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A scuba diver equalizing her ears

How to Equalize Your Ears While Scuba Diving

Methods of Equalizing Ears Getting air to move from the throat to the ears is essential for safe equalizing. This is done because the air passes through the eustachian tubes. Most open water divers are instructed to equalize by lightly blowing while squeezing their noses. The typically closed eustachian tube is opened with this light pressure, allowing air to enter the middle ear easily. The Frenzel Maneuver is recommended because it is gentler and easier to control than the Valsalva Maneuver, which involves blowing by contracting your throat muscles. A lot of divers can equalize by swallowing, moving their jaws, or using a mix of these. 5 Tips For Handling Ear Pressure The best methods for balancing ear pressure during diving require a few basic measures, regardless of whether you need assistance “blowing” or “popping” your ears. Listen For The “Pop” Before going on any boat diving trips in Aqaba, ensure you can hear or sense the “pop” in both ears while swallowing, extending your jaw, or lightly squeezing your nose. This indicates the opening of your eustachian tubes. Start Before Your Scuba Diving Trip   It doesn’t hurt if you start a bit early on your trip. Slowly start equalizing your ears every few minutes or hours before the trip down under. Forget to do it? Don’t worry! Chewing gum helps out in such cases. The secret behind this is it allows you to swallow frequently, making the process easier.   Keep Your Head Above Your Feet   According to research, it may take more effort to equalize… Read More »How to Equalize Your Ears While Scuba Diving

A woman scuba diving

How to Prepare For Your First Scuba Diving Adventure

Looking for an enjoyable activity that will leave you energized? Scuba diving in Aqaba is just the thing for you. When you get into it, you’ll want to keep returning to appreciate being where few people are, which is several feet beneath sea level. The world becomes double the size for divers as they get to explore places that a lot of people are hesitant to go to. Everything you find down there is not what you have ever encountered before. It’s a completely new world, and just like a baby coming out of the womb, you will need some help to get accustomed to things down there. Here are a few pointers that will help you prepare for your next diving adventure in Aqaba. Make Sure You’re Certified To Dive If you think snorkeling and diving training are the same, we have some news to break: diving requires extra attention. That’s why several diving organizations ask you to show confirmation of your diving certification or specialized ability. This varies from one type of diving to another. You should obtain this diving certificate from a certified dive instructor. This can be done before your trip or before you start diving in Aqaba. Certain companies provide Discover Scuba Diving or Try Diving courses, which are a sampler, but they don’t give you the go-ahead to dive anytime and anywhere you choose. If you fail to get your dive certification and don’t dive with a certified instructor or divemasteer (which is necessary), then kiss your travel insurance goodbye. It… Read More »How to Prepare For Your First Scuba Diving Adventure

A person scuba diving near a coral reef

How To Take Pictures Underwater: A Beginner’s Guide

Sick of seeing images of the ocean that are just white spots floating in a bluish picture? Photographing underwater is very different than photographing on land. Numerous things exist underwater that can affect how the photo turns out. When you go scuba diving in Aqaba, you will want to come back with beautiful pictures of all the enticing underwater ruins and exotic animals. For that to happen, you need to pay attention because you’re in a new environment. You must control your buoyancy and be aware of your position while you take a picture. With the help of this guide, you’ll be able to take spectacular underwater images during your diving in Aqaba excursion to show to your friends and family.  Minimize The Distance Between You and The Object An important point that you need to focus on initially is to decrease the distance between your subject and the camera. Water absorbs light; therefore, the closer you are, the more light you will capture. Your subject might appear dark and unclear if you take a photo from a great distance. This initial step is a simple approach but an important one to get you started. It’s easy to go a little closer, adding a lot to the overall picture. Photo Flash   The distance is also crucial if you want to use the camera’s flash. Backscatter is bound to happen if the light from the built-in flash is used while the target is distant from the camera. This causes noise in the image. If you’re… Read More »How To Take Pictures Underwater: A Beginner’s Guide

Two diving buddies checking out oxygen tanks

Few Tested Ways to Find A Lost Dive Buddy

Have you ever dreamt of diving in the great big blue sea with no worries? Well, that can easily happen when you try scuba diving in Aqaba. Exploring hidden places and finding wonderful creatures underneath is an exciting adventure. However, this adventure can quickly become scary if you lose your dive buddy. It can be terrifying and confusing if you and your diving partner get separated. A guiding principle of the buddy system is to be fully prepared for this possibility. If you comply with the buddy system, you’re likely to reduce the likelihood of any underwater incidents. No matter how well-trained you are and how many precautions you take, an event like this can occur to anybody.  Factors That Can Cause You To Lose Your Diving Buddy   The following reasons could cause the separation of diving partners: Limited visibility Issues with or faults with equipment Diversions  Powerful currents   Lack of communication Being separated from your friend can be stressful. Finding yourself alone underwater when you’re scuba diving and unable to communicate might be terrifying. However, by following a correct dive partner separation technique, you may reduce the risks of such an occurrence. It may make it easier to get back together with your diving partner. Dive Buddies Things You Can Do If You Get Separated From Your Diving Partner   As part of your backup preparation, talk about the following things with your partner:  Be sure to discuss what you both will do if you lose sight of one another before going… Read More »Few Tested Ways to Find A Lost Dive Buddy

A tank dive site

Diving in Aqaba and The Iconic Wrecks of Jordan

Wreck Sites in Aqaba Jordan is typically not the first place many people think about when considering the next stop for a scuba diving vacation. But, it might be time to reconsider. For lovers of wreck diving, Aqaba, Jordan, has a few prime dive spots that you’ll instantly fall in love with.    This is all thanks to the royal family of Jordan and their long-standing interest in diving. The majority of the wrecks near Aqaba were deliberately sunk as artificial reefs. In 1985, the late King Abdullah personally gave the order to sink the Cedar Pride ship. It’s a beloved and popular destination for tourists who come to Aqaba to dive. Most of the wrecks in Aqaba are are highly accessible. Let’s check out a few of them! Cedar Pride This wreck is the most-visited spot in the area for wreck divers. It had its humble beginnings as a Spanish cargo ship. It went through many owners who renamed her multiple times until a Lebanese company named her San Bruno. This label is still readable when you go scuba diving in Aqaba.  Due to an explosion that tore a hole in the ship, it was destroyed and remained partially submerged and partially afloat in the harbor. Then the King, who loved diving, became interested in the ship and decided to sink it and turn it into the well-known dive destination it is currently. It was cleared of oil and other substances that might harm marine life. It lies on its port side with plenty of… Read More »Diving in Aqaba and The Iconic Wrecks of Jordan

An underwater photograph taken from a level perspective

How to Take Pictures Underwater: 3 Tips for Beginners

Underwater photography isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Even if you’re good at natural photography, you’ll find it challenging to adapt to taking pictures underwater. The odd lighting conditions, the weird perspectives, and the inability to move around freely make taking pictures anything but easy. We interviewed Red Sea diving experts in Aqaba for their professional advice on how best to take pictures underwater. This article shares three of the most important tips we noted.So, without further ado, let’s dive into it! 1.Don’t Take Images From The Top Many people make the mistake of taking pictures as they’re diving downwards. This results in very cluttered and flat images. When you’re above your subject, the background is the sea floor—which isn’t much farther from your subject. This minimizes your lens focus and makes it harder to distinguish between your subject and the background. The seafloor is also probably getting as much light as your subject, limiting your photographs’ ambiance.Instead, get to the same level as your subject or below your subject to capture the picture. Your subject will stand out far better against a plain background. 2.Get Closer to Your Subject Not a lot of light reaches the seafloor. Most professional underwater photographs you see use strobes to illuminate the subject. As a beginner, you might not have the budget to purchase these. You can also try using an underwater torch. However, there’s a way you can tackle this. Instead of taking pictures of entire sceneries, choose a subject and don’t shoot deep. Instead, use ambient light.… Read More »How to Take Pictures Underwater: 3 Tips for Beginners

Buddies diving in the Red Sea

5 Tips to Be a Good Dive Buddy

Diving with a good dive buddy can be the difference between a mundane trip and the best scuba dive of your life. How can you be a good dive buddy? What are some of the most important things you can do to be a good buddy? Having a good dive buddy is essential for a safe dive. To answer these questions, we went to some of our Red Sea diving professionals in Aqaba and asked them to spill their secrets. Here, we share the five most important tips they gave us. Let’s dive right into it! 1. Do a Safety Check A good dive buddy does a safety check for their own and their buddies’ equipment before diving. Check if you’re wearing all equipment, including the dive mask, that the air tank is open, the buoyancy compensation device inflates and deflates, and you have your weight belt and fins. Also, check for any faults in the equipment before you dive. 2. Practice Your Underwater Hand Signals You can’t communicate underwater verbally without radio equipment, so divers learn common hand signals to communicate with their buddies or divemaster. Know your underwater hand signals and practice with your buddy(s) before going on the dive. You don’t necessarily have to learn everything, but learning the most important hand signals is a must—such as problem sign or out of air sign. 3. Take an Underwater Camera With You If you are a fairly good diver and not a novice, you might enjoy getting some photos of your dive tother. Consider… Read More »5 Tips to Be a Good Dive Buddy