So a few years back – won’t mention exactly how many – there I was plodding along in life without a care in the world and no idea what I would end up doing. Then came the dreaded question that most late teens early 20’s who are aimlessly wandering in life hear at least once from a proper grown up! “So what are you doing with your life?”
“What was I doing?” Honestly at that point I had done a numerous amount of weird and wonderful jobs from being an Au Pair in Italy to working on private yachts in the Mediterranean; from cleaning toilets in Australia to working in a ski resort in the Alps; from being a sous chef in England to working for a Sultan in France….the list goes on!
At some point during these wonderful years of – as most proper grownups would say -‘bumming around the world’ I experienced diving. So when I was asked the ‘dreaded question’ I simply replied I’m going diving! I have no idea where this thought came from as it had been a few years since I had last bubbled around underwater, but I seemed pretty confident in my answer and thought why not! After a lengthy discussion with the folks and a promise that this wouldn’t be another one of those excuses for ‘bumming around and doing nothing’ and let’s not forget the solemn oath to pay them back! I booked a plane ticket and a few weeks later I was off to experience my new life as a professional diver!
Having taken full advantage of the free alcohol rule on my international flight I arrived on the Honduran Island of Utila with a stinking hangover, not enough sun cream and no idea of what I was really up to. I got dropped off at the dive center that was very soon to become my home for nearly 2 years and was promptly introduced to a number of very interesting characters, one of whom became my husband!
Many people get into diving as a break from the norm. They tend to last a few years then decide that the lack of money just does not compensate enough for the fabulous beach life, so end up heading back to the ‘real world’. Then there are those of us who think this is the ‘real world’ and end up staying in the industry and making it our lives. That is where I fit.
It is true that the money is not good, that the hours can be long; after all it is the tourism industry so you work when you have to. The low seasons can be a real pain in the butt and I personally do not enjoy diving during the winter months when the visibility is crappy, the seas rough, the water temperature low enough to turn me a nice shade of blue and the constant rain means nothing really ever dries. But now let’s look at the positives –
I always have enough money for a local beer and get to drink it most nights while watching a stunning sunset over some tropical beach as most places I work are tropical. I tend to eat out every night as it is normally cheaper than cooking at home, I walk bare foot to the office that is on a beach, my uniform is a wetsuit, I get to dive every day and get paid to blow bubbles, I get to teach people how to dive which is awesome, I constantly meet new people most of whom are generally really nice, my biggest daily concern is how do I look in my bikini, I dive with sharks and rays – nuff said and the best bit I now have my own dive resort and I love it!
Admittedly now that I am running my own (well not just mine, my husband is also involved) dive resort I tend not to get the chance to dive as much as I would like, however that has not dampened my enthusiasm for the industry. I still love listening to the customers tell me about their days diving and what weird and wonderful stuff they encountered underwater, and I still get a buzz when I see people blow bubbles for the first time – the smiles that result after that first breath are awesome!
Life is good as a diving instructor.
