How to overcome fear and snorkel for the first time!

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If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try!

Do one thing everyday that scares you! 

Transfer fear into action!

Don’t be afraid to take that big step! 

We’ve heard all these motivational quotes, and more!  Haven’t we? 

But in reality, overcoming one’s fear is difficult, and easier said than done.  We are no different.

We are non-swimmers but we have always had dreams of seeing the underwater world. And truth be told, we have had this in our bucket list for a very long time. Not knowing whether we will cross it off, or if it will get buried within!

I am sure you can imagine and appreciate how scary it is to put the entire face inside water as a non-swimmer.  Our connection with water as a leisure activity is restricted to staying in shallow water. A beach or lake where we can stand, dip our feet, or sit along the shallow water and still be able to soak ourselves safely!  That’s how we have enjoyed water all our life till now.   But we do know open sea is a lot different that enclosed swimming pools.  And we wanted to experience the underwater live and not through some recorded video or movie, but actually by going through that! The first step is to prepare the mind and then take a plunge.

When we decided to go to Gran Canaria, we delved into the idea of trying underwater activity.  We want to create that opportunity and not hold back to the fear for too long. This is where Gran Canaria Divers came into the picture to help and hand-held us through out the snorkelling.

Disclos

Our initial request was to do Scuba Diving. When they learnt that we did not know swimming,  they recommended that we take baby steps in this, and not directly do diving and have a bad experience.

Jernej who runs Gran Canaria Divers told us everything about scuba diving and snorkelling, and suggested that we take up snorkeling and get confident with water at the first instant.

When we agreed to do snorkeling, we didn’t know that its going to an experience of lifetime. We were totally glad we listened to the advice given by the team, and took up snorkeling instead of Scuba diving.

Jernej introduced us to the snorkel accessories and started with the basics of how to use the accessory, how to breath under water, and some under water signs.  As I got into our wet suits, the fear picked up and our hearts were pounding faster. We looked at each other in our eyes, and we both could identify the same fear. The uneasiness. Jernei spotted our fear and reassured that it was going to be a fun experience.

Adoring the mask, life vest and paddles, we were already standing inside the water. As we waded into water, we attempted to put our face inside water and breathe. But the quietness inside water was really giving us shrills.  We failed many times, and took off our heads in panic.  After many failed attempts, we finally plunged into it. Yeah we really did!   Although in the process of getting acquainted with snorkeling tube, we drank a lot of water.  

Seriously we both couldn’t do them properly without drinking water, got chocked and had to take out our mask.  After what seemed like a million times, we did succeed a little bit. We moved from shallow water to a good 10-15 ft deep water.  We were getting comfortable with everything, started floating, used our fins properly to move around, and spotted different colorful fishes. It felt like a different world – a world that’s so quite and beautiful on its own.

When people say that they are afraid of heights, they are afraid of falling.  We realised its the same with us too.  We were actually not afraid of deep water, but afraid of getting drowned.   We realized if we want to experience the best in life, we need to step out of comfort zone, be prepared to accept the fear and face it.

I can clearly see that fear of putting my face completely on water is now gone.  Although we are not even close to good, we wanted to try again and get better at this. The ice is broken. The inhibition is gone and we are very glad about it! 

The credit for this goes to Jernej who helped us learn the basics, and patiently made us comfortable with water and underwater breathing.  We now want to learn swimming , do snorkeling and scuba diving much more comfortably and with confidence. 

Its the first time we caught the water bug. We loved it. Loved holding hands and snorkeling. Loved the feeling of seeing everything crystal clear underwater in a natural environment. Loved seeing fishes in a open space and not in an enclosed fish tank or aquarium. Loved the freedom.Loved the new experience. And we already decided to do it more often.

Although I have a weird thing to ask about the snorkelling. We really had this question in our mind after trying our first few minutes of snorkeling –  why was the snorkelling mouth piece too big?  Had that been a bit small in diameter, wouldn’t life been much more easier under water?  We wondered how on earth do people do snorkel or diving with these masks and mouthpiece all the time!  Someone please explain! Doesn’t your mouth start paining after sometime?

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You will enjoy reading these posts about Gran Canaria 

• 15 top reasons to visit Gran Canaria any time of the year
• Stay in a cave house in Gran Canaria, one of the most authentic experiences! 
• Puerto de Mogan, a postcard perfect whitewashed villages in Gran Canaria 

What are your deepest fear?  How have you overcome them? Have you been under waters?Have you got any tips for us? Leave your comments. 

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Disclaimer: Thanks to Gran Canaria Divers for sponsoring us on “Discover Snorkelling” session. We were not compensated to write positive about the company. As always, all thoughts and experience mentioned here are our own.