| Dolphins with a smirk on their faces glide alongside | | | | during the descent & ascent in the ocean. Since |
| your boat & when you see them you know | | | | there is difference in pressure as you begin going |
| why they are called the Mona Lisas of the ocean. | | | | down, you sense out your speed depending on the |
| They have an enigmatic smile plastered on their | | | | reaction of your eardrums. |
| faces perpetually! Diving is a transcendental | | | | Once you reach the ocean floor (which is at 15-20 |
| experience. The silence & the colors of the deep | | | | Mts. for beginners) the instructor tests you. He may |
| beckon you as you sink down at a speed determined | | | | close the valve to your breathing apparatus, pull off |
| by the pressure you can feel in your ears. You are | | | | your mask or give you signals to see your |
| hit by the vastness & the shadows of the | | | | competence in a tough situation. When the mask is |
| ocean as you begin your descent...you finally realize | | | | pulled out water rushes into your eyes, but if you |
| what it means to be completely alone yet serene! | | | | are calm you can find your mask, pick it up & |
| Although the sport appears to be risky & | | | | wear it again. All this at a depth of 10-15 Mts.! If you |
| adventurous, only the diver can harm himself | | | | panic and start shooting up, or stop breathing you |
| underwater. Due to ignorance & being in a hurry. | | | | are never certified as a diver. Besides being brave |
| Before you don your diving suit & air-tank, you | | | | one learns never to panic underwater. You are also |
| check your basics to see everything is functioning as | | | | taught how to help your partner (one always dives in |
| required. You are made aware of life underwater, the | | | | pairs, never alone) incase she is having a problem or |
| personality (poisonous, angry ones.), & | | | | she signals for help. |
| appearances of the objects you will encounter | | | | There are times when one has had to abort a dive |
| underwater. The Sea Cucumber, though a pretty | | | | ...while the rest of the pack continues descent, which |
| black & orange in color is poisonous, so no one | | | | is a heart-breaking situation for any diver. You go up |
| touches it. But on the ocean floor, a lot of us divers | | | | & wait in the boat & fry in the Sun till the |
| play football w/ it, when there is a lull in activity. | | | | divers come back o tell all the gorgeous things the |
| Sharks though maligned by the film JAWS never | | | | saw down below! Because only today they saw a |
| accost you, infact they keep so much distance that | | | | Shark or Stingrays or a Turtle! |
| you end up chasing them to get a closer look! | | | | You have the Oriental Sweet lips (w/ lips like Mick |
| The leftovers from your lunch (fish bones, chicken | | | | Jagger's), Napoleon Wrasses, Parrotfish, Lionfish, and |
| pieces) go into the doggy bag around your waist. | | | | Clown Triggerfish & Pillow Starfish who abound |
| When you are down below you use these to attract | | | | the coral Reefs. When you come back up you can |
| schools of fish to shimmer around you as you frolic | | | | see the sun filtering down to you, a beacon on the |
| with them. Or the bones are held out to coax the | | | | surface. |
| fearsome but shy More Eel to come out from behind | | | | Diving is a lifetime experience. The beauty is |
| the coral rocks. The scorpion fish is a strict no-no. | | | | preserved diligently by each diver, who never litters |
| Looks like a colored rock & if you stamp on it, it | | | | the ocean & picks up debris, which is non-bio |
| stings you a shaft of poison. | | | | degradable, bringing it to the surface to be taken |
| It is required of every diver that he educates himself | | | | back in the boat. The bonding between divers world |
| about life underwater...so he can enjoy & be | | | | over is deep because they consider their sport as |
| cautious too. The only time divers are vulnerable is | | | | sacred! |