What I would really recommend is to do a PADI Discover Scuba Dive on Curacao. Here you will be introduced to diving for the first time and you will always remember it. For example, I went to Blue Bay Dive & Watersports myself to experience this, but you can also get this experience at BLVD Divers or Coral Divers, for example. I dove before when I was much younger, so it had been a while.
The introduction
It all started early in the morning at 8:30 am. I was warmly welcomed by the dive instructor along with two others. I was a bit nervous myself, but he said that was normal. Actually, a lot of people have this feeling. Your first dive (after a long time) is very special. Fortunately, he made us feel comfortable
Theory
We, therefore, started with a part of the theory. In half an hour I learned why you should really dive once, but also the signals for underwater so that you can communicate with each other. It is also very important that you do not swim up quickly but do it slow and in a controlled manner. Your body naturally consists of different air cavities that you can compare to a balloon. This shrinks when you take the balloon down, and when you go up, the air expands again, just like your lungs. Are you going up too fast? Then the balloon will burst and explode. Your lungs will of course not immediately explode, but it is important that you swim up slowly.
The diving gear
After we went through the signals again, I got into a real diving outfit. This consisted of a BCD, a kind of life jacket in which you could put in weights. Because without lead you cannot sink. In addition, I received a wetsuit, swimming goggles, snorkel, and fins. At the end, I got a regulator in combination with a real diving tank.
Getting into the water
I felt like a real diver and I was ready to go. We slowly walked into the water and immediately we had to inflate our BCD so that we floated. When I was in the water up to my chest, I could easily put on my fins. The familiar feeling came back all the way. We started in the shallow water with some exercises to get a little more confident underwater. For example, we learned how to clear your mask when water possibly could get in. I also started to get used to breathing underwater again, which is a very special experience. After practicing in the shallow water for about 30 minutes, we slowly went deeper. At Blue Bay you have a very nice transition from the shallow water to the somewhat deeper water. We chose to dive towards the well-known ‘Wall’. I couldn’t believe my eyes. So many colorful fish, beautiful to see!
Curacao's beautiful underwater world
Life underwater is so beautiful that you can hardly imagine it. Before I knew it, the dive instructor pointed down. What I saw there was great. A turtle! A bit hidden in the coral, but wow. My dive or actually my day was complete. After this miracle, we turned around, because I was on half of my air supply. In the shallow water, we made a safety stop that means that you hang around for 3 minutes at a depth of about 5 meters. This is to allow all toxic substances to leave your body. Once above water, I cried out for joy. What a really cool experience. I had forgotten how much fun it is underwater and how free you actually feel. Apparently, the turtle we saw was Bella. The Blue Bay house turtle. Hopefully, you also choose a PADI Discover Scuba Dive on Curacao, and who knows, you might also be lucky to see Bella the turtle underwater!
I hope that I have given you a good idea of this special experience and I wish everyone this chance. You can always contact me here via Whatsapp if you have any questions.
Yours truly,
Captain Curaçao
