For as long as I’ve known Michelle, our Head of Operations in KOSTUBA and a diving enthusiast, whenever she came back from her diving trips, she always showed us breathtaking footages and tell countless stories about the magical underwater world and I’ve been always fascinated by that. However, submerging more than a few meters under the sea really freaked me out. It was a matter of time before I decided to face my fears and what better place to give it a go than at Tomia Island, Wakatobi? We were on our research trip and without really thinking, I signed up for the discover scuba diving for beginners.
Wakatobi is located at Southeast Sulawesi and is best known as one of the best world-class dive sites. The name “Wakatobi” is an acronym from a combination of the four main islands; Wangi-Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko.
I remember it was raining all morning that day, but our instructor said just go for it. So, there we are on a boat fully equipped with a wetsuit, mask, fins, weight bell, regulator, and tank. After a short time of instructions and the basics of scuba diving, it was finally time to give diving a go.
Since it was my first time, I had been quite nervous and my heart fluttered with both excitement and fear, I made my way into the water and held onto my instructor’s hand. We started descending into the water and it was a strange sensation going under the water.
The site we explored that day was Mari Mabuk. It. Was. So. Amazing.
I felt like I was in a different world and I was completely mesmerized, surrounded by colorful marine life under the sea. Even though it was raining all day in the morning, the visibility underwater was pretty good I saw many colorful soft and hard corals and various sea life.
As I dive deeper into the blue sea, it got even more amazing. Colorful coral reefs of various sizes and shapes were right in front of my eyes, a clown fish hiding amongst the soft corals and there were many other creatures that we saw but I am not good at identifying, so I won’t be able to name them. :)
While I’m busy admiring the beauty of underwater life, suddenly my instructor signaled me to look above, out of nowhere, a school of fish appeared and began to swim together shaped in a circle. I was speechless and I almost couldn’t believe my eyes.
Words can’t possibly describe the serene feeling you get while surrounded by colorful marine life, it indeed amazed me to realize that there are thousands of creatures living under the sea. Peacefully.
After discovering the magical underwater world, it was time to ascend and we slowly surfaced from the sea and returned to the boat, and enjoyed fresh lunch that was served on board while overlooking the breathtaking scenery of Tomia islands.
You will never forget your first breath underwater. And what a perfect place it was to scuba dive for the first time at Wakatobi.
Love,
Tiffany Destiny