I’m back in Bali for the first time since learning to dive, so naturally I’m anxious to try out my new skills here and see something new and different. I contacted Aquamarine Divers to see what they could offer, and they suggested I start with the relatively easy Tulamben Bay. The van picked me up promptly this morning for the two hour drive to the bay. As it’s the high season in Bali, there are no shortage of fellow divers, and there are five of us in the group. It’s a relatively scenic drive up the east coast, and as we traverse the pass between Mounts Agung and Seraya, the sky clears, becoming bright and sunny, while the south of the island is rather overcast.

The base of operations for the group is the Paradise Palm Beach Resort, one of a small handful of dedicated dive resorts in Tulamben Bay. The bay itself is rather pretty and wild looking, as aside from the few resorts, there’s not much else here. The thing I’d heard about diving here was that it was a “beach entry”. What I hadn’t heard was that the beach wasn’t sand, but large stones around the size of a fist. It’s a hard surface to make your way over, even without more than 20 kilos of weight on your back.

Fortunately, you don’t have to haul your tank and BCD the 100 yards up the beach for the entry. No, that job is left to some rather dainty ladies, who carry the tank, BCD and Octo assemblies up the beach for you, on their heads.

Of course, like almost all dives, once you’re in the water, all is forgotten. Oddly, once you get to deeper water, the stones give way to sand. We follow the bottom directly away from shore for a while. I’m such a newbie, I’m distracted for a moment adjusting my strange BCD, and suddenly when I look to my left, I find the stern of the Liberty looming over me. My guide and diving buddy Dendra motions for us to proceed down and around the wreck.

The old ship is almost completely covered with corals, and alive with many different fish. A large bannerfish is nicely framed by part of the superstructure. Not far from here, Dendra swims up close to a large fan coral and begins looking closely over the delicate veins. He seems to find what he’s looking for, and hands me a magnifying glass, point to a spot on the coral. It takes me a while to see what he’s trying to point out, but I finally make it out: a pygmy seahorse. It’s not much bigger than a flea, and exactly the same color as the coral it has its tail wrapped around, which is why it’s so hard to spot.

Not long after this, it’s time to start heading back. It’s always disappointing having to call an end to a dive, but I’m especially left wanting for more this time. So, I’ll definitely be back to dive on the Liberty again.

See the Liberty Shipwreck dive site page for all the specifications and other details.

It’s my second dive of the day, and then I’m officially an Open Water diver. No more tests. No more videos to watch. No more special exercises to perform while diving… at least until I decide to go for an advanced certificate.

The boat has moved from Hin Wong around to Mango Bay, on the north side of Koh Tao. I’ve heard good things about this site, so I’m looking forward to it. Once we’re under the water, I can see why so many people like this site. It’s very large, for one thing, and the landscape of the sea floor is exceptionally varied. There seems to be an infinite variety of corals, from big boulders to barrels to staghorns. There’s lots of fish as well. At one point, I spotted a lone angelfish (I think) whose scales shimmered golden in the light. It seemed almost ghostly in appearance.

As this is a certification dive, I have to do one last exercise: taking the mask completely off, putting it back on and clearing it. There’s one other beginning diver with us, so he goes through his exercises first. As I kneel on the sandy bottom waiting for my turn, I feel a sort of pin-prick on my ear. I shake my head, but soon feel another one. After three or four more, I’m really wondering what’s going on. That’s when I spot a small stripped cleaning fish making its way from me to my dive buddy. It seems that is what is responsible for the pin-pricks: I was getting my ears cleaned. It seems Adam has set us down in the middle of a cleaning station.

Our maximum depth on this dive was 12 meters. Visibility was good, if not great, at 6 to 7 meters.

Note: This is a continuation of my journal on learning to dive. You can read the first two parts at my travel journal.

I’m hooked. So, I’m back in Samui doing my last two dives for my open water certificate. As before, my instructor is the patient Adam from Rainbow Scuba. The sea around Nang Yuan is a bit rough today (don’t even ask about the trip from Samui), so we’re diving at Hin Wong on the east side of Koh Tao.

The weather top-side may be less than perfect, but beneath the waves it’s a great day. Visibility is about 6 meters or so; enough for a good look around. The landscape here is a steep sandy slope that can go down to 26 meters, but we don’t get below 10. There’s a nice row of coral boulders around this depth, with lots of curious fish to keep you company.

A pair of brightly stripped wrasse watch me do my fin pivots with a great deal of fascination, then it’s time to surface.