Born and raised on the Island of Cyprus (Republic of Cyprus).
cyprus - Google Maps
The open water was always accessible and since I can remember I was in the water with a mask, a pair of fins and a snorkel looking around underwater at what was going on.
The life underwater wasnt anything spectacular (no reefs and the marine life that goes with it but hey).
I remember my parents having to drag me out of the water.
Sometimes I was literally in the water for hours.
Couldnt get enough. The different sports I got involved with (competitive level) included swimming and sailing among many others. I was definately feeling comfortable in the water from a very young age.
I was always amazed by the deep ocean but never attempted anything more than 5-8meters deep. I never got involved with scuba, not until this past summer, only because there was nobody to give me that nudge to go do the training. I was always curious and willing to become a diver, should the situation favored such a thing, but there was noone around (family or friends) that was into diving.
Luckily for me, I met my girlfriend who was already certified and she convinced me to do OW.
(trust me, the conversation didnt take long
GF- You should become certified so that we can go diving together
Me- Ok, I will.
Next day I signed up for the course at a LDS and 2 weeks later I had gone down to 20 m and already had 5 dives under my belt!! )
Then I convinced her to (and paid for) do AOW with me and here I am.
She says that she created a monster
D ,
) cause I am always online reading SB, browsing through different online shops for equipment and if it were possible I would take her for diving every weekend. ( I always wonder, do you people do this too? Or is it just me?)
I was and still am a junkie for TV shows like Jacques Cousteau, discovery, nat geo, animal planet etc. Anything that has to do with underwater ( I even watched tech diving inside a silo on TV - does that make me a weirdo? certainly some people do think so).
I guess I was prepared to become a diver all my life but I just didnt know it!!!
Good to be part of this family!!!