When I studied abroad in Australia I visited the Great Barrier Reef. This was back in 2009 when the reef was still very much thriving. Now, due to climate change and pollution it is deteriorating at a rapid pace. (so heartbreaking!) I thought "WHEN IN ROME" and decided to take scuba diving course while I was there.

I have always been so envious of scuba divers. The idea of hanging out miles beneath the surface seems extremely peaceful. However, I couldn't get the thought out of my head that this tank was the only thing keeping me alive. If something went wrong it wouldn't be an option for me to just swim up to the surface for air. The whole thing felt very claustrophobic to me and as they lowered me into the water I spiraled into a full blown anxiety attack. It wasn't pretty. I stuck to snorkeling for the rest of the trip.

I didn't realize the scuba scene was so big in Portsmouth, New Hampshire until I stumbled on this Reddit post. A user named "gotsarah" shared this photo with the New Hampshire subreddit (I think that's what it's called? Forgive me, I am still new to Reddit and it's lingo) She captioned it: "Scuba diving with seals, Isle of shoals NH"

gotsarah via Reddit
gotsarah via Reddit
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Gotsarah got Scuba certified through undersea divers in Danvers Massachusetts and she highly recommends it. If you are looking for somewhere more local, there is a dive shop up in Rye where she gets tanks filled. They have an indoor pool on-site and have been in business for yeas so she would trust them too.

I got pretty deep into this Reddit thread and learned a lot. Apparently, when you dive in the Winter visibility is way better. This is due to the water being less productive biologically. (less algae) Less boat traffic and pollution could also be a contributing factor.

Have you ever tried scuba diving in New Hampshire?

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