The Dangers of the Deep

On the second day of diving, I got to dive two more times. We went to the shipwreck first, and the visibility was even better than the day before. I performed a few more of the necessary skills with my instructor—taking off my mask, making an emergency assent, exchanging regulators. When we were sitting on the sandy bottom I was drifting backwards...and then ouch! My knee touched one of the stinging underwater plants. They looked innocent enough- like small, colorful bushes gently swaying in the current. But they were everywhere and I ended up getting stung three times over the course of my four dives.

Swimming around the structures of the wreck is breathtaking. I would look up and see the lighter blue framed by now hidden metal sheets. Coral had completely taken over—the vicious plants, bulges of swirling rock, massive tube drums, anemones, urchins. Once, Christoph tapped a huge clam, which quickly closed shut with a spray of sand. I saw another one of these gigantic clams later on the sandy bottom. There were some fairly large fish swimming around the maze of the wreck, I would guess to say, about five feet long. They weren't the most colorful, mostly a grayish brown color, but they had such puffy lips it looked like they had had a few rounds of botox. Another smaller, but still large, fish was covered in vertical black and yellow stripes. These were really neat but Christoph said later you don't want to get too close. Christoph had a pointer with him that he used to draw my attention to some of the smaller creatures. We lifted up anemones to see cute little white crabs, or centimeter-long black and white clown fish. The clown fish, along with the large yellow angelfish, were my favorites. I also looked down to see Rainbow Fish. I don't know if that is what you call it, but I remembered it from the Rainbow Fish books I read as a kid. It was large, and yes, like a beautiful rainbow.

The final dive was back at the coral garden. We did our deepest dive here, but there was a steep slope that we soon went back up to see more of the colors. I was quietly swimming along when I looked up to see Christoph rapidly motioning to me. Hand on top of his head in the universal shark symbol. He pointed up the slope and we quickly swam. I wanted to see one! Christoph said they were black-finned sharks, not too big and not aggressive, but they swam away to fast for me to see. I was a bit disappointed.

When we were closer to the surface, being swayed by the motion of the waves, I spotted our second moray eel. The first had been plain brown, but this one was like a leopard. I knew they were dangerous, so I was scared to get too close. And then we heard the sound of a motor. A catamaran was just about to go right over us! Christoph held me down, as close to the coral as we could get...and of course it had to be right next to the dreaded eel. My eyes were on him, and he opened his mouth and returned the stare. This was also one of those times I got stung by the plants.

We also got to see a barracuda and another stingray. The stingray was hiding in the sand, and you have to be careful that you don't upset them. "Always check the sand before you get too close," Christoph would tell me later in his strong French accent, "you don't want one of their barbs flicked against your skin. It can kill you." A nice point to know... especially when you are finished with your dives haha.

After this last dive, we regretfully had to leave. It seemed like a much longer ride home, now that my adventures we over. What a wonderful underwater world Bali has to offer! With my certification now complete, I can't wait until I can dive again.