It was October 2011, and after more than a year of living on the Galapagos Islands—a very special place to know—I felt curious to explore the underwater world. A friend who has a scuba diving school was encouraging me to take the course for an Open Water certification that was going to take place soon.
The first week was the class with all the theory. It made me doubt whether I wanted to keep on with the plan. I understood that diving is a safe sport when you follow the rules, but it could also be very risky, because of the strong currents, or when you do not have proper decompression.
The fear didn’t win, so in the next two classes, the students and I were learning about some of the characteristics of the ocean: how to use the air tanks and the regulators; how to breathe through your mouth only, using this equipment; and the hand signals to communicate with the diving team. While we in the course were fitted with wet suits, I was trembling about the first practice class. The morning for the first practice class wasn’t very pleasant at all. The sky was dark, so I was trembling like never before as we started to prepare the tanks and rode to the class point. Because of the ocean current during that month, the water is cold, and it made me feel more insecure about jumping in it. After an hour of practice, I felt exhausted but more confident.
One of the most challenging days of my life was the first dive I made in the open ocean. The boat ride took 30 minutes to the diving point where the trainers started to unload the anchor and set up the rope that would lead us to the deep ocean. It was going to be 20 meters under the sea. I said to myself, Trust yourself and the team around you, and the experience began. It was like being inside of an aquarium in a slow-motion mood; the light blue was filling with multiple colors from the schools of fishes, turtles, beautiful little lobsters, rays passing just under my body. Also, the green and brown seaweed and the marine iguanas were enjoying this. While I was watching all this show, I was also trying to concentrate to make the air last long, meaning breathing in with less frequency, which was hard because it was like hallucinating to discover how beautiful it is.
After a while, a juvenile sea lion came up to me to play, and it seemed he was enjoying it as much as I was. Sea lions are like dogs, very friendly. The sign to keep on going down was given, and suddenly I saw a shark, which paralyzed me. It passed next to me and seemed to totally ignore me. There were so many marine animals that I never knew existed, like the purple and pink sea stars. Those moments were so unique.
Finally, I saw the watch, and the air in my tank was about to run out. So I started returning to the surface, which is also amazing when the dark becomes lighter, and after a few minutes, you are again back to your normal breathing and ready to get on board.
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Lucia Morales Mayorga writes, “My hometown in Ecuador is Ambato. I grew up with mountains, and I love them as much as the sea. I got my Master’s degree in Sustainable Tourism in Costa Rica, and I’ve been working in this field for 10 years. Living the last three years in New York has been an amazing experience. I especially enjoy the beautiful beaches.” At the New York Public Library’s Tompkins Square branch, her teacher is Terry Sheehan.