29 Jul Discover Diving at Santa Catalina
By Natalie Warner
Diving has been on my bucket list for as long as I could remember. I cannot exactly pinpoint one thing in particular that captivated me so much about diving. All I know is that I wanted to experience it and see a foreign world first hand. The time had come to finally take action and try diving.
Panama Dive Center in Santa Catalina is where my husband and I choose to experience our first diving experience. We had heard great things about them from other people, so we thought we would give it a try. Not sure whether we would enjoy diving, we opted for the Discover Diving option rather than a certification program (although PADI certification courses are offered).
We stopped by the shop the day prior to our dive and got fitted for our fins and masks. Never been diving, we had no idea what to expect. The staff at Panama Dive Center was more than willing to answer any questions we had.
This also held true for the next day when it was time to dive around Coiba Island. Our instructor briefed us in great detail about basic skills we would be practicing in a calm and shallow (4m/12 feet) bay. Practicing in this area was a prime opportunity to get acquainted with our equipment and practice breathing while underwater; maybe it is me, and although it does get easier, breathing underwater the first time is not second nature! Our instructor made sure we were both comfortable before we went off for our first dive site.
The experience of diving was unreal and I can understand why it was a bucket list item for me. Snorkeling is fun but it is like seeing a movie in 2D. Diving provides a completely different experience and is like seeing a 3D movie. During one of our dives we were surrounded by a school of fish. Not long after we saw two types of sea turtles. We also saw varieties of eels, octopus and various types of fish.
Diving around Coiba was a full day. It was our first time diving, but it will not be our last. Exploring under water was an unreal experience. Seeing a variety of marine life was an experience like any other and one that I would encourage anyone curious about to further explore.