Scuba Diving was never in my list of Extreme Sports to-do. I never gave it a second glance especially since I don’t know how to swim. But now I wish I did learn to swim cuz this was one of best experiences I’ve ever had in my life.
So I was in Jeddah for New Years with my husbands family and my sister in law mentioned this diving experience her friend did, so of course me being the over excited one I was like “YASSS! Lets do it!”. They were a bit skeptical about it since none of us knew swimming except for my husband. And as the day approached we were all slightly paranoid lol.
A lot of people don’t know this but Jeddah is one of the best spots to dive. This is because the central part of the Red Sea is located at the coastline of Jeddah. The Red Sea is well known for its corals and marine life. It is the worlds northernmost tropical sea. So the next time you go there YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!
The diver we booked wasn’t a part of any diving company, she is a licensed Professional Association of Diving Instructors “PADI” instructor, and we met her at La Plage Resort in Obhur, Jeddah. Since most of us didn’t know how to swim she suggested we do the “Discover” package which was 500 SR per person.
So this package included
- Introduction to Scuba Diving – She taught us all the basics from water pressure to scuba equipments to hand signals to monitoring the air gauge. After this we took a quiz which ensured that we remembered what she taught us and that we were ready to suit up (they provided all the scuba equipments) and learn some more in a pool/confined open water.
- Confined Open Water Dive – She took us closer to the beach-y side where the water wasn’t too deep and even there the water was filled with beautiful marine life. We wore all our equipments and she taught us how to use/wear them.Once we entered into the water she taught us how to breathe using the oxygen tank underwater, how to manage if water got into our masks, equalising air spaces etc. So once we felt more accustomed she led us to the main water.
- PADI Discover Scuba Diving Experience :
As we walked towards the main water I could see the lush marine life just under us. Our instructor went alone first to tie the Life Saver further ahead of us. I decided to go first with her. So we had already told her that we didn’t know how to swim and she said we could hold her hand the entire time we are underwater but the main thing is to keep calm. When a person panics they tend to pull the instructor with them which causes both of them to drown so the key point here is to KEEP CALM AT ALL TIMES.
At first I was a bit hesitant to leave the Life Saver but we went down slowly and I did what she taught us every 1 metre we went deeper. We just floated along the corals and fishes it was so dreamy.
Throughout the whole dive I kept thinking “Why the hell haven’t I been doing this all my life?!”. You could listen to yourself thinking out loud. I kept looking around at everything in such awe. It was so vast and beautiful, the corals, fishes and everything!! I felt so grateful to be able to see so much life and a different kind of nature. To be a small being in the boundless sea amongst all the creatures is just another level of wonder.
My total dive was 8 metres deep and the views just kept getting better. This was the most exhilarating experience of my life. Trust me guys, you HAVE to do this. She held my hand throughout the whole dive and kept checking in on me to see if I was doing okay with hand signals. I wish I could’ve stayed longer but my oxygen was almost over so had to head back.
DISCLAIMER: Keep in mind that this does NOT certify you as a diver. To be able to dive without supervision you need to continue your education and get certified by completing the PADI Open Water Diver Course.
I hope you enjoyed reading this adventure as much as I enjoy sharing it with you all. Leave your comments if you’ve done this before or would like to!
xx,
~San.
All posts are written honestly by the author. Photography subjected to copyright.
Saniya S Abdulla 