Underwater!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Being underwater is the closest feeling to flying, and who doesn't dream of flying? You become totally weightless and free to move however you want. You get a bird's eye view of the ocean floor drifting beneath you and it feels like you're parachuting over a beautiful planet. My mind could hardly fathom that the beauty underwater wasn't made by man but 100% natural. The coral and plants often looked like they were designed and built with the help of an architect. I couldn't help but feel giddy every time I bumped into a school of fish. It's amazing to be completely surrounded by so much marine life.   

After scuba diving in Thailand, I wondered why more girls don't dive... there is so much color, sparkle, bubbles, and dancing light. It's impossible not to feel like a mermaid. It's truly magical and there is no way photos can convey the feeling.

We dived a total of 14 times and each time the boat docked at a different spot along the Similan Islands. Some cool things we saw: turtles, manta ray, freaky-looking eels, dragon fish, 4 foot long tunas, puffer  fish (blows up into a spiky ball!), star fish, sea horses, Nemo and a ton of his cousins. We were really hoping to see some leopard sharks that are in the area, but no such luck. 

Scuba diving is truly an experience unlike any other. I have been around the ocean so often but never took the time to think about what is under the surface. It's an amazing discovery and I think every person needs to dive at least once in their life. There's got to be a reason that God made so much beauty and life underwater. 

- Julia

P.S. 
These photos were taken by our dive partner and friend, Steve, who had underwater housing for his compact camera. Light waves travel differently underwater and objects lose their color the deeper you go, so you need to have special equipment for underwater photography which we didn't have. The images look very blue/faded which is not how we saw them with our eyes!

The scariest thing we saw was a bunch of Moray Eels. We usually found them winding through coral or grass or we would spot one standing perfectly still with it's head poking out. Every time I saw one it made me stop in my tracks. These guys were 1-2 meters long. It doesn't help that they have a really mean glare and opened and closed their mouth so you could see teeth inside! 

18 comments :

  1. i love all of these pictures so much! my boyfriend talked me into getting certified a few years back, but i've never been able to bring a camera down with me and capture pictures like these. It was so hard for me to explain to people why I loved diving so much, but I think you said it perfectly. it was the colors that I loved, it truly was like a real life finding nemo! love yalls blog (and so jealous your honeymoon!) keep up the great posts!

    ReplyDelete
  2. How cool - I'm finally getting SCUBA certified next month, and this post has made me even more excited!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I went diving for the first time in Hawaii - it is so amazing! I'll admit though, there was a little panicky part of me way in down in the pit of my stomach that I had to keep at bay. It's such a surreal experience breathing under water...

    ReplyDelete
  4. wow this looks absolutely incredible. if just the photographs turned out that amazing then I can't imagine what it was like to see it with your own eyes. Definitely something to put on my bucket list!

    ReplyDelete
  5. ahhhh how fun! I always think that scuba diving would make me feel claustrophobic instead of free and floaty. I must give it a try!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This looks like a blast!!! Did you take scuba lessons?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I agree that moray eels are totally freaky. I think eagle rays are scary too - like an underwater bat. Yuck.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello, this pic of you two underwater view from above is amazing, loving it! Thanks for sharing, thumbs up!

    ReplyDelete
  9. All of these photos are beautiful and inspiring! I would love to be where you guys are :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. amazing post! great pictures!

    http://traveloguewithlove.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  11. What an amazing experience! Seeing all the fish must have been amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. you guys inspire me more than you could possibly know.

    ReplyDelete
  13. regardless of he lack of proper camera equipment for underwater photography these shots are still great.

    ReplyDelete
  14. couldn't agree more. being underwater is the BEST feeling, hence why i want to move back to hawaii when and if i can. beautiful lil critters, too. the first time i went under i felt like janis - a bit panicked - but i overcame that when i opened my eyes :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. wow this is just amazing!!! One day I will be brave enough to dive under water and see what's below. Amazing photos

    ReplyDelete
  16. Freaky looking eels ha ha ha, yeah they are...The manta rays have to be the best out here though, majestically flying through the ocean. They're my favourite

    ReplyDelete