. We also had to initial several lines such as "I understand scuba diving can be a serious health yadda yadda death yadda yadda problems permanent heart lung yadda yadda."

Yeah, well, we did it anyway.

After we filled out the forms, we then had to go through a course on scuba diving. We learned "skills." Skills means the things you have to do to make sure you are "equalized" in your ears, nose, and lungs. Because the pressure is so heavy 10 meters under water, you have to:

1.) Equalize your ears by slowly pinching your nose and blowing out.

2.) Equalize your sinuses by taking a deep breath in, lifting your mask, looking to the sky, removing your mask, and blowing bubbles through your nose in the water. (Trust me, if it sounds difficult, it was difficult.)

3.) Equalize your lungs by breathing in and out consistently. 

We also had to:

1.) Clear both of our oxygen tanks under water by removing them from our mouths and saying "two" twice. 

2.) Learn sign language for under water to say: ok, stop, ear problems, up, down. 

(Quite a bit of info to learn in 30 minutes especially when it can be a matter of life or death in a sense.)

Then, the instructor strapped our gear on us:

1.) Two massive oxygen tanks on our backs.

2.) Weights around our waste to keep us down.

The gear was so heavy that I needed help standing and it almost hurt when it rested on my back.

When we hopped in the water, I couldn't feel the weights any more. It was like the feeling of an astronaut. We held a rope in one hand and slowly made our way to the bottom while doing our skills. I could feel myself start to breathe unusually heavy at first only because it was so unnatural to use the mask for oxygen. After a few minutes, I calmed down. (I think that's why they want to know medical history about asthma and heart attacks.)

Slowly but surely, we got to the bottom, our group of 3. (Used to be four, but on the way down someone chickened out and went back up.) So Jamie, me, and some random guy were swimming with the fish at the bottom of the sea.

We swam in circles around the coral and followed the fish for half an hour before it was time to go back up. It was just like snorkeling except everything was closer, brighter, more defined, and there was more. 

Unfortunately, the pressure was a bit much on my ears, and when we got out, I felt like I had just been in the front row of an ACDC concert at the Post Gazette Pavillion. That continued for a few days, but I'm over it. 

And despite getting fairly high grades in school, I don't think I learned my skills quite right because I came out of the water with a cold. I may not have equalized my sinuses enough I guess. Keep in mind, the water was 28 celsius. 

All in all, we're glad we can say we went scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. However, it was a bit uncomfortable, so I probably won't go scuba diving again. But if you ever get the chance to do it just once, I'd say it's most definitely worth it!