SCUBA!!!

I can't believe we've waited this long to talk about SCUBA! We were super blessed to be squeezed into the September class, just in time to get certified before we went to Okinawa. It's WAY harder than I thought it would be and the class was really time intensive, the tests were super hard, and the dangers were large in number. Thankfully, the class does prepare you for many life or death scenarios so we felt pretty ready and comfortable when we finally got out into open water.

The first couple of pictures are from our qualification dives. Joel's posture indicates the tightness of the wetsuit, LOL.

You definitely squeeze yourself into these things... my arms and legs are super long which adds additional difficulty.

We did 2 qualification dives one day and 2 the next. This day we just went down the street to Yuu Beach. It was cloudy and gloomy and the visibility was poor, but basically all we did was practice our "skills", which included losing equipment and putting it back on in the water, running out of oxygen, and various types of ascents.

Oxygen tanks are HEAVY!

Joel rocks it better than I.

Day 1 I learned that I get cold EASY underwater. So for the 2 qualification dives on Oshima Island on day 2, I wore a thicker wet suit and a hood (talk about super messed up hair afterward!). It was SOOOOOO hard to get on, but man did it work. Difficult to maneuver anywhere but underwater, but worth it.

My diving friend, Alicia, and I both opted for the thicker suits on day 2.

So Joel and I were qualified and ready to hit open water when we got to Okinawa! Joel organized a trip on a boat to some of the outlying islands around Okinawa, but unfortunately, after over an hour of seasickness and rough seas, our captain determined the conditions returning to the harbor would be too dangerous. Thus, we waved to the area where we were supposed to scuba and rode over an hour back to the harbor to do some local diving. When I mentioned sea sickness, I meant total and complete sea sickness. One girl aboard did hurl, but I kept it together. Couldn't eat or drink though, so I went over 12 hours total without food (so you KNOW I wasn't feeling good!). But, once I put on my gear and went underwater, I felt FINE. No seasickness, just utter and complete awe. Man, it's a beautiful world down there!!!

The underwater camera Joel got us works really well, but we are going to need to get a different lens for our future dives. This one is meant for above water activities, so the quality and colors aren't what they could be. Please feel free to use your imagination because the colors were vibrant and stunning.

Joel and I were able to follow a couple of master divers underwater. They knew it was our first dive on our own following our qualification class, so they were super good leaders and teachers! But, they said we'd been taught well by our instructor because we were good at communicating underwater about our air levels and depth restrictions (we are only qualified to go to 60 feet for now). The deepest most divers ever go is 120, but even that depth has serious potential negative consequences.

One of the master divers hooked me up with a shell from both dives we did that day. I still have them because they're amazing!

Even above water, I was seasick. It was pretty darn choppy all day.

One of the master divers found a teapot! And another one found a coffee cup... not part of a set though, they checked, LOL.

I had a turn with the camera and thought I was taking all these gorgeous pictures of the fish and sea snakes (I saw a scene directly from "Finding Nemo", I swear!) but unfortunately, I was only switching the camera from video to picture mode over and over, rather than taking shots. Boo! Now I know which button to press! LOL!

So, be prepared for more scuba pictures in the future. This is an awesome hobby and Joel and I so grateful to be certified now. What a world of mysteries and so very beautiful. Hopefully, we will be able to do this on many of our other traveling adventures!