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Unique scuba diving in different places of the globe

There are a lot of different beautiful underwater depths in the world that you can see by putting on scuba gear and an underwater mask. These places may differ in terms of comfort both on land and when organizing an underwater trip. Some of them are on the edge of the earth, while others are very close. Some differ in warm water, while others are icy! But they are all beautiful, unique, and amazing! We will talk about some of them. And one of the best things about scuba diving is that while on land, you can get a local private tour guide who will show you the sights on land, while another private instructor guide with scuba diving experience takes you to the underground deep realms!

When diving, you can explore underwater life as close as possible... with good lighting, of course!

Scuba diving in Egypt

The most accessible and well-organized underwater scuba diving is in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, for example, in such cities as Marsa Alam, Hurghada, and Sharm El Sheikh. Here you can easily arrange group scuba diving on a small yacht or catamaran with up to 20-30 passengers, of which 10 people will be crew members who will take care not only of your scuba diving but also of your buffet and a comfortable overnight stay.

Wetsuits, scuba gear, air tanks and other necessary diving equipment - all ready for your next yacht dive in the Red Sea

The Egyptian Red Sea coast is known for the fact that the waters of the Red Sea are very warm and you can dive here almost throughout the calendar year, but they are especially interesting in winter when at shallow depths you can meet almost all mammals of the sea, ranging from large manta rays to quiet peaceful hammerhead sharks or ordinary sharks!

Hammerheads or Ampoules of Lorenzini are also found in other sharks, but the specific shape of the head of the hammerhead shark allows it to fit more sensors that are sensitive to electromagnetic vibrations, which increases hunting efficiency. Thanks to these pores, the shark can find electricity, as well as detect prey on the ocean floor. Other shark species also have these organs, but hammerhead sharks have many more. The third advantage of hammerhead sharks is that the "hammerhead" allows the fish to turn faster while swimming. Binocular vision is especially important for predators as it helps them to correctly judge the distance to their prey. The hypothesis of binocular vision has received experimental confirmation: it turned out that the wider the head, the more overlapping areas of vision of the eyes, and the better the "image" received by the shark.

Let us make a reservation right away for those who are not particularly knowledgeable in scuba diving, that although there are so many terrible and frightening legends about sharks, and of course, according to all the instructions, they need to stay away, nevertheless these marine mammals are very shy in themselves and try not to get close to people. They are also frightened by these strange creatures underwater, which twist their legs and arms, and head in different directions, so the shark itself will be more afraid of you at depth than you should be afraid of it.

Is the hammerhead shark dangerous to humans?
1. No, it is not dangerous when it comes to whether a person is a systematic object of shark hunting. These predators do not feed on people and do not consider humans as prey.😂😅😃
2. Yes, it is dangerous when it comes to cases of attacks on people. Such sad incidents of history are known. Moreover, the hammerhead shark is one of the ten most dangerous sharks for humans in terms of the possibility of unprovoked aggression.🫣😳😬

If it happens that you are close to a shark, say at a distance of 10 m, then the best thing is to freeze and not make any attractive movements. As a rule, a shark is well aware of its own size and the size of potential prey, so if you are too large prey for it, it is unlikely that it will not show any interest in you!

Chromodoris Magnifica is very rare to meet sea slug, a species of nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae. Chromodoris Magnifica can reach a maximum size of 60 mm (2.4 in) in length. The body is elongated with a foot which is distinct from the upper body by a skirt-like mantle hiding partially the foot. The branched gills and the rhinophores are an orange color and can be withdrawn into specific pockets under the skin in case of danger. The specific epithet Magnifica in Chromodoris Magnifica means magnificent, so-named because of this nudibranch's striking, vibrant colors. Chromodoris Magnifica can be distinguished by its submarginal orange border. It feeds on red and grey sponges.

In addition to large fish in the Red Sea, you can find a huge number of octopuses, moray eels, stingrays, and various small aquarium fishes! They will be happy to take pictures with you and such shots are very much appreciated on the surface of the Earth, believe us! And it will be an unforgettable experience for you, too!

Little Brother Atoll in the Red Sea. Above, the drawing shows the inhabitants that can be found along its wall, and below is a natural photo of this atoll in the middle of the sea at low tide. As you can see even in the picture, sharks are its regular visitors!

The approximate cost of a weekly scuba diving tour in Egypt, depending on the comfort of your vessel, will be from 2,000 to 3,000 euros, including a rented suit, scuba gear, instructors, accommodation, and meals on board.

Sometimes turtles like to lie on the corals, relax a little, and pose for the ubiquitous paparazzi!

And of course, after going ashore after a week-long water cruise, where you were engaged exclusively in scuba diving, making 2 or even 4 dives a day, you will find yourself on land, and here Egypt will provide you with many other opportunities to explore Egyptian ancient sights along with local tourist guides speaking many European and Asian languages.

The underwater natural beauty of the Red Sea can be alternated with a tour of the great Egyptian man-made antiquities, such as Luxor, in the company of a local private tour guide!

They will show you not only the beautiful tombs and palaces of Luxor but will also take you to the nearby dam at Aswan, an equally impressive modern architectural structure. And then you can proceed to Cairo to see the famous Giza Pyramids, so the combination of sea + land in a country like Egypt is the most convenient for a traveler who wants to immediately see the beautiful and unforgettable not only from the outside but also from the inside of our multifaceted Earth!

Iconic Friendship of Sea Anemone and Clownfish. This adaptation not only allows clownfish to get near anemones without hesitation, but they often make their homes within the anemone's tentacles for protection and food. The partnership between anemones and clownfish is known as mutualism because it provides benefits to both animals.

Scuba diving in the Maldives

From the point of view of excursions and tours, the Maldives are not of particular interest, and there is no special land there - small islands, atolls, and water-water water... The flight to the capital of the Maldives, Male, is quite far and it is most convenient to make it from Singapore; Paris, France, Tokyo, Japan, or Cairns, Australia.

This mini jet takes off and lands exclusively on the water, it will take you to the atoll-resort you have chosen earlier in 10-40 minutes, depending on the distance from the capital of the Maldives - the city of Male!

The archipelago itself is located on the equator and, accordingly, is distinguished by the very warm waters of the Indian Ocean. The islands are a real paradise on earth, where you can completely forget the bustle of the city with its stress and bad weather. Palm trees, sun loungers, white sand, friendly staff, and a light breeze will meet you on any of the 1000 atolls that can be reached by micro plane from the capital of Male.

And during the flight from the porthole, you will admire the atolls that hide from outsiders the unprecedented beauty of the underwater world!

When approaching your archipelago, you will already be amazed at how beautiful the ocean looks with its currents from a bird's eye view. And soon you will be able to dive deep into these depths of the sea. And although, as we have already mentioned, the water here is quite warm, do not forget that this is an open ocean and, accordingly, the atolls are washed by very strong currents. For a beginner, this can be a true test, but at the same time, good combat training, because after these currents, any other, anywhere in the world, will seem like nothing to you.

No matter how deep you are, you will always be surrounded by the motley cheerful company!

But how nice it is to be at a shear wall of corals, which can reach 20 m in height, which is all covered with corals and algae, in which outlandish fish and other marine life such as seahorses, shrimps, small crustaceans of infinite beauty hide.

The color of manti can be from light gray and snow-white, to jet black with white dots. Each individual has a unique body color, which makes it possible to identify them from photographs that are stored in a special database. Mantas swim very gracefully, flapping their pectoral fins like wings. Manta is the largest of the rays, the body width of some individuals can reach 9 m (4-4.5 meters on average), and the mass of large specimens is up to 3 tons. These fish feed on zooplankton by filtering it out of the water. Manta rays often swim to coral reefs where fish and crustaceans feed on the parasites these rays suffer from. Mantas come here for hygiene - to clean themselves. They swim up to the rocks overgrown with corals among which small reef fish hide and allow them to clean their gills and skin from parasites. Manta rays are not afraid of people at all, and if divers do not scare and do not chase manta rays, then the rays themselves can swim very close.

But it’s even more fabulous when you catch one of these currents and learn to cope with it, hover in the depths and look up and find yourself under the shadow of a floating school of giant manta rays slowly hovering above you. Indeed, they will appear to float smoothly against the blue sky above!

Just a short list of those fish and mammal specimens that can be found in the Indian Ocean in the Maldives

Here you can find a large number of other fish and mammals that prefer to live in warm ocean waters - gray reef sharks, Napoleon, tuna, blue perches and turtles, triggerfish, groupers, rays, and mantis shrimp, but any swim is best done either in a group or accompanied by a local instructor who knows the tides and all the currents that are found on this atoll. After scuba diving, it's nice to relax in a hammock among palm trees while drinking coconut milk!

The anemone's tentacles provide the clownfish with protection from predators, while the clownfish chase away butterfly fish that would eat the anemone. More recently, Nanette Chadwick from Auburn University in Alabama showed that the fish also fertilize the anemone with their ammonia-rich waste

You can go to the Maldives all year round! However, each season has its own characteristics.

  • January - April are considered ideal months for scuba diving due to the absence of winds and excellent visibility underwater.
  • May - July is considered the rainy season. However, rainy days give way to sunny ones, so this period is also quite suitable for scuba diving, but prices in usually expensive hotels are significantly reduced.
  • August - December is the best time to see manta rays and whale sharks. But the abundance of plankton in the water can slightly worsen visibility.

In my opinion, it's time to revisit the Steven Spielberg movie "Jaws", filmed in 1975. The film's budget was 7 million US dollars, and box office - 476 million dollars!

Scuba diving in the Hawaiian Islands

From the outside, it may seem that the Hawaiian Islands are a great place to dive, but this will entirely depend on where you make your dives in Hawaii. If you follow the simplest path and contact any travel agency in Honolulu with a request for scuba diving, then you will be offered to dive near the central beaches of Honolulu, while you will be promised underwater sunken planes and ships and other outlandish things.

Strictly regulated diving technique and underwater behavior is the law for any diver!

In fact, these places near the central beaches of Honolulu have nothing romantic at all with these stories. Yes, you can see a World War II plane sunk, covered with rust and shells, in the fuselage of which 2-3 lone fish swim, but the water and ecology along the central beaches of the island leave much to be desired, so the ocean world here is very scarce.

The study of sunken ships, aircraft, or tankers is a separate and interesting direction in diving. After all, every diver dreams of sooner or later finding a sunken Spanish frigate with a hold full of gold and jewelry!

If you are a wreck hunter, then there are a couple of tankers that you can inspect at depth, and you can swim in the hold inside with a lantern. At the same time, do not forget where the entrance is so that later you can easily find a way out of this sunken device. This is sometimes risky, as we mentioned it's usually dark and needs extra lighting, but you'll be truly rejuvenated when you meet those marine animals and fish that prefer to stay in the shade rather than the sunlight - barracudas, and lionfish. Here is the most expanse for them, so be prepared for surprises.

Anthias marine goldfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish from the grouper and sea bass family Serranidae. It is associated with reefs. It is found in the aquarium trade, too.

Scuba diving in the Philippines

If you find yourself in Manila, then you will need to buy a ticket to any of the islands located far from this capital, for example, if you go to the island of El Nido, Bohol, or Boracay, then there you will be rewarded with beautiful sunsets among the green mountain islands, emerging from the water here and there, and in the daytime, you can make amazing dives into the depths of the straits that separate these mountain-islands.

Preparing for the morning dive at 06.00 am: now all the equipment will be loaded onto a fragile boat that will take divers to a beautiful new diving site near the island of El Nido in the Philippines

Among the local beauties you can find a large number of colorful beautiful fish, a variety of turtles and sharks, and other marine life, but do not forget that the warmer the ocean water, the more diverse it is in aquarium fishes, which we used to look at in a jar under glass, but here they will surround you from all sides and swim close to you because you represent the same unique exhibit for them as they are for you!

Just one step, and you find yourself in a completely different, new, magnificent underwater world!

The organization of underwater scuba diving in the Philippines is excellent, and modern technology is used everywhere, although scuba diving can be done on local flimsy boats, do not be afraid, as the equipment meets all safety standards, while scuba diving prices are lower than in Egypt! And among the locals, there are a lot of ex-pat instructors who probably speak your language.

Sponges (on the lower left corner) are similar to other animals in that they are multicellular, heterotrophic, lack cell walls, and produce sperm cells. Unlike other animals, they lack true tissues and organs. The shapes of their bodies are adapted for maximal efficiency of water flow through the central cavity, where the water deposits nutrients and then leaves through a hole called the osculum. Many sponges have internal skeletons of fragments of calcium carbonate or silicon dioxide, and/or spongin - a modified type of collagen protein. All adult sponges are sessile aquatic animals, meaning that they attach to an underwater surface and remain fixed in place, and never move. Sponges are noted for their wide range of collaborations with other organisms. The relatively large encrusting sponge Lissodendoryx Colombians is most common on rocky surfaces, but has extended its range into seagrass meadows by letting itself be surrounded or overgrown by seagrass sponges, which are distasteful to the local starfish and therefore protect Lissodendoryx against them; in return, the seagrass sponges get higher positions away from the sea-floor sediment. Sponges have medicinal potential due to the presence of sponges themselves or their microbial symbionts of chemicals that may be used to control viruses, bacteria, tumors, and fungi. 

Scuba diving on Baikal

No less exotic can be scuba diving in cold waters, for example, in Lake Baikal where Irkutsk, Russia, where the water temperature during the dive will be plus 4 degrees Celsius or 39 degrees Fahrenheit.

Not every diver is ready to dive into the icy water even in an insulated suit...

And you will have to put on a warm wetsuit and special scuba gear so as not to freeze in this cold water, but on the other hand, the underwater landscape will be significantly different from what you are used to seeing in the tropics or the latitude of the equator. There is a completely different amount of algae and fish, which are so different in behavior and appearance, but you will not find such a unique cold landscape anywhere else.

The Baikal seal is an exceptional and the only freshwater animal of the smallest, but, nevertheless, the most real seal! Their population today is counted at about one hundred thousand species, and this number is perfectly correlated with the proportions and allowable capacity of Lake Baikal itself, and it is noteworthy that nothing menaces this population today. The wool of these animals consists of natural silky-white dense fur. These seals live only in Baikal lake. Until now, scientists remain unrevealed about the fact of how these small animals ended up in the lake. The exterior form of the skull is very similar to the Caspian seals that live many hundreds of kilometers from Lake Baikal. It is possible that Lake Baikal could be connected by rivers to any ocean or to another ancient pool formed during the previous ice age. According to scientists, seals appeared on Lake Baikal at least 2 million years ago. Baikal seals can dive to depths of 400 m (1,300 ft) and stay beneath for at least 40 minutes, but their standard dive is only 2-4 minutes. Baikal seals have 2 liters of blood more in their bodies than other seals of similar size and can be active deep in water for up to 70 minutes when afraid or fleeing from a life threat. Baikal seals have special teeth that let them extract water while eating. Another characteristic individual element of these seals is that Baikal cutties have invented different tactics for searching for food at night and during the daytime in summer. In the daytime, they use visual observation to uncover their prey, which is mostly fish, but at night, seals use tactile vibrations to prey on another species of crustacean living in the lake.
 

The Baikal flora and fauna are unique, many of the 2600 species are endemic, which you will not find anywhere else on earth. The slopes of underwater rocks are covered with hanging sponges. In shallow water, the sponges are bright green, bushy and tall, up to half a meter high.

Bennett's feather star (the lower right corner) is one of the larger species of crinoids, growing up to 30 cm. It is a filter-feeder, indicating it does not hunt down food, it catches food poised in the water column to ingest. It is found between 5 and 25 meters and up to 40 meters in depth, prefers to inhabit revealed coral leads, and is rheophilic, representing the preference to live where currents flow more powerfully. This positioning provides more food floats, hence boosting nutrient uptake. Bennett's feather star has both females and males someones. Duplication occurs when some of the pinnules explode, releasing gametes into the water. Sperm will fertilize eggs, which will hatch to produce free-swimming larvae. These larvae settle after a few days, where they begin to cultivate their stalk and start to grow

With depth, the size of the sponges noticeably decreases, and their color is lost due to a decrease in solarization. Of the mollusks, two species are most common - baicalia and benediction, forming clusters on the walls of canyons. Hundreds of species of small amphipods and planaria flatworms live in Baikal. Of the large representatives of crustaceans, there are Acanthogammarus and Carinogamarus, reaching 10 cm in length. If you are lucky, you can also meet the giant planaria Baikaloplana, reaching 40 cm in length.

And those brave divers who dare to enter the icy water of Lake Baikal will be rewarded with authentic beauties of ice refracted in the sunlight!

Of the fish among the stones, Baikal endemics are often found - sculpins of various types and colors. You can also see grayling, omul, and other fish of commercial importance. The Baikal seal - nerpa - is also found in the lake, but these animals do not let them get close to them. Also, lake scuba diving is characterized by the fact that there are practically no undercurrents here, and you can not worry about being carried far from the dive point, but you also need to be careful, because a large amount of underground vegetation sometimes significantly hinders scuba diving for inexperienced divers.

When verbal communication between divers underwater is not possible, then standard gestures and signs come to replace. One of them, also used on land - OK! - under water, oddly enough, but it means the same thing!

The bottom of the Baikal shelf is sandy or small pebbles. At a distance of 20-30 m from the shore, a steep slope begins, sometimes stepped, sometimes quite steep, and in some cases having a negative angle of inclination, that is, you abruptly find yourself in a grotto or cave, where the ceiling will be the very gentle descent along which you entered in water. Vertical walls plunging into the abyss are often cut by canyons, and sometimes windows of deep caves and grottoes are visible in them. Visibility at dive sites in June reaches 30 - 40 m. In August, visibility drops to 10-12 m.

The massive clams Tridacna are the largest living bivalve mollusks, they can weigh more than 200 kg (440 lb), measure as much as 120 cm (47 in) across, and have an average lifespan in the wild of over 100 years. The huge clam is regarded as a delicacy in Japan, France, Southeast Asia, and many Pacific Islands. Some Asian foods include the meat from the muscles of clams. On the black market, giant clam shells are sold as decoration. At times large amounts of money are being paid for the adductor muscle, which Chinese people believe has some aphrodisiac strengths.

Scuba diving in Australia

And if you decide to go very far to the ends of the earth to Australia, then there you will be rewarded with absolutely unique and colorful landscapes underwater, namely a Great Barrier Reef, along which, despite a fairly strong current, you will meet all varieties of sea sharks that only exist in the Pacific Ocean, and this despite the fact that the background for all this will be a wall of the Great Barrier Reef, colorful as a watercolor palette, strewn with the smallest crustaceans, corals, algae with colonies of fish and other reef inhabitants.

Watching various fish swimming in colorful schools is the most exciting activity for a diver because there is no chaos in this movement, but only a clear hierarchy!

Here you can also find places with a large number of sunken ships, planes, and tankers, which are also available for visiting accompanied by an experienced instructor. But even once on land, you will always find something to do with local private tourist guides, and you can visit unique zoos with koalas and kangaroos, or stroll through interesting big cities such as Brisbane with endless beaches, or visit the largest city on the east coast - Sydney in order to feel truly at the very edge of the earth here ...

This fish Tetraodontidae guides 4 huge teeth combined into lower and upper scales, which this hunter uses to crush the tough coverings of crustaceans and mollusks. Most pufferfish are venomous, and even the deadliest vertebrates on earth. Their inner organs such as the liver and skin possess tetrodotoxin and are approvingly toxic to all humans if eaten; however, certain types of meat are believed an intricacy in China (haetun), Korea (bogeo), and Japan (fugu), when cut and cooked by specially trained culinarians, who understand which piece is safe to consume.

In any of the places listed by us, you can make both single dives and choose a program consisting of a dive cycle over several days.

It is only necessary to follow the basic rules for scuba diving:

  • never dive alone
  • never dive during the first two days after landing by an airplane, and also 1-2 days before the next flight - this is due to the blood pressure in our body, or instead, with its normalization and adaptation to earthly conditions
  • any dive must be accompanied by an instructor, especially if you do not have enough experience

Opposite to their name, cuttlefish are not fish at all but intelligent invertebrates that commune with the marine mollusks such as nautilus, squid, or octopus. These charming animals can calculate, exercise self-control, and have countless wily tactics to avoid predators, including forming their own body double from a pall of black ink. With a light eggwhite and green-melon aroma, a texture that's tender, and a flavor that boasts mild milky notes and a fresh cream finish, they are stunning raw, but can also hold their own delicate bite in a deep-fried salt-and-pepper combination.

  • you can always rent any equipment, including a scuba suit, fins, and masks, at the scuba diving bureau that you choose on the shore, in the same bureau you will be prompted for the most optimal routes and interesting scuba diving sites, and they will provide you with a map of these places or an instructor who will guide you there 
  • you need to take care that some scuba diving spots are available for scuba diving directly from the coast, while others need to be reached using some kind of water
  • transport since they are located quite far from the coastline,

Corals that form wide flat exteriors are commonly named table corals. This way of development raises the disclosed cover area of the coral to the water queue. Polyps are supplied more lavish admission to light for their zooxanthellae and it is more comfortable for them to feed on zooplankton with their tentacles

  • If you decide to start your life underwater, then you also need to take care to get the necessary qualifications by passing exams and gaining status. First, it will be basic permission to dive near the coastline, then in open waters, then in open waters away from the coast…. There are a large number of other gradations, if you decide to take this seriously, you can study this topic more thoroughly, and for beginners, there will always be places for beginner divers that are safe in terms of scuba diving, but at the same time interesting and picturesque!
  • Well, you must always remember that any dive anywhere in the world with any experience and instructor must be carried out strictly with full international medical insurance!

Semicircled angelfish is found at deeps between 1 and 40 m (3 and 131 ft) on secluded coral reefs, where it feeds on sponges, tunicates, and algae. The juveniles are very timid and difficult to approach. The kids appear in superficial hidden areas, while grown-ups exhibit a selection for inshore reefs where there is a rich coral expansion that provides the fish with plenty of spots to hide and feed. It is typically engaged in pairs or as solitary individuals. The adults have been registered from wrecks but are mostly and frequently discovered in the aquarium trade.

And believe us, being underwater at a depth of 10 m at least once you will never be able to forget these sensations, and these unknown, but alluring depths will pull you again and again! See you in the deep!

The diver demonstrates Peak Performance Buoyancy which means he, being a master of his buoyancy, can stand out immediately, learned how to descend‚ ascend and hover naturally‚ got the best out of his dives by moving effortlessly into the water‚ consuming less air and without damaging any aquatic life while diving, he knows how to determine the exact ballast required for his dives, how to make yourself hydrodynamic to save energy and air consumption, how to hover effortlessly in any position

 

Read our previous article  Tokyo - the city of perfection!

Read our next article North Macedonia is bright and original even for a sophisticated traveler!

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  • John Doe 23:12 22 FEB 2023

    Could you please clarify the cost of scuba diving classes? How long does the studying process last? Any how much is the cost of scuba diving in different places of the world?

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