A Tale From Paradise
Koh Phi Phi, Krabi Province, Thailand
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| “The Beach” location on Phi Phi Don, Thailand |
Everyday since I was very young I dreamt of travelling and seeing other parts of the world. I come form a third-world piece of paradise: Guatemala. in our culture to be a single child and a female is a big deal, especially if you decide to travel on your own. Last year, in March, I headed off to my biggest adventure yet. Thailand.
My goal was to see a different culture and to achieve my biggest goal: becoming a scuba diving instructor. Since I arrived in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, I fell I love with the place and the people. I woke up every day to go scuba diving and prepare for the big day in which I was going to become an instructor. Life in Phi Phi was perfect…my office was the ocean and my co-workers all enthusiastic travellers from all over the world…and of course, I was the only Guatemalan there! Perfect! Working for a dive centre as a divemaster prepared me for the big thing…the instructor course. I finished my course in September and on my birthday, the 18th, I passed my instructor examination. Best birthday gift ever! Since then I dedicated every day to teaching people the wonders of diving and the beauties of our local reefs….my everyday friends: leopard sharks, hawksbill turtles, clownfishes, morray eels, and some whale sharks and manta rays that visited us every once in a while!
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| Ton Sai Bay, Koh Phi Phi, Thailand |
There isn’t enough words to describe the feeling of diving in such amazing environment, not to mention living in a tropical paradise, everyone’s dream! Well, I had been working as an instructor and was planning on staying there for a couple of years…who wouldn’t anyway. Unfortunately, not all tales of paradise are perfect…and to our surprise, nature decided to change our destiny giving us a huge wave that took away many of our dreams and a lot of our pride and joy. After this day I have been wandering in different places without knowing what my next plan will be, nothing compares to this horrible day and it will mark our lives forever…we lost friends, we lost all the things we loved…but we didn’t lose the joy for life. To be alive after this makes me the luckiest person in the world and I could not imagine what it would’ve been like if anything had happened to me. I’m alive and that’s the best I can say.
