Life as a Local in Syros, Greece

Both Jeanette and I were relunctant about scuba diving, but decided that neither of us would be first to chicken out.  We signed up with the Ocean Sound Diving School on the island of Koh Tao for their four day open-water certification course (Ocean Sound was the top-rated on Trip Advisor).  Koh Tao is known for being the cheapest place in the world for scuba certification.  The whole economy of the island is centered on scuba diving with there being over 50 dive companies there.

The first thing that they tell you in the course is that you cannot dive if you have a cold.  I considered myself over the cold that I caught the day before leaving the US, but I was still a little congested (Also, I felt a little crummy from the 2 vaccines I had the day before getting to the island.)   Since the first two days were only in the classroom and pool, I figured I would continue and see how I felt.  The instructors also said they had a pill that would help with the congestion.

The pill they gave me worked very well to clear my congestion.  We dove to a maximum depth of 18 meters (or 60 feet) and made a total of 4 dives.  The course was a lot of fun and we enjoyed meeting the other 6 who took the course with us- a couple from Germany, 2 girls from Malta, a Columbian and a Brazilian (working in Africa and dating an Australian). Even if you are a little scared of being in water over your head, we both highly recommend trying scuba diving. The course is timed well enough to challenge you but also gives you time to acclimate and get used to it.

 

We both decided to get haircuts to beat the summer heat.

Our cheapest hostel yet- $9 a night. Possibly my favorite room too- it was partially underground so much cooler.

 

A 2 hour hike along the coast of Koh Tao

Relaxing after a dive

We saw a man harvesting coconuts with a monkey on a leash.   We took a video, but i think it is too large to add.   It was really cool – you probably oughlt to watch a youtube video of this.