Summer holiday 2007
Gran Canaria, Spain






Part 5

Monday, august 27th


Today is day 3 off my PADI adventure. The morning ritual is pretty much the same as before, so I won′t bother you with that anymore. Arrived at the dive base I learn that this morning I will be diving from the boat this time. We dive with a group of six to a depth off eighteen meters. The target is the wreck off a small fishing boat named "Ceremona II". This is the real deal this time. Out in the open sea to a serious depth this time.

We get our equipment and assemble and test it. A briefing takes place about what is going to happen and in which order. Also we are explained what we can expect down below; the size of the wreck and what fish we are most likely to see. Then there is room for questions. No questions; then we are of! We drag our kit into the surf and swim to the zodiac boat that is moored to a buoy, and climb aboard. After having bounced over the waves for about ten minutes we arrive at the dive site.

The boat is anchored, we all strap on our equipment, a last "oke" signal and we let ourselves fall backwards into the blue off the sea. This is really a very exciting moment! Out here the sea is remarkably transparent and I can see the sun rays shimmering in the water all the way down. It feels like I have just jumped out of an airplane that is still hovering above me in the shape of the zodiac boat and I am in mid air. About eighteen meters below me I can clearly see the ocean floor. With the rest of the group I slowly descent until I hover right above the white sand and then gently land on it on my belly. I′m asking you, how deep can a guy sink! Well, out here that will be eighteen meters and then you hit rock bottom!

I look around me, it seems like I have landed on a small flat plateau with white sand with in the middle the wreck of a small vessel that lies on its left side. Over the wreck I can see the silhouettes of groups off fish moving about. Again I am amazed by the clarity off the water here. With the group I slowly move across the plateau closer to the wreck. Out of the hull fish emerge and flee away from us. We circle around the wreck and spot various large fish that hide there. There is such an awful lot of animal life here.

Forty minutes we spend down there but it felt like ten. Then we ascend to five meters for a three minute safety stop. As we ascend I look down to the wreck and again I feel like I am flying through the air. There is no one holding me down, there is no one dragging me across the site, I am completely free! It is such a euphoric feeling. Then I stick my head out of the water into the air. By doing so I enter another world. You leave behind the calm of the depth and step into the hastily and noisy world above. We board de boat and head back for the shore.

It is lunch time, and we all have worked up an appetite! So, we enjoy lunch in each other′s company and share experiences while warming up again under a warm sun.

After lunch Sean and I get our equipment and prepare for a dive at the west side of the Taurito Playa beach. The island rises here vertically out off the water into the sky. Sean explains that at the base off the cliffs there are some cave like cavities in the rock face which we will explore. For safety reasons we will not go to the very base of the cliffs, but close enough to make it an interesting dive. We walk across the beach into the surf with our kit strapped on and swim west ward until we are in front of the cliff. We give the oke signal and down we go! We get to see some sea urchins, a lonely starfish and some schools off fish with silver bodies and beautifully colored fins.

And that was it for today. After we have returned we clean the equipment and bring it into the storage room or hang it out to dry outside in the sun. Then I sit down on the terrace and wait for my ride to arrive whilst enjoying the warm sun.











and welcome!




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Playa del Inglés, day break

Playa del Inglés, day break



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Puerto Rico Marina

Puerto Rico Marina



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Out on the open sea

Out on the open sea



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Playa del Inglés, Night

Playa del Inglés, Night