I spent 3 months in a remote town called Ponta do Ouro in Mozambique, completing my PADI Divemaster and conservation course. This was an incredible experience that taught me so much, from sustainable shark encounters to beach clean-ups, guiding dives and cultural emersion.
I contributed in monthly beach clean-ups and here is our team! In the image below, we are trying out a new, affordable and homemade technique to detect microplastics in the sand. We then tried to identify the microplastics under a microscope.
I had to opportunity to help my instructor with courses by doing demonstrations, assisting with pool exercises and being an extra pair of eyes underwater incase a students needed help.
After passing the tests and receiving my Divemaster certification, they put me straight to work where I conducted dive briefings, aided clients with equipment, and guided dives; putting in all the training I had from the last couple months into practical use. Below is an image of the reef map my buddy and I had to make. We measured distances using reels and drew out the layout of the reef including points of interest, topography and species location.
An agent from DAN (Divers Alert Network) came to do a first aid refresher course which gave me the opportunity to refine my first aid skills and renew my Emergency First Responder certification.
