Jumping into the cold ocean at night and not seeing anything around me, up to about 10 feet, was very exhilarating and scary at the same time. Taking that initial leap into the water felt like sitting down in a chair at the salon/barber. You’re trusting this person to take care of you while having little control of how it turns out. So there I was, trusting the ocean to be my friend and hopefully take care of me, and she most certainly did.
As soon as the cold water hit my toes, I was momentarily shocked. Whenever we first jump from the boat to the water, we float and wait for the others to join, so we can all descend together. While floating in this dark black water, I was very nervous. I had no idea what was swimming and lurking around me, past where my flashlight was shining. While waiting, I started looking and taking in the scenes around me. In the distance, I could see the lights from all the docks and restaurants, glowing like tiny little orbs in the distance. The mountains that ran along the island were huge and mysterious. I could hear the music from the bars, with the deep base thumping and all the party goers living and enjoying their night. I could even smell the faint, but rich, aromas of fried seafood food from local bars and restaurants. Roatan is a very beautiful island, even in the night. When I looked up I could see millions of tiny stars, twinkling like diamonds back at me, noticeably more bright since there was no moon that night.
Once everyone was in the water, we checked to make sure we were all ready, and off we went. Descending into the depths of the ocean, I constantly looked around. I could see all the dim white lights from my fellow divers, curiously looking around, trying to find creatures of the sea. Hearing a faint tap, we all looked to our dive leader who was pointing out an a brownish-red octopus. Everyone started slowing swimming to our destination, pointing things out along the way. We saw an eel, who was quite scary with its grungy green color and mouth like a sea monster. The bright arrangements of fish sleeping under and around the coral. It was very interesting, seeing the normally hectic and crazy ocean so peaceful at night, like a day care at nap time. After about twenty minutes of traveling, we stop at a big clear opening surrounded by giant rocks and coral. As we had discussed before the dive, everyone rests on the sea floor, grabs their partners hand, and the lights go out.
For the first five minutes, I wait for my eyes to adjust. Since I cannot see, all my senses are heightened. I hear the heavy exhaling of my regulator, in and out. The faint taste of salt water mixed with the taste of bottled air. There in that moment, I felt so out of control of what was happening, not knowing which way was up or down. The only thing that kept me grounded was the feel of my best friends hand in mine. But then, all of a sudden, these tiny little lights start twinkling, like Christmas lights or fireflies slowing falling, giving is our own personal light show. ALL AROUND ME! If you have ever seen the movie, Avatar, it was like seeing something from their world. Everything around me was pitch black, while hundreds of these lights just fall around me, dancing to their own tune of the night. The dive leader soon comes to Jake and I, and leads us around in the dark to swim through them. The feeling of seeing something so amazing is honestly the best thing I have ever experienced. As we sit and swim around, beauty is surrounding us. While we waited for everyone to take their turn, we kept waving our hands around, creating what looked like sparks coming off our hands, called bioluminescence.
After everyone got to swim around with the instructor, we begin our swim back to the boat, still with no light. By now, our eyes have somewhat adjusted. I mainly relied on my friends hand and the bioluminescence coming off of the bubbles from everyone in front of us. To me, this was the scariest part of the dive. Our leader has being doing this for so long, his eyes adjusted a lot easier than mine did, so I had no sense of direction. I put my faith in him 100%, even though the urge to turn my light back on was strong.
Once we made it back to and safely on the boat, everyone was over the moon with joy over what we had just witnessed. Our instructor then explained that what we seen was actually a mating ritual between tiny crustaceans, called ostracod. Once the high from the experience wore off, it was freezing. We all bundled up in large, plush, long jackets with the inside in the same material of a towel, and took the quick ride back to the docks. If I ever get the chance to do this dive again, I would in a heartbeat. Even with all the words in the world, I feel like none of them can do what I seen justice for you to completely understand how amazing this was.
kayyla
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