You had fallen into the trap of being goaded into taking some diving lessons, and the next thing you know, bam! You’re on a trip to the Maldives to snorkel in Hanifaru Bay, in a fit of excitement to check out the surreal beauty of the archipelago. But what if halfway, your confidence falls through?
The sight of Maldives when you’re coming in to land at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in Malé can be astoundingly beautiful and for a select few, terrifying. The beauty is of course, the near miraculous outlines of the Atolls fringed by aqua lagoons and tiny patches of white and green islands, not unlike omelets sunny side up. These atolls were once a series of mountains, or even volcanoes, worn down to sea level over the course of millions of years, way before human beings have ever walked on the planet.
And if you’re in the latter bunch, who clutch at their seat upon the sight of the archipelago, yes, some of the dive spots in the Maldives needs experience, but don’t worry, there are plenty of places where you can go diving, or even snorkeling, with proper guidance.
Getting to know Maldives, underwater
One of the easiest ways to get used to diving, without all the paraphernalia at the beginning is to go free diving with just a snorkel, mask and fins. Free diving lets you get used to what you’ll be seeing and feeling, without the apprehension of all the complicated procedures, and the ever constant worry of getting the “bends” or decompression sickness.
No matter how deep you dive on a free dive and how fast you surface, you’ll never get the bends, because there are no additional gasses in your circulatory system other than what you had in your lungs to begin with. Of course, there’s no better feeling than to swim up and break the surface of the water like a dolphin while free diving… something I learnt you can’t do while diving. Click here for more info about diving in the Maldives.
