The thing I like most about life is that 24 hours can make such a difference! One never knows what lays ahead of us, and we need to be open to the opportunities that arise in any instant…  Case in point…

Ombretta and I arrived at our summer home in Sardegna - Golfo Aranci - after an absence of at least two years, maybe more… In any case, far too long to be away from this beautiful corner of the world!  Our home overlooks a sweet little bay called Baia Caddinas along with its own marina that is some 3 minute's walk to the water's edge. It could not be more ideal.

Little has changed since we were last here - other than the Internet and constant connectivity that has overtaken most of the civilized world…  So Ombretta and I agreed to go "off-the-grid" and leave the immediacy of the Internet behind us for one week while we were here.  Because Ombra has a lot on the go right now, she brought her computer along - but fortunately - we had yet to use it to log on.  That said, I have to say that I was quite happy to have access to it at so that I can capture my excitement and thoughts!  

Why?

Because Piergiorgio, a dear family friend who lives here, came by for a visit the first night we arrived - which led to a discussion about how scuba diving and how becoming an instructor had been his "salvation".  From there the conversation moved on rapidly and before the night was out, Ombra and I were scheduled to go with him the next morning so that I could have the experience of scuba diving…

The next morning, Piergiorgio arrived promptly at 9:15, as had been agreed, and we were off to the dive school, Centro Immersioni Figarolo, to collect the gear.  After a brief stop, cylinders, wet suits, dive belts, masks, fins and buoyancy control devices (BCDs) were all loaded into the car and we were on our way to the port to take the dive school's pontoon boat out across Golfo Aranci to Doctor's Beach to go through the first basic elements of scuba diving.  I was excited, but also felt some apprehension as I was not sure how I would respond.

Ombretta's father, Carlo, had been an avid scuba diver and had dived all across Europe so she had exposure to diving from an early age.  When she was 17, she took the courses and got her Open Ocean Diving License (which means she can dive without an instructor and has knowledge that enables her to dive to 30 meters and below), but so many years have passed since she had actually scuba dived she was more than happy to be the translator for me and my instruction, Piergiorgio.

For my part, having always enjoyed skin diving (snorkeling) and having been intensely focused on breathing, the breath, and the importance of long, slow inhalation/exhalation (particularly due to my meditation practice) for the past 20 years, I was a ripe candidate for this new sport!

That said - even in four feet of water - when you take the regulator in your mouth and breathe underwater for the first time, it is somewhat daunting and one needs to remind oneself to stay calm and take long slow breathes…  But, after you become accustomed to the regulator, breathing from it truly becomes second nature…  And what a glorious "second underwater nature" one can explore through scuba diving!  I've often heard divers say how amazing it is to scuba dive and to see all the wonderful things that so few people get to see in the sea... This was my chance!

Pier Giorgio is an excellent instructor, and with Ombra translating to be sure that I didn't miss the nuances and important details, I was able to move through the course (including the video instruction, quizzes, and all) in 1.5 days before I joined a boatload of divers on my way to my first dive! 

The last thing I expected to do on this week's - off-the-grid - vacation was to become a scuba diver, but there I was sitting beside some nine other divers heading to Tavolara Island and the protected area, Tegghia Liscia, on Saturday morning full of anticipation!  Mother Nature could not have been more gracious on this day!  Calm seas (almost like glass - which two days before had been 4-5 swells coming home from my first scuba experience), blue skies full of sunshine and a sea as clear as could possibly be in these famous - Costa Smeralda - emerald waters.  In fact, apart from my old home, Vancouver Island, I have never seen water as clean and clear as here in Sardegna: one can easily see 5-10 meters down to the bottom without issue.

When we arrived at our dive sight, Tegghia Liscia, we saw a huge rock in the shape of an old living room arm chair perched high up on a smooth slanted edge that appeared ready to slide down upon us were the Good Lord not holding it in place!  That ‘potentially sliding chair’, translated in Sardo is Tegghia Liscia.  Piergiorgio quickly had my BCD and cylinder on me, I put my fins and mask on, and within minutes of our arrival I was rolling backwards off the pontoon boat into the water …  Almost like the first time I went skydiving, I was given no time to think about what it was I was about to do - I was doing it before I had time to reconsider! ;o)

Soon Ombra and Giorgio were in the water beside me, and soon after that I was going hand over hand down a chain to the bottom of the sea…  You have to start equalizing your ear pressure from the moment you go one foot underwater and continue to do so every few feet to ensure that the pressure never builds up in your ears, throat or nose.  I did as I had been taught and soon I found myself some 11.5 meters below the surface of the Mediterranean experiencing a whole new world…

Just looking up and watching the bubbles from our exhalations rush ever-larger (as they expanded due to decreasing pressure) to explode at the surface was an amazing sight… But the large schools of Saraghi Dentici (don't know what those are in English!) virtually "hanging in the sea", swimming through underwater passages, enjoying the unique sensation of weightlessness, passing through thousands of miniature electric blue minnows in crystal clear turquoise blue water, or the flora and sea life on the rocks and ocean floor was an experience beyond words.

33 minutes later, we were back at the ascent/descent chain and slowly returning to the surface…  It felt like we had just dove in, but in fact my first "immersioni" (scuba dive) was coming to an end.  Back in the boat, bobbing on the surface, we awaited the rest of the divers to return.  While we stayed around 35 feet, the others were more experienced and went down as deep as 30 meters/100 feet; and in doing so saw some large tuna as well as other significant sea life.

On the way back home we passed by an extraordinarily beautiful sailboat and Ombra and I determined that this would be our goal in life: buy a boat like this and make it our home!  Put our motorcycles on board, along with our kiteboarding gear and other such toys and make our way around the world following the wind, great winding roads on islands such as Sardegna, and excellent scuba sites…  What a nice dream!  And a perfect way to end an extraordinary day…  While this was my first dive, I can assure you that it is far from my last!

Before we left the island we had the opportunity to dive Secca del Papa, another amazing site that is effectively a 100 meter mountain whose top is located approximately 15 meters below the surface of the sea.  What an experience that was as well…  Too much fun! 

Leaving the island on our flight back to Turin, I reflected on the fact that we were on a boat virtually every day of our holiday, something that we had never done in all of the years we have been going down to Golfo Aranci…  Just a perfect break – in every way!

What a difference 24 hours can make!  [Be sure to check out the photo album of the trip!]