As a petit, Greek, female diver learning to dive in the UK has had its challenges – heavy, large equipment and wrapped in a dry suit, hood and gloves you can barely see me behind my scuba cylinder, not to mention the water temperature range!

Diving has been a dream of mine since I was 10 years old, when I watched my first documentary about Jacque Yves Cousteau. However recreational scuba diving in Greece was not that common as I grew up and it was not until being in the UK and at the age of 43 years, that I had my first underwater experience.

The biggest personal challenge has been overcoming the weather, it has made me appreciate diving back in Greece more, without the cold, cold and rain, and cold air temperature – did I mention that the air temperature in Greece is significantly warmer? However nothing can stop me after having had my first experience breathing underwater and feeling the sense of total freedom, weightless and surrounded by water.

The second challenge has been language, new terms and equipment explained in a language which is not your mother language – one that continues to be overcome with each course and dive.

Scuba diving has at times scared me, and thrilled me to the point that I have had butterflies. I have always been scared of sharks, but have been shark diving and enjoyed it!

For 2021 I am working through my PADI Tec Course, as I am looking forward to exploring the wrecks of Scapa Flow, in October – I am told the sea will be warm, I think the truth is being lost in translation.