We're up at 6am and in the water at Hing Wang Pinnacle by 8:13. This will be our deepest dive of the program, at 18 meters. We see more our orthodontically-challenged red-breasted wrasse friends in addition to the Gulf regulars - banner fish, parrot fish, and butterfly fish. But this dive is particularly exciting as we also encounter a black and white sea snake slithering through the coral bed and a giant sea turtle swimming regally before descending for a nosh.
Despite the early morning dive time, the site is packed with other dive groups and it's become a bit of a chaotic underwater Times Square. Sound travels 4X faster underwater, so small noises can be heard from a much further distance. Especially the sound of banging on one's cylinder, the universal dive code for "Attention!". One instructor bangs on his cylinder so much that every dive group is in a state of paranoia, constantly pausing and staring at their instructor for direction. Yvonne takes one for the team and shows this annoying gentleman why her nickname is derived from The Terminator ("Germantor").
Our final dive is at 11am at Aow Leuk. We've passed our written final exam by this point and now just need to perform each skill perfectly under water. After endless practice for three days, we all pass with flying colors. Next we circle up and Yvonne surprises us by passing out our SSI Open Water Certification cards under water. We celebrate by dancing like hooligans (I do the YMCA), performing somersaults, blowing rings of air that rival veteran cigar smokers, and erecting an underwater pyramid. Everyone is smiling, laughing and generally elated. For onlookers, it resembled something like this:
Three days down and now I'm certified to dive up to 18 meters anywhere in the world. And I don't want it to end.
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