Scuba Diving!

This past weekend I took a beginning scuba diving course with Dive Timor Lorosae!  After only snorkeling for the first time a few months ago, I was new to the beauty, magic and life under the sea.  

 I had to be convinced to go with my housemate as I was fairly certain the crocodiles would be waiting for me.  Everyone here has a crocodile sighting story followed by a tragic ending (death!). My mind was running wild with the possibilities of encountering a croc and the headlines that would follow: "Malae Taunts Sacred Crocodile, Pays the Price!" It's bad enough that you could get eaten alive by a croc in Timor-Leste, but some people believe that if you do, then you deserved it. How horrible!

Timor-Leste sits in the coral triangle making it one of the best diving spots in the entire world so I just couldn't pass up this great opportunity. I put my fears aside and jumped in the van on the way to Dili Rock Beach.

We geared up and waded in, eyes peeled for viscous killing machines lurking in the water. We floated out a little ways, reviewed our hand signs and procedures, deflated our jackets, and started sinking.

I was blown away by the exquisite coral and sea anemones, the neon colors, funky shapes, and intricate patterns . It all looked like I was in a Dr. Suess book.  I wish I had an underwater camera! To paint a picture of the amazing life I saw, here are a few similar pictures I found online:

This was quite the first underwater experience! Thankfully we didn't see any crocodiles!  

Me, Simone (Instructor) and Meredith after our dive!
You can watch this video to get an even better idea of what it was like: