My dream is Snorkeling...


It all started when I was around 14 years old on Costa da Caparica, a beach near Lisbon (Portugal). My parents had a caravan at a campsite, and we spent weekends and much of the summer there.

The beach was nearby; I didn't really enjoy sunbathing, but being in contact with the water was something else. My parents couldn't swim, but I was comfortable with that element and taught myself.

One day, I grabbed a snorkel mask to try it out. I was in the rockless part, so there was practically nothing else except me and the seabed, but that color and sensation were unique.

Until I saw the first fish, and that first memory remains with me to this day. The wonder, the excitement, the feeling of deep connection.

For months afterward, I was quickly overwhelmed by a feeling that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life and discover distant paradises where I could dive.

Until they told me that wasn't possible; it wasn't a job, a profession; I had to find a stable career and a profession. I was convinced and followed this recommendation and became a police officer.

I snorkeled less and less until I stopped almost completely.

Until about five years ago, I slowly started getting back into it, and every summer, I said I should go more often. Then, in September 2022, I hesitantly decided to go to Sharm el-Sheik in Egypt, and it was like returning to the feeling I had when I was 14.

After that trip, I haven't stopped, as you'll see in the section dedicated to the places.

I've had incredible experiences that I'll never forget, like diving with whales in Moorea, French Polynesia, or with whale sharks in the Maldives.

Maldives

Moorea, French Polynesia

I'm now 50 years old and I left the police, this is my dream...




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beginning of the journey

Image
In September 2022, after much indecision and almost giving up on the previously booked trip, I decided to go to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to snorkel. Since I was traveling alone, I didn't feel comfortable going to an unfamiliar destination outside of Europe. However, after a last-minute Google Maps search, I discovered that the resort I was staying at, which had been very cheap, just like the flight, had a pier that led directly to the coral reef, meaning I didn't need to leave the hotel to snorkel. This trip completely changed my life, bringing me back to a self I'd practically forgotten since childhood and launching me on a series of quests, exploring the world through snorkeling and freediving. In the last few years before 2022, during the summer, I'd end up snorkeling in Portugal on a beach in the Costa da Caparica area or in the Arrábida Natural Park. I always said I should do it more often, but the truth is, I'd end up forgetting. When I was a kid, around fourte...
Read more

Octopus: the Master of Disguise

Image
I woke up early to go to Costa da Caparica. It's a good spot for snorkeling in the summer and is a 15-minute drive from my house in Lisbon. The water was a little cold, but the visibility was good. I found an octopus and dove in to observe it. It didn't run away very far, but what I found strange was that it was disguised as the color of the rock, and when I got very close, it turned white and adopted a different shape, like a star. I did a second dive, and it behaved exactly the same way; I even noticed that its texture changed when it turned white. It didn't make sense to me that it would lose its camouflage of the rock's color. Until I realized what it was doing: it was disguising itself as a starfish. This is a defensive mimicry strategy, since there are starfish of that color in the area. Why the octopus behaved this way: What I witnessed that morning was a remarkable example of  octopus camouflage and mimicry , two of the most advanced survival strategies in the a...
Read more

Snorkeling Adventure Okinawa

Image
I arrived in Okinawa by plane from Osaka, after visiting the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, where I snorkeled in three places, and I'll share one of them here: Green Island, Great Barrier Reef  I'll soon write a post dedicated to the Great Barrier Reef. On this trip, I flew more than once around the world, accompanied by my youngest son, Miguel. In addition to Japan and Australia, we visited Dubai and Singapore. It was a demanding and challenging trip, but it also served as a bonding opportunity for my son. During the trip, he was able to visit three amusement parks: Universal Studios in Singapore and Osaka, and Aquaventure Waterpark in Dubai. We spent almost a week in Okinawa and managed to snorkel in several places: Kibougaoka Beach  Cape Maeda  Blue Cave Tokei Hama  Seragaki Beach  Diamond Beach Mermaid's Grotto  Nakama Sunset Beach  Cape Maeda was perhaps our favorite spot. The water was crystal clear, and the coral was incredible. The famous Blu...
Read more