Mother Earth or Mother Water: Scuba Diving in Utila, Honduras

Scientists have long claimed that we know more about the surface of the moon than the surface of our oceans. This seems paradoxical to me. How can a place as close and ubiquitous as the oceans remain such a mystery in the 21st century? To make this paradox more apparent: the name of this planet is Earth and many ancient cultures have referred to it as Mother Earth, yet 2/3 of its surface are covered with water, evolution shows that the human race evolved from fish and each of us spent the first 9 months on this planet in water.

What I am trying to suggest is that the element water is everywhere on this planet and constitutes the basis for all life. I have long felt a strong connection to water and have wanted to experience the magic of the underwater world. When I heard about the possibility of outstanding diving off the coast of Honduras, I had to go. I have spent countless hour snorkelling and observing the underwater world from above. Yet scuba diving is distinctly different. You get to see the underwater world right in front of your eyes (without shortness of breath) by becoming part of it, by amercing yourself in it.

The plethora of colors, shapes and sizes of fish, plants and corals that the Caribbean waters exhibit is truly spectacular. With every consecutive dive I see new species of this in different colors and shapes and gain an even deeper appreciation of the diversity of this new world.

It is a new world indeed because different laws of physics seem to apply: I am referring to the feeling of weightlessness brought about by the neural buoyancy the diver establishes in the water. Suspended in the ocean- motionless – as if flying without any movement of flapping your wings, allowing you to turn, flip or spin in any direction effortlessly. But the feeling of “weightlessness” is not the only sense that is skewed. Sound travels 4 times as fast in water than in air, which makes it almost impossible to tell where it comes from. Your vision is much narrower than on earth because of the restrictive nature of the diving mask. Of course the other senses: smell, touch and taste are completely distorted as well, making a visit to the underwater world an adventure for all your senses.

A dream within a dream: 25 meters is the reading on my depth meter. Although it is bright and sunny on the surface, at this depth much of the sunlight has been absorbed and only a diffused twilight reaches my eyes. Gradually the sunken ship “Halliburton” comes into view below me as I sink towards the bottom of the ocean. At 30 meters (100 feet) depth my knees gently land on a patch of sand next to the ship. I look around and find myself in a magical, surreal new world. Circling the ship I cannot help feeling like I was visiting the Titanic submerged on the bottom of the ocean and feel like I am insight a dream because what I am experiencing around me seems unreal; a vision much more reminiscent of a dream than reality.

The oceans by night: another spectacular experience was a recent night dive. Similarly to how a familiar place can convert itself to an unrecognizable location at night, the ocean changes its face completely at night. Colors are much weaker almost appearing black and white, and while most fish are sleeping, new nocturnal fish have awoken and replace them: octopus, shrimp, lobster, spotted drum fish. The small spot illuminated by your flashlight is the only thing you see as darkness completely surrounds you. A fun experiment is to turn your light off for a while and flying weightless through complete darkness only hearing the sound of your breath. The highlight of this night dive was a large blue octopus that all of a sudden appeared in front of us, wrapping its long arms around everything in its reach in pursuit of a meal, not swimming but crawling, seemingly extending ever new arms in unpredictable directions.

If someone has ever felt bored with life wondering if there is more to it, I can only recommend diving as a striking display of a beautiful new world, so close to us but yet very mysterious, different and magical.