Just Breathe...

     I think that after diving in Iceland, I was worried I had peaked too soon in my year, and that the rest of my experiences would struggle to live up to the diving we had done and the people we met there.  I didn't have anything to worry about.  Johan Enqvist, one of the founders of Oxygène International picked us up from the airport and took Steve, Eline and I out to lunch and on a quick tour of Göteborg before driving us up the coast to Lysekil.  We knew that we were going to spend a few days diving at an Oxygène dive center there, but Johan had kept exactly what we would be up to a secret.  Upon our arrival we were very excited to learn that we were about to become trained as 'Dragon' pilots!

     'Dragon' is a rough translation from a Swedish word that can also mean 'kite' (but dragon is cooler) and is the name given to a type of diver-piloted sled.  Two sleds are towed behind a boat and are steered by pilots over the seabed or along an underwater wall.  They were originally used by military divers to search large areas for mines and unexploded ordinance, but are now being used in a more recreational role in Lysekil and a few other spots in Sweden.  We had a fantastic time over the next few days learning how to dive, steer, spin and bail out of our dragons from our host and instructor Daniel Dahlström.  By the end of the week all three of us managed to complete our training as underwater pilots, and we only crashed one dragon!

     Of course, a description of our time in Lysekil would not be complete if I just talked about the diving we did there.  Daniel and his wife Susanne invited us into their home and their dive center, and made sure our time in Lysekil was memorable.  The staff  at Oxygène Lysekil is a terrific group of people and we made a lot of friends during our stay.  When we weren't diving we were out rock climbing, caving, barbecuing or just partying.  Daniel, Susanne, Andreas, Flexz, Lars, Johann, Malin, Johanna, Edvin and everyone else at Oxygène Lysekil are a really cool group of people.  I'm already looking forward to visiting them again!