Suzy's Gone Diving.

To combat the post-Sydney blues, I decided to go on a scuba dive trip yesterday. I waited until the evening to book anything, so I was a little worried that I would not be able to go. I was happy when Markus from Joe's Gone Diving responded to my enquiry about an introductory dive, and informed me that they had an instructor that could take me to the USAT Liberty shipwreck. 

I woke up early the next day (surprise, surprise) so I had time to eat breakfast and get ready to be picked up at 7am. I was shuttled to the Joe's Gone Diving headquarters in Sanur, where I met with my instructor, filled out paperwork, and got diving equipment. Once all that was done, we packed up the van and were on our way to the dive site. 

The USAT Liberty is located in Tulamben, a little town in the Northeast of Bali. The Liberty was one of ten ships taken up by the US Army for defense service in World War II. While en route from Australia to the Phillipines with a cargo of railway parts and rubber, the ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in the Lombok Strait. The ship beached on the shore of Bali at Tulamben, and the cargo and fittings were salvaged. The ship stayed beached until 1963 when the tremors associated with the eruption of volcano Mount Agung caused the vessel to slip off the beach. The 125meter/411feet ship now lies on a sand slope in 9.1meters/30feet to 30meters/100feet of water. 

My instructor for the day was a Dutch guy named Roland. He got his diving certification in Thailand in 2007, and been diving ever since. He has been working as an instructor for the past four years. I was a little apprehensive about going scuba diving by myself (i.e. without any friends), but Roland made the experience very fun. After talking for the main duration of the two hour drive to Tulamben, I was more excited than nervous to get in the water. 

The other diving instructor, Imam, and my instructor, Roland. 

The weather could have been much better; it was overcast and raining at the start of the day. As Sydney so eloquently put it (as I texted her about my scuba trip): "We have the curse of hot guides and bad weather". Oh, so true. I'm glad I used the overcast day on something a little more adventurous than just laying in my hotel room watching the movie channels (which was plan B if I couldn't go diving). 

We completed two dives, and had lunch in between. As with the previous dives, I had to demonstrate some skills: taking out the regulator and putting it back in, getting water out of my mask, and show I understood the different hand signals. There was also a new addition to the skills repertoire; I had to take my regulator out, "lose" it, and then find it again. The tought of doing this below 6meters/20feet of water was scary, but luckily it was much easier than expected. 

As oppose to my previous dives, we entered the water via the beach. This meant putting on all the gear (wetsuit, BCD, oxygen tank, etc), and walking in the water. Getting out if the water proved to be quite the challenge (which I miserably failed). After the second dive a huge wave crashed behind me, making me tumble over. I'm sure I looked great as I flailed to get back on my feet. Thank goodness Roland and another random bystander were there to help me up (the tank was quite heavy, and the waves kept crashing in to shore). 

Despite less than ideal diving conditions (the water was a bit murky), both dives were very fun. We were out for about an hour each dive. There was lots of colorful coral and interesting fish swimming around. My favorite things I saw were probably the pin cushion sea star and the blue star fish because I hadn't seen them before. Oh, and we saw a great barracuda, which was pretty cool. Unfortunately, no reef sharks or sea turtles. 

After spending the day with Roland and completing another two dives, one thing is for sure: I REALLY want to get my Open Water Certification. After not quite liking my first dive at Manly SeaLife Aquarium, I was coming to terms with the reality that diving wasn't for me. Then we dived at the Great Barrier Reef outside of Cairns, and I actually really enjoyed myself. I'm liking it more and more, and feel more confident under water with each dive. I've started looking into courses back in Sydney, and as long as I can get the medical evaluation in order, I will be completing the certification this coming weekend. I'm sure the water will be cold in Sydney... Brrr! But I definitely think it will be worth it! 

Today there were far fewer clouds in the sky, and the sun has finally been out. I took advantage of the good weather, and laid out for a while by the pool. When I reached my tanning threshold, I decided to walk around the area a bit. I spent the rest of the day walking around aimlessly. It was nice not having a plan or schedule.

Now it's time for bed... It's 12:02am, and waaay past my bedtime. Goodnight from Bali! 

Love, 

Suzy