Okinawa – Aloha divers
It was Pepe that redirected me to Pedro. He was my DM in Thailand and we had kept in contact on Facebook.
I’m not very fond of the use people do of the different social media, but I must admit it is a great way to keep in touch.
I remembered that a certain point Pepe was working in Japan and I wrote him for some hints about diving in Okinawa.
He passes me the contact of Aloha Divers.
Both are South American. Pepe is Peruvian, Pedro is Brazilian. The two countries have historical ties with Japan, given to the big colonies of Japanese that settled there after the II World War.
Aloha Divers has very good rating on both the scuba divers Facebook groups I’m member of, so I am quite confident when I contact Pedro to book my spot.
He replies clearly and quickly and gives also some advice for accommodation.
Aloha Divers has a few agreements with a bunch of hotels around and if you book at any of them, they provide transfer service before and after the dive.
So I select from the list The Seaside Hotel, book and pay and just wait for the day I will fly to Okinawa.
The Seaside Hotel is very decent. The rooms are spacious and well equipped.
The day before the dive, Pedro inform me that the pick-up will be at 6.50.
That’s the moment my body wants to give up.
My sleep deprivation level is close to the one experienced in Guantanamo Bay, my sister flight is late, plus she does not have her suitcases at the arrival and I still have to recover from several sleepless nights in a row. It’s almost 1.00 am when I go to bed.
I wake up at 6.00, try to make coffee, but my coffee machine refuses to cooperate, most likely due to the voltage difference.
I grab my equipment and go downstairs still half sleeping.
I jump into the car when Pedro arrives.
There are two couples already sitting in it. We arrive at the marina and from there we go straight to the boat.
The boat is quite big and if I understand correctly we share it with another diving center.
It is full of tanks, all 12 lt.
There must be at least 60, because we are around 20 divers, with 3 dives each.
Or maybe they refill them on board, but I can’t see the air station.
We are done with all the formalities and we start the 40 minutes navigation that bring us to the first diving spot.
I appreciate a lot the fact that we are the last group to get dressed and jump in the water, this allows for more space and comfort.
The water temperature is 22 degrees, which for me is ok. We go down and I feel happy.
