16 Apr 2023
I (M32) took my mother (F57) along to try something out of our comfort zone. I'm not a particularly strong swimmer, but found this to be an absolutely great experience, and we're both delighted for having tried it. Throughout we were looked after and made to feel really safe.
Mara picked us up and took us to the Dive College. We struggled into our wetsuits, got sorted out with flippers and snorkeling gear before heading down to the beach to swim out to the boat. Initially this felt quite daunting, but we were assured the suits would help keep us afloat, and once the flippers were on swimming in the sea -- even in choppy waves -- was really easy. Once on the boat, it was just a short 5 minute journey to the outside of Flamingo Beach, where we left the boat and entered the water. We swam around the outside of the rocks before entering the enclosed part of beach, all the while seeing a great range of life under water. Once we got into the enclosed part of the beach we spotted a few stingrays and took our time to explore. After about 25 minutes or more we slowly headed back to the boat, before getting taken back to the Dive College. We never felt rushed and was a great value (€38 for maybe 40-50 minutes in the water).
Definitely something I want to do again, and felt like a great first step for trying scuba diving next time.
Be sure to take towels and water for when you get out (you'll invariably drink some salt water when you're snorkeling).