Have you ever heard that Eagles song, ‘Hotel California’ – it has a line it. It goes ‘you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave’? Well I think that song was written about Blue Corner Dive in Lembongan. OK yes, I know it was actually written about a mental hospital in the States, but there are definitely some similarities, seriously, stick with me here, I’m going somewhere with this…

After travelling around as much as I have, and in the disorganized, unplanned manner that has become my life, you come to learn that everything happens for a reason. And that’s why, after a series of unexpected events and random

advice, my partner and I ended up on a boat to Lembongan, an island neither of us had ever heard of before a few days previous. We had a flight booked to Australia for the following week and decided on a friend’s recommendation to spend the interim time doing a few fun dives with BCD. We hadn’t dived since our advanced course in Thailand earlier in the year and were excited to get back into the water. That afternoon was spent in the pool drinking Bintangs and thinking what a sweet setup they had here – an infinity pool right on the beach, a fully stocked equipment shed, some lovely authentic bungalows, and most importantly, a bar filled with ice cold beers! But it wasn’t just the surroundings that were blowing us away, it was the people too. The dive shop is run by two Canadian boys and staffed mostly by locals from either the island itself or other parts of Indonesia, as well as this core group there was also a group of guys from all over the world doing various courses, some long term, some just there for the week. All in all they were really welcoming and made the place feel like home.

The next four days fulfilled everything we could have hoped. We went out bright and early every morning, steadily making our way through some of the beautiful dive sites Lembongan and its neighbouring island Penida had to offer. I thought I’d enjoyed my diving in Thailand, but after just a few dives off Lembongan they had pretty much been wiped from my memory to make room for all the fantastic things we saw in that first week. I won’t lie to you a lot of it was as foreign to me as if aliens had landed in the Ocean that day. But it didn’t matter that I had no idea what i was looking at, that i didn’t know what the difference between a moray eel and a ribbon eel was, that when i was pointed out a scorpion fish i was blindly looking around for something that actually resembled a scorpion (silly!) or that i had no clue what this fabled Mola Mola was. None of that mattered because it was all pointed out for me by the fantastic guides, no one mocked my ignorance of the marine world or made me feel silly for asking about a million questions once we got back on the boat. Instead They made the effort to show me the fish ID book when we got back to land, reminding me what it was we’d just seen and inadvertently fuelling a love for diving and the underwater world that I never knew I had.

But we didn’t just dive. We drank Bintangs in the pool, we watched sunsets, we went out for some delicious island grub and we scooted about on our hired moped. In short, we were in heaven. But, as is life, all good things must come to an end; our flight to Australia, to the real world, was looming fast and ominous like a storm cloud on the horizon. To cheers us up some of our new found friends took us to the larger island attached to Lembongan for lunch. Over Nasi Goreng we reminisced about the last few days and soaked in the panoramic view of the ocean; with the sun shining overhead and the seaweed farms laid out below us like underwater allotments i swear to god i could have cried at the thought of leaving.

Now I feel I should sidebar here to let you know that I’m not an emotional wreck who has a breakdown every time i leave a place I’ve enjoyed, I just can’t explain how much like home Lembongan had started to feel like in just a few short days. And who could blame me, who would want to leave an island paradise, where there’s some of the world’s best diving, where the people are super friendly and your day can be filled with anything from stand up paddle boarding, to surfing, to cliff jumping, or maybe just sitting on a bean bag with a good book! (Guess which one i partook in!?)

So it was here, in this tiny warung that I was given then best bit of advice I’d ever received whilst travelling (apart from the obvious, toilet related gems of course!) ‘So, if you love it so much, why are you leaving? Why don’t you just stay and do your Dive Master?’ Why not indeed? I think it was said as a joke. It was definitely taken as a joke at first. But then…why not? We could afford it – just about. We didn’t want to leave, so what was stopping us? Money…that’s never a good enough reason. Flights….they were dirt cheap anyway. Sticking to the Plan….nah!  So off we went to speak to the boys about what the Dive Master course entailed, how much longer we could drag out this paradise existence and what sort of damage it would do to our bank account.

And the rest, as they say, is history. We spent the next few months learning all there is to know about the world of professional diving. We went on some of the most awe-inspiring dives, we studied, we played, we taught, and most importantly we put off that mythical beast, ‘the real world’ for as long as physically possible!

And that’s my story of Blue Corner Dive. A bit cheesy, perhaps, but a damn good time was had by all, and it definately won’t be my last visit!

I Caught the Blue Fever

By Caroline Hills OWSI

Nusa Lembongan, an island paradise, white sands, blue skies, glassy turquoise seas and an abundance of marine life, what more could a tourist want from a remote Indonesian island? How about a resort that offers world class diving opportunities, excellent customer service and an affordable range of food and drinks. Now, this might sound like an advert but I happen to be a tourist passing through or at least I once was. Approximately five months ago I landed on Lembongan, backpack bursting and an innocent grin plastered on my pasty face completely unaware of Blue Corner or the life changing experiences I was about to embark upon. I had planned to stop by for three days before heading to Gili islands so got straight to work finding a dive resort that would be cheap, fun but safe. After visiting at least four dive centres I settled on the cheapest, I wouldn’t be on the island long, cheap meant extra lunch portions. Most people lose their appetite in hot climates, most not all.

Later that evening I headed to Blue Corner to take advantage of their bean bags and sunset views having met the owners Andrew and Cody earlier in the day. Sitting sipping on a cocktail mulling over tomorrow’s diving plans I realized I was already sat exactly where I wanted to be, locals giggling at visitors attempting to play volleyball, feel good music powering my tapping feet and the familiar sounds of divers heading out for a sunset gander. I hesitantly picked up my Nokia phone with Snake score still blank and tried to decide how I would word my cancellation call to the other dive centre. The call was polite, brief and not at all awkward unlike the pre-played version I was expecting; job done, Blue Corner would be taking me into the blue bright and early.

I arrived bleary eyed and was met by Made who immediately sized me up and had my gear ready to go, “coffee?” he said. Now in normal circumstances coffee wouldn’t be my beverage of choice but his gleaming eyes caught me and I politely obliged. I sat back and felt like a VIP as my gear was plopped on to our boat and I sipped my sweet caffeine beverage. On board I downed the complimentary water to ease the bitter after taste of my last ever Indonesian coffee and breathed in the fresh air flowing over the bow. Anticipation growing I tried to remember all the steps I was about to go through until I came to the conclusion, as long as I could breathe, I would be perfectly fine. Safety briefing complete I need not have worried, I had been reminded of every step including the infamous hug if I felt disorientated, what a crazy PADI suggestion. I rolled into the water and proceeded to drift through shoal after shoal of fish, blinking my eyes just in case I was seeing double or should I say quadruple. Made tinkling his magic shaker to reveal the wonders Lembongan held, a scorpion fish here, a psychedelic looking nudibranch there, none of the photos did the real thing justice.

We surfaced and I was lost for words, three days were not going to be enough. Back on board I opened my lunchbox, no I haven’t gone back to my school diaries we were that well looked after; curry, crackers and fresh fruit consumed I laid in the sun a top the boat and begun to mull over life, as you do when magical moments grab you. Second dive complete, dry land ahoy and I had thoroughly enjoyed my day of diving.

Completing my dive log with Made I ran out of room on the page, three days, how about three months. A collection of people had gathered on the bean bags whilst we had been gone and I realized the ‘deco beers’ being ordered would lead to sunset beers and possibly even a beer for the road. Andrew and Cody joined the group and I heard just how much expertise they had in marine biology, instructing and diving. Why couldn’t my life have such a thrilling story, exactly, why not me? A week later, manta rays, mola mola and schools of barracuda later I had cancelled my plans to Gili and begun my divemaster training. The five weeks that followed was nothing but high class fun, I learnt more about customer service, the real life diving business and discovered gaping holes in my diving knowledge that I never even knew existed. Every day was started with an eggy breakfast whipped up by the ever smiling staff, closely followed by a post-dive gorge on pizza, nasi campur, creamy curry, or an occasional salad if I felt cheeky, led to pure diver happiness.

Cody and Andrew’s doors were always open, enter the office with a question and you could leave with, not only the answer, but probably some of Andrew’s left over pizza, a bonus for me. I went through good moments and ever better moments all the while maintaining a tan and keeping my ever worrying mother up to date. As a PADI 5 star IDC centre, a big title I know, I expected training unlike some of the ‘tank donkey’ experiences I had heard from fellow travelers and I wasn’t disappointed. Both Andrew and Cody were flexible and altered their teaching methods to suit my learning style; patience was their blessing, like I said gaping holes in my knowledge. Both instructors demonstrated quality role modeling when interacting with customers and students alike and maintained high level of service for all they encountered, including offering a beer here and there in return for a shared photograph.

Throughout the course Andrew and Cody made me feel wholly included in the running of the dive resort and I was given the opportunity to understand all emergency procedures including evacuation actions and I ended my time at Blue Corner feeling prepared to work at any dive centre. Both boys were involved in every step of my training and got me excited about joining the PADI Pro family; I was also made aware of the next steps and my options for following particular diving interests. I kept bringing myself back to that magical moment a top the boat and questioning ‘my path’. Did I want to just have diving as a fun hobby? Answer to follow.

Andrew and Cody created a learning environment that fostered effective and efficient learning and were so successful at motivating me I have continued on to complete my instructor training, with Blue Corner! Now that is positive approach selling. Put another dollar in, sure, I am hooked.