The first time diving abroad | Okinawa self-help travel experience

On the third day, which was also the last day to rent a scooter—yes, we only rented a scooter for two days—we went to the dive shop near the Blue Hole early in the morning. Because of the northeast monsoon, the northern coast was not suitable for diving, and even the boat could not be opened that day, so the two instructors took them to the diving site further north.

After diving, go back to the diving shop, ride a motorcycle to Miyagi Island, which has the most secrets this time, and then ride all the way back to Naha to return the motorcycle.

diving experience

For those who are diving for the first time, it is very difficult to choose a diving shop. In addition to the mental effort of choosing from the vast Internet information, they have to bear the additional fear of diving for the first time. Therefore, in this trip to Okinawa, we probably did more crawling and collecting information on diving than other scenic spots.

Dive Shop: Ocean Family

I will choose Ocean Family, mainly because they have Chinese coaches (and they are Taiwanese) and Chinese websites. Although I can understand a little bit of Japanese myself, I am still afraid of a website that is entirely in Japanese.

The environment of Ocean Family's store is very warm. I think it is more like a homestay than a "shop". Those who are interested can go to their Facebook fan page to check it out. Overall, the diving experience was not bad. On the return trip, the coach said that because there was only one group of us today, he also asked us if we wanted to have lunch together (what barbecue, hot pot, and sukiyaki were all mentioned), but considering the original afternoon We declined if we had an itinerary, and finally the coach took us to eat fried chicken, which was very kind.

The only thing that doesn’t feel right should be taking pictures underwater. When the instructor passes through the wide open space underwater, he will let us take some poses to take pictures, but in fact, I think it’s good to take pictures with the fish or take the time to dive a little more, but This should be communicated to the coach in advance.

Dive Site: Gorilla Claw Rock

Because it was already October when I went, the northeast monsoon had intensified and there were quite a few waves on the north coast, and even boats could not go out to sea that day. So the coach also informed us in advance that we could not go to the blue hole for diving and would change the location, because the website had already written relevant precautions, and we all replied to the coach that it was okay, so the two coaches drove us from the shop all the way. Head north to Gorilla Claw Rock.

Before diving, the instructor will explain the important aspects of diving on the shore, including communication such as gestures, ear pressure equalization, mask drainage, which equipment is controlled by the instructor and which is controlled by ourselves... etc. It is difficult to imagine this paragraph. How terrible it would be to switch to a very poor Chinese or even Japanese coach.

After that, you will carry your equipment to the shore to prepare for diving.

The feeling of diving for the first time

The process of diving is basically the coach carrying us forward, and the ascent and descent are also controlled by the coach.

When you first go down, you will be very nervous. Because of the respirator, you will feel that you need more strength to inhale the normal amount of air, and you will subconsciously take more and more mouths and become more nervous. Be sure to let yourself relax and see more of the beauty next to you. After getting used to it, there is basically no problem. As long as the height is adjusted, pinch the nose to balance the ear pressure (the change in ear pressure is very obvious), and then just kick the water and look around.

Maybe it was because of the first dive, I thought the water was clear, but after the dive, the instructor said that it wasn't clear today. Of course, this dive site does not have terrain like the blue hole, so it is just a simple dive to see all kinds of corals and fish.

Overall, I think it's not bad. We also talked to the coach about Kerama, where we planned to go. The coach said that if we come again next time, we can make an appointment there together. They are not limited to blue hole diving, but also Listening to them, they seem to dislike the blue hole, saying that there are really people crowded there to explode.