From My Travel Journals: Diving at Manta Point
This time last year I was roaming about in Bali and hanging with turtles. Being the nostalgic person I am I decided now would be the perfect time to look back at my travel journal and relive some of my Bali memories.
Today I'm sharing some words for you, straight from my travel journal, about the day I went diving on Nusa Penida.
Ready to dive!
"This morning Syd, Cal and I grabbed a quick bite for breakfast then headed to the dive shop for our day of diving! We hopped in the back of a truck for the quick cruise to the beach, boarded our boat boat with our dive master Rein and off we went! We cruised for about 45 min to Manta Point for our first dive! Syd and I kitted up and headed down into the water.
Getting kitted up and ready to dive
I had a much easier descent than I did in the lake during my certification! Our deepest point of the dive was just around 18 meters. We didn't see any mantas during the dive, but we spotted a turtle and of course loads of brightly colored fish! After about 30 min we ended the first dive. Almost immediately after Syd and I got back on the boat and out of our equipment a manta was spotted! Rein helped up hurry back into our fins and we hopped back in the water to snorkel with the manta! Once the manta had made its way out of our area we hopped back in the boat and off we went! As we drove, we kept our eyes out for more mantas. Each time we spotted one we would stop to watch it, waiting for a chance to get back in the water with them! Eventually, we got back into the water at another snorkel spot and saw 2 mantas that hung around the area for a while with us.
Hanging out with the Manta
From here, we headed to Crystal Bay for our second dive. Dive #2 was about 40 min and was INCREDIBLE. The reef looked like something straight from the pages of National Geographic. In addition to more fish of every color we also spotted Mola Mola, one of the main draws to diving at Crystal Bay.
Rein was amazing! He was super helpful, like when my fin came off while I was descending during our first dive. He also found Syd and I just as funny as we found ourselves, laughing at our nonsense with us. There was lots of laughing through our regulators when Rein shot Syd a thumbs up and instead of doing the same back she just reached out and grabbed onto his thumb.
I really couldn't have asked for a better dive master or dive buddy for my first ocean dive.
The last 3 days just keep melting my heart; there have been so many moments of overwhelming happiness. Today, that was playing in the ocean, seeing new creatures, hysterically laughing with Syd, and the comical situation that was me using up all of my cash and going just about broke because the dive shop didn't take cards, the ATM wouldn't work and the money changer was closed.
Today's dive really gave me more peace of mind going into the diving I'll be doing in Madagascar!"
This dive was honestly a mental game changer to me while on this trip! I was so nervous about moving on from Bali to Madagascar, where I would be diving daily. Diving was (and still is honestly) so new to me that I was nervous and scared of the unfamiliar. This dive was not only my first ocean dive, but it was my first dive outside of my certification dives. It was perfect having it be in gorgeous, tropical, blue waters with really good people.
Enjoying the scenic boat ride!
I totally get why some people have a fear of the ocean or are unsure about diving, but if you get the chance I recommend giving it a shot! There is a whole other world beneath the surface that is waiting to be explored!