Once you are in the scuba scene in India, you will hear about how challenging the waters of Pondicherry are. Divers will say “The waters in Andaman gave you seasickness? Go to Pondi!”. That’s what everyone told me when I frequently felt nauseous on boat trips to dive sites. So I went to Pondicherry. More challenging the waters, the better diver you will become! I was ready to push myself and complete my Advanced Open Water Diver course which I started in Havelock (Read more about my time in Havelock here). I completed my deep dive and drift dive in Havelock (Read more about the deep and drift dive here) and decided to finish three other dives in Pondicherry to get certified as an Advanced diver.
Pondicherry is easy to reach. More so if you are in South India. It’s cheaper, quicker and accessible by all modes of public transport. The town is rife with pretty hotels, restaurants and cafes which I could explore when I was not diving. It did not take me a lot of thinking to decide to go here. My friends in Havelock had already put me in touch with their diver friends in Pondi and the plan was set in motion.
I reached Pondi on a sultry evening and I could feel the dampness in the air. Everything felt sticky and made me sweat like I had been put in a steam chamber. But there is a sense of freedom in the air. You walk past markets, old french buildings and pretty cafes, watching travellers from across the world exploring the place just like you are.
I was staying at a backpackers hostel near the dive shop. I checked in and took a much needed shower before forcing myself to sleep early so that I could make it for the morning dives. I had a sound sleep and woke up in time to grab a small breakfast before heading to the dive shop. I was finally going to meet the people who helped me put the plan together and also my new instructor. The dive shop was a cute building with paintings on the outside and an array of dive gear and wonderful people on the inside. We did the introductions, finished my paperwork, grabbed the scuba kit with equipment sized for me and left for the jetty.
I was doing the remaining three dives of my Advanced course that day. The mandatory underwater navigation dive and two elective dives, search and recovery, and peak performance buoyancy. My instructor took me through a few skills on land which included using the compass for underwater navigation. Quickly after we were on the boat, on the way to Danny’s Eel Garden which would be our dive site for the first two dives of the day. The water was not as choppy as I thought it would be although my instructor said there was a lot of current. I got seasick nonetheless. I was not sure if eating that breakfast was good or bad. We got our equipment on and took the plunge only to realise that the current was extremely strong and we were finding it difficult to make it to the mooring line. The captain of our boat helped us and we managed to get there, do our pre-dive safety check and descend underwater.
I was finally understanding the infamous waters off the coast of Pondicherry. Oh but the feeling of finally being underwater again was blissful to say the least. The water was full of plankton which gave my skin a burning sensation but it was really nothing to be bothered by. We reached the bottom and started performing the skills as part of the underwater navigation dive. The water here was clear and the current was not as strong. Unlike dive sites I had seen before, this one had a vast sandbed with little to no corals around. It was a stunning sight to see the sandbed with different species of fish and marine life.
Something I have felt when I’m underwater, I never realise how quickly time passes by. I would think I was down for 15 minutes but I would have actually been there for 40. I successfully completed my skills and was on my way to the mooring line with a divemaster when I started getting swept away by the current. I was starting to panic when the divemaster noticed me and dragged me with him. We ascended and got onto the boat for a quick surface interval before the next dive.
The next dive was similar to the first one. We were diving at the same site and went on about our usual drill. At the end of it I had also completed the skills for the search and recovery dive and there was one more dive left for me to be certified. I couldn't wait. Our third dive was at Kaliappan’s Reef. This is a strikingly beautiful artificial reef made by divers with massive coconut leaves. This creation fosters a healthy marine ecosystem with scores of fish around. We wrapped up our buoyancy skills quickly and explored the reef before making our way to the top. The current was still strong and we drifted away from the boat. The boat came and picked us up and we made our way back to the jetty. My excitement knew no bounds during the ride back. I was now an Advanced Open Water Diver and I was extremely proud of myself for what I had achieved.
I decided to treat myself to a good hefty lunch after those exhausting three dives which got me certified. There is no dearth of options for eateries in Pondi. My friends at the dive shop threw in some recommendations and I made sure I tried all of them over the next few days!
