helmet diving in boracay, an OA account
Warning: OA account I am a sissy. And there's something about the sea and huge waves that make me think of morbid thoughts. But I survived my first helmet dive! Hooray! When I first heard of helmet diving, I thought people were brought down into a huge controlled aquarium (think ocean park or ocean adventure) to get up close with various sea creatures. I didn't realize that it actually entailed going down 15 feet below the open sea until our speedboat was almost to the floating barge where the helmet and oxygen tanks were stationed together with the divers. Understandably, I had cold feet. All my bravado and yes-to-adventure attitude were gone with the sea breeze. We had to go through a brief orientation before the actual experience. We were taught a few sign language to communicate with the divers while under the sea. I tried to memorize only the important ones - 'Up' and 'Not okay!'. The guide also informed us that the helmet is very heavy but it becomes light...