It's been very strange that i haven't yet been scuba diving because that's what i came out here to do right? I was going to do my Instructors course which is why i lugged all my diving gear over here but something wasn't feeling quite right (maybe it was all the money it was going to cost and that it was going to involve almost 3 weeks in a classroom reading boring manuals and dealing with paperwork amongst other things...) so i decided to stay put until it did feel right!
Then my friend Patrick suggested i try freediving, which is diving on your own breath of air. No tanks, no heavy equipment and way more challenging, both physically and mentally. Great. I always like a challenge!
It was tough. It was mentally much more challenging than i believed it could be. It took me a while to trust i wouldnt die whilst doing it....The beginners course was hard but got me diving to 21 meters! I could just about make it to 6 m when i started! But it wasnt easy. My head kept on thinking about how mush water was above my head and it felt like a real struggle to push my body to even 15 m and hold my breath for long enough. I felt as though i was choking myself! So i decided to do the advanced course :o)
We learnt new breathing techniques (because it's all about the breath up!) to flex our lungs. There was a bit of yogic breathing as well as several other techniques to excercise the lungs and fill them up to their ABSOLUTE maximum.
We also learnt how to hold our breath (using a different breath up) and face down in the water with a nose clip on, i managed to hold my breath for 3 mins 21 secs! (Yes, other freediving boys, i know that you all held your breath for longer but you're all way cooler than me).
Again more of a mental challenge than a physical one because you have to trust that you cant kill yourself by holding your breath but it feels like you can when youre doing it and the choking got too much for me....
And then we aimed to dive deeper!!! The boys were all up for it but i was being a wimp. But!! i made it. With some fantastic preperation techniques in and out of the water and under the guidance of our very cool instructor, i dived, on one breath of air and down a line, to 29 meters (!!!!!!) and made it up in a very cool and calm relaxed manner. No choking. No frights. No panics. Me very proud.
This isnt me but thought you would like to see what we were up to underwater... we used long fins to swim head down the line too..
Our lovely instructors Eusebio and Monica(yes i know i look about 12!)
The team... me, Lucien, Eusebio, Monica, Neil, Josef and Chris
And my dive buddy. Thanks Lucien.
3 comments:
You Brave Brave Girl!!!!
So proud of you and your tat looks great.
We are all good and girls are great.
Had great parents eve this week and are both doing fantastically well!!
Kaleighs teacher thinks she is fab and she makes her laugh as she is the only girl who does football training and even gets the coach to clean her boots for her!!!!!
Freya has had her first spellings to learn this week and is really keen!! (won't last I KNOW).
Hope you are both well
Miss you loads tons of love us xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
P.S Won her design and make a book mark competition at school for world book day.
Wow! We are very proud indeed! Tried calling today and subsequently got your e mail so we will try again soon.
Lots of love xxxxx
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