Inspiring experience with a lot of fun

I spent two amazing weeks with Gili Shark Conservation. Before this, I had never volunteered or gone diving, but both were things that I had wanted to do for such a long time, so I was very excited to find this opportunity. And it turned out to be the best decision to join the team in Gili Air. The dedication and care of these guys for the ocean and marine life are truly inspiring. Their positive attitude that surrounds their everyday life on the island is infectious; very quickly, I found myself involuntarily smiling during each dive and thoroughly enjoying all the presentations and activities we participated in.
As I had never dived before, I first completed the open water course, which was a very good experience. The Blue Marlin staff made us feel completely comfortable, and the first dive experience was something I will never forget. Then, in the following days, we participated in various diving activities, including a scientific diving course where we learned fish and turtle identification and collected trash from the ocean.
The entire program was very well organized; we received a personalized schedule with many activities, but we still had free time in the afternoons and weekends to enjoy the island. Rose and the team always responded very quickly to all our questions and were always ready to help and find a solution. The headquarters are beautiful and comfortable, surrounded by nature! The staff working there are super nice, and they make the best pancakes for breakfast.
I gained so much more from this experience than I expected. This program taught me a lot about marine life conservation while having a lot of fun diving, and it shaped my outlook. I certainly came home with a clearer message about what we need to do to preserve the oceans and with a clearer objective to contribute to this conservation through my work in plastic recycling and in my everyday life.