Everyone warned me that doing your divemaster would be the craziest (and most amazing) non-stop time of your life. I can officially confirm this is true. I have been so busy it has been hard to find time even to keep in touch with people at home…let alone update my blog! My laptop also broke and it took weeks to get it repaired here so I’ve not been good at posting updates of my time here.
It is very difficult for me to sum up everything I have been getting up to in the last month – but I will try!
a day in the life
I have been staying in my own bungalow which is very beautiful, at a place called Mamaras guest house. I moved here a few weeks ago and love it even more than my last place.
We dive 5 days a week, normally leaving in the morning either for a boat dive or a shore dive.
Boat dives involve leaving a bit earlier:
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Hopping on the back of a truck for 20-30 minutes to the boat
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A 10-30 minute boat ride where we set up our equipment on the way
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First dive at one dive site which lasts 45 minutes to an hour
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One hour surface interval on the boat to sunbathe, eat lunch, chat and change equipment again
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A second dive at a different dive site which also lasts 45 minutes to an hour
Shore dives are simpler as we have a short drive on the back of the truck to Crystal Bay where we enter the water with our equipment from the beach and normally just do one dive.
The afternoons after diving involve the conservation and science side of our internship. The workshops or studying we do varies from learning about shark conservation and research, to how we can help improve the health of coral reefs. We also have some workshops on divemaster training – for example how to lead a dive or how to assist on a diving course.
There are also a number of projects we get involved in that are direct conservation action: building and planting a mangrove nursery, coral propagation and restoration on the local sites, surveying the dive sites and recording different species of interest, placing Baited Remote Underwater Videos (BRUV’s) and recording the species data from the recordings.
So our afternoons are spent in workshops or taking part in one of the projects.
divemaster challenges
I have been loving the challenge of divemaster – physically and mentally. It has been a constant puzze to work out how to adapt the way I dive and how to complete skills the same as someone with two fins.
The current here is very strong and this can make for very challenging, but amazing, diving. At first I was pretty taken aback by the current. At the time I had only one weak fin and was worried I wouldn’t be able to hold my own if I ever had to swim against it. We normally would always drift WITH the current, however there are sometimes when we are conducting research or a conservation project where you do need to swim against it for a short time. My first experience of this knocked me off my feet quite literally. Since then I tried out a number of different kinds of fins to find the best one for me. I have settled on an incredible carbon fibre freediving fin – I feel like a mermaid now when I dive! It gives me really good power and has meant I feel a lot more independent and confident when I dive. Only thing is it’s very long so I need to get used to that!
island days off
The evenings on the island I spend with the rest of the interns – exploring the different warungs (local restaurants), trying out beach bars, playing poker.
We get one day off work a week. I have been trying to make sure that every day off I use wisely and explore somewhere new. So far I have explored Penida, spent time on other local islands such as Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Lembongan and have visited Bali for parties and a taste of western life.
After 6 weeks or so of this life I can confirm that this was the best decision I ever made to come here. At least once a day I have a pinch myself moment where I need to remind myself to appreciate this very moment as one day it will end and I will look back and wish I had taken it all in.
I will be writing updates every week as part of the series ‘Life in Bali’ on my life here, my research project and my dive master journey so make sure to subscribe to follow along…
I am so glad it is so wonderful for you dear Rosie. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Im just sitting here with your nanny and reading your store to her she cant believe what your doing
and she says thats my Rosie got to love her
Hi Rosie
Dan & I are following you from Switzerland 🇨🇭 Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us! Family & Friends
Dan Graham cousin of your Mom & me Natalie