My Scuba Story

Saltwater runs through my veins. I was born in the island of Cebu, Philippines and grew up in a small beach town and fishing village of Argao. Some of my earliest memories revolved around the water: toes in the sand, sun burns, jelly fish stings, grilling fish at the beach, looking for seashells, the works! Growing up in my grandparent's house, I was exposed to scuba diving through an uncle who was a dive instructor. I remember being in awe of the stories of his travels and the different people he met and taught. It was not until college when I finally got my Open Water Certification from a Groupon deal; it was a birthday present from my mother after years of harassing her to let me get in the water. Coincidentally, it was also my last summer of nursing school and I knew that diving and nursing would open a whole new world for me. From then on, it was work and travel. The ultimate symbiotic relationship that has fulfilled my lifelong dream of traveling the world.

Fast forward a few years later, I found myself back in the homeland on a different island, on a dive trip, working on my Advanced Open Water Certification. At this point, I have only been diving a handful of times and I wanted to explore more of the seas. I knew I wanted to dive shipwrecks and dive deeper, and this was the next step. However, I was so nervous during the deep dive portion of my course that I may have given myself a little bit of a panic attack underwater and was convinced it was narcosis. Fortunately, my dive instructor was so awesome, he knew how to distract me with a cracked raw egg looked like under the deep atmospheric pressure. It was magic ever since! The images of the dives I went on in that trip are so imprinted in my memory that when I have bad days at work, the images pull me right back out into the water where everything is at ease and beautiful.

For me, scuba-diving is not exclusive to the daredevils of the world. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Diving has given me an environment of calmness, peace, stillness and beauty.


Ariane Luzano