@polebird: 🐠 Tales of my first dive and snorkeling the amazing Great Barrier Reef- Part 2 🐠

Snorkeling and swimming amongst the fish is an amazing way to observe life under the sea. It was such a treat to have gotten to visit and swim at the Great Barrier Reef located off the coast of Cairns, Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is teeming with life. When I jumped into the water and got my first glimpse, I was absolutely blown away by the abundance of colorful inhabitants living at the outer reefs. This is part two of my underwater photography from my swim. If you missed part one, you can check it out here.

I have no idea what species of fish these are, but they are so beautiful!

We also signed up for our first dive ever. I didn't get certified, due to the issue of time. I still wanted to try diving, so we opted to do an intro dive. This consisted of a short presentation while we were on the boat and our instructor guiding us with hand signals as we descended down below the surface for the first time.

It was a bit nerve wracking, but still a neat experience since you can explore the depths of the reef. The outer reef had some areas with huge drop offs and coral stacked upon coral. I was a bit nervous because the instructors made it quite clear that you must remember to keep breathing. Holding my breath is what I am used to underwater (trying NOT to drink and breathe sea water)- I've been swimming since I was little and was even on swim team, so it was hard to break the habit. I believe they said that if you hold your breath, you can mess up your lungs.

I would love to possible take a longer lesson next time on diving because I really don't remember anything I was taught on the intro dive. Perhaps I would feel more comfortable and be able to continuing exploring the ocean via diving. It is a much different feel than snorkeling.

We even saw a sea turtle on the dive. Lucky us! :)

Thanks for reading! Any steemians avid divers? Opinions on diving vs snorkeling or any tips on NOT holding your breath while diving?

Love,
Jess