THE DEEPEST
PACIFIC PARADISE Diving into the world beneath French Polynesia
b y Ali Wunderman
VIDEO For 30 years I stayed floating on the surface, peering down into the depths of the ocean and wondering what mysteries were out of my grasp. Ear problems had plagued me since birth. After several childhood surgeries to correct my hearing, going even a few feet underwater had been painful and headache-inducing. So I had been content with simply snorkeling. But when the opportunity to visit French Polynesia arose, I knew that much of what could be explored in that Pacific paradise was underwater. Tahiti and the rest of the French Polynesian islands are known for being one of the world’s top diving destinations. I didn’t want to miss out, so I booked an appointment with my doctor and got the all clear to attempt equalizing beneath the cerulean waves of the South Pacific. The prospect of SCUBA diving both enthralled and terrified me. What if I couldn’t equalize? What if I panicked and spit out the regulator
supplying me with air? Fortunately, Moana, my dive instructor on the island of Mo’orea, had heard it all before and assured me that I would be fine. We would be practicing all the steps to a successful dive before trying it out at the relatively shallow depth of 20 feet. As soon as I fell backwards in the water, the weights strapped to my hips pulling me down, I understood why one’s first dive is called ‘a baptismal dive.’ It was like being reborn, like being initiated into a secret world that had been in front of me yet obscured my whole life. I was enshrined in the wonder, the silence, the gentle grip of the sea supporting me as I breathed calmly underwater. Even when my weights suddenly slipped off and I began to rise, I did not worry. I had discovered an entire galaxy existing a few feet under the sea, and nothing could stop me from exploring further.
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"I understood why one’s first dive is called ‘a baptismal dive.’ It was like being reborn." RECIPE
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French Polynesia is made up of 118 distinct islands and atolls and, if I could, I would dive
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