I arrived in Lembeh after a very easy transfer and was shown around by the other DMT here, Sylvia. A few guests who had been in Bunaken with me had come to Lembeh and everyone is lovely so I felt very welcome and almost like I had not moved location at all.
On my first proper day I did some fun diving which included my first ever muck dive. I found it quite different as I’m used to having a reef just filled with creatures at your fingertips, but instead you have to search for the life hiding in the sand. I’m really enjoying it and I don’t miss turtles nearly as much as I thought I would!
I have also done a few night dives this week, something which I haven’t done many of in my years of diving. I was a bit nervous at first but I fell straight into it and honestly, I don’t see much point in night diving anywhere else! It really is amazing. I’ve seen everything from flamboyant cuttlefish, blue bobtail squids, hoards of razorfish, scorpionfish, long-arm, coconut & blue-ring octopuses and so much more.
However, this week hasn’t been all fun and games. I’ve also completed my theory and taken my final exam, as well as having my skin diving assessment, 400m swim and taken James, a gardener at the resort, out for a Discover Scuba dive.
Today I also did my last two swim tests – the 100m tired diver tow and the 800m snorkel – both of which I got four points on which made me very happy. That means that I now have 21/25 points for my five skills! I feel like I’ve done so much today and taken a huge chunk out of my work load as I also did a workshop on guiding a snorkelling tour. I have four nightmare customers – Dani (the instructor), Theresia (a recently qualified DM) and two dive guides, Rein and Sandy. They had problems ranging from not being able to swim, to being scared of fish and drowning each other to swimming too far away. It was so stressful but I got through it in the end.
I’m really enjoying my time here at Lembeh so far. I’ve gotten stuck in to yoga twice a day with Caroline, the yoga instructor who is currently here, and I can now successfully touch my toes – trust me, this is momentous. The people here are so lovely and the diving is incredible.
I’ll update again soon with news from the final week of my DMT!