By Ruth Gibson
The scuba diving around Gibraltar is world famous and has been on my radar for quite some time. After a great dive last month near Nerja, further east along the Costa del Sol, I promised I would be diving there soon.
For as long as I can remember, I have loved the outdoors and adventure sports. Originating from Yorkshire, England I spent a lot of my time walking in the Yorkshire Dales and Pennines growing up. Basically going in the opposite direction to scuba diving! I was persuaded to take a PADI diving course in 2001 when visiting a friend in Cyprus. I didn’t fall in love straight away and can only remember dirty, hairy swimming pools and sandy sea bottoms from my first experiences. After completing my Advanced Open Water course on the Great Barrier Reef six months later (again persuaded, but by a different friend), I could see what the fuss was all about. Following this I have dived in some amazingly beautiful places around the world and, now as an Instructor, I have been very fortunate to live and work in some stunning and unique places. With my fiancé, we have had the opportunities to volunteer for 3 months in Mexico with GVI looking at coral health, spend 2 years in Indonesia managing a newly built 5* dive resort, and dive the gap between the tectonic plates in Iceland, amongst other brilliant experiences. I love to share my passion for the underwater world and to share this with both seasoned divers and people making their first bubbles. My favourite things to admire underwater are nudibranchs – I just love the various colours, patterns and the huge diversity of shapes that they come in.