So after finishing up my internship I decided I wasnt ready to leave the island yet and I might as well get some more diving sorted out. With that in mind I decided to get my Padi Deep spec and Nitrox with Crystal as both will be handy in the future. I want to do the Wreak Spec too but that will have to wait a while. The added bonus of doing the deep was that to do it I have to go to the deeper dive sites I wanted to visit – so it is almost a 2-4-1!
I had a great instructor with Scott so after the paperwork was completed we headed off to Chumphon, Green Rock, South West and the local wreak. We had some great dives and we had a couple of people tag along which was good fun too. We didn’t see any whale sharks but the visibility was great and we saw lots of fish and also a very cute little yellow Box fish at Chumphon and South West. I managed to get some decent pictures but I really need to work at staying stationary for pictures – my buoyancy is good but I ended up with diadema urchin spines in both my index fingers from having to push-off rocks…it really hurts!! I got down to 40m on the deep dive which was good fun, I didn’t get narced and even managed to complete a task faster underwater than on land! I uttered the famous last words before the dive of ‘my ears are never a problem’ only for me to find at just over 35m that equalising was going to have to be done the normal way (and hard) and not my way. Never mind…I got there and it was fantastic. I love diving past the thermocline into the colder water, it makes the surface water seem unbearably hot when you return to a shallower depth.
I have wanted to try freediving for some time and as many people were giving very good reviews to Apnea Total on the island. It was amazing and on the first day I reached the 12m maximum depth for the day and on the second day I again reached the maximum depth for the day which was 20m. We did constant weight diving, which is where you duck dive and use fins to power your descent and also free immersion where you use a line to pull yourself down. I loved both – the free immersion is really relaxing and uses little energy but the constant weight is great fun and you have a hand free all the time to equalise. When I’m scuba diving I don’t have to use my hands to equalise pressure – I do something with my jaw so it was quite odd not being able to do this due to the straighter body position and having to use my hand and nose to do it the normal way! The course was fantastic with lots of breathing techniques which I must admit made me want to have a giggling fit with a room full of people breathing deeply a fly on the wall could have misunderstood what was happening if its eyesight was poor! If I was here on the island for longer I would do the advanced course with my amazing instructor Kate to be able to improve further! Later that day I was having s Skype conversation when I noticed it looked like my cheekbones had made a reappearance, imagine my dismay when I realised it was just thanks to some impressive shading thanks to sunburn and the mask!
While I wasn’t in the water we had a good laugh watching the soon to be DMs complete their scuba test which involved lots of alcohol, raw egg and vomiting which while good to watch made me dread having to do the same when I do my dive master training. One of the girls was looking after a little kitten for the animal rescue place as we played with her and fed her but very sadly she died this morning, she had been poorly but at least Lara had managed to give her a few days with lots of love. I have been bitten lots by insects…not too sure what but apparently my feet are tasty…unfortunatly I have been unable to resist the scratching and now have lots of scabs so it is probably a good thing I will be out of the water for a little while so they can heal. I may have also visited a tattoo shop but if my Dad is reading this…I didn’t! I also spent some time relaxing on the beach trying to tan my white body, my legs, arms, shoulders and back are impressively tanned (for me) but the rest of me is very white! I also enjoyed some beautiful sunsets. The were a few fantastic storms this week – watching the lightning out at sea and over the island was amazing, one night it was throwing it down with rain so I went to sit on the beach to enjoy the elements…bliss!
I leave this beautiful island tonight on the night ferry to make my journey to Khao Sok National Park for a couple of days, on the Krabi, Railay, Koh Lanta and then onwards to Malaysia to see a great freind I made in Cambodia. I am very sad to be leaving as I am just starting to feel settled here, it is amazing how fast three weeks goes by. I have had a lovely time here and have met some fantastic people who have made me want to do my dive mater training at least now!
I’ll be back (most likely!)
A Girl Called Freedom 