Discover SCUBA Diving is a PADI program during which the participant gets to experience what it’s like to dive whilst being closely supervised by one of our PADI instructors.
The program appeals especially to guests who may not have enough time during their visit to Bunaken in order to complete the open water diver course (which would take 4 days to complete) or to those who do not wish to commit to a 4 day course whilst not being sure they will like it. The program is usually run in the morning starting at 8 AM and finishes by 12 noon which is another reason it fits in many travelers’ schedules.
For our guests Billy, Cindy and Alex from China, the Discover Scuba Diving program was exactly what they were looking for. They arrived to the resort in the morning at 7 AM after leaving their hotel in Manado at 6 AM. (YES! we can arrange a day trip if you prefer to sleep in Manado).
Our instructor Sam and Divemaster trainee Vilia were quick to get these guys sized up for diving equipment and after breakfast at 8 AM, these very excited guests were off to our swimming pool where they received a 45 minute briefing on what the Discover Scuba Diving program entailed.
After the briefing finished, excitement noticeably grew as the newbie divers got into their scuba kits for the first time in their life, ready to enter the pool. Sam showed them a few basic dive skills and they had a splash around the pool finding out what it’s like to be completely weightless and be able to swim around like a fish!
The morning boat returned to the resort after the first dive to pick up this extremely chatty and excited bunch as they were all ready for their first ever dive in the sea. We picked a beautiful spot close to the resort where the conditions were just perfect – no current, awesome visibility and lots and lots of FISH!
The dive lasted almost 50 minutes as they were great on air and the smiles on their faces after the dive…simply priceless. We have already heard they are planning to come back to become certified divers on their next visit to Indonesia!
Besides Discover Scuba Diving, our instructors have been busy teaching the Advanced Open Water and Nitrox courses to Russ and Amber, Thijs, Peter and Eszter and Corinna who have just completed her open water diver course. We currently have Uning in house who is our instructor trainer from Indonesia, and she has been doing a fabulous job brushing our guides rescue skills up and teaching the Nitrox course to those who had not had the time to complete it during the high season.
All in all, a very productive week here on Bunaken, where the sun is still shining and the walls are still some of the most beautiful we have ever seen…come join us for a dive? We can assure you, you will not be disappointed!
