Candice LandauLast Updated on September 24, 2024 by Candice Landau
When I set out to learn to dive in 2016, I had little idea scuba diving would change my world. Not only did it bring a sense of peace that surpassed any meditation I’d ever done, but it challenged me too, added adventure to my life, and gave me access to a global community of other like-minded individuals. It also gave me insight into the plight of the marine world, into fish intelligence, and into the reality of the marine life we love to vilify: sharks, eels, etc—myth-busting just about everything I thought I knew.
Ultimately, it prompted a complete paradigm shift. Today I don’t see a world of land, I see a world of water. When I plan an international trip, I no longer think of planning a week of bakeries and vineyard tours in France. Now I contemplate far-flung destinations like Chuuk Lagoon that I would never have imagined spending hard-earned money on, let alone been able to name or point out on a map.
For those without the power to breathe underwater, I’m sorry to say, the world is 70% smaller. Where an atoll like Chuuk Lagoon in remote Micronesia has seemingly little to do topside, underwater, it explodes into a wreck diving mecca that even Jacques Cousteau said he was impatient to dive and see for himself. Full to the brim with WWII shipwrecks and planes, it is a vast museum that rivals the likes of the British Museum in its ability to strike wonder and give the viewer a glimpse into another time. For divers, both are possible and topside adventure will often bookend tourism in destinations that might really benefit from it given they see little of the spoils of the non-diver’s travel purse.
No. There is nothing comparable to dive travel. It is at once a blend of adventure and relaxation, as it is a life-changing event providing insight and access—should you choose to use it—into local communities and the issues they face. Divers too are often at the forefront of initiatives to protect and conserve the planet, not least because they see the damage being done to it that others do not: bleached reefs, species die-offs, warming waters, displaced communities.
Dive travel is an adventure and a call to arms to go, to see, perhaps to help, but largely to return with stories that become action. Increasingly divers take part in restorative measures when they travel. You only have to Google “eco dive centers,” the “Green Fins Initiative,” or “regenerative dive travel” to know that the trends in dive travel are changing. With that will come change further down the line. In a bid to attract customers, more people and organizations will get involved in campaigning for protections like marine sanctuaries, coral reef conservation, sustainable fishing practices, plastic and waste reduction, and eco-friendly tourism.
A week-long tour of Paris and nearby wineries is still possible but what about including a trip to dive an underwater eco museum on Sainte-Marguerite island where you’ll get an insta-worthy glimpse into a restoration project set to create a refuge for aquatic life?
You, my dear friend have more power to change the world than you realize. Keep diving, keep dive traveling and keep making responsible choices.
