Curacao Marine Bio Adventure

This was not the adventure of a lifetime. That’s what I have to keep telling myself, because to acknowledge that I’ll never experience anything like my Broadreach trip again would send me into a bottomless pit of depression.
I had found this program 3 years prior and immediately started saving up and dreaming about the trip. I was incredibly fortunate to receive a generous scholarship from broadreach that helped greatly with the costs. My only concern going into the program was that it would be impossible to live up to the expectations I had built over the 1,075 day wait. Somehow, it still exceeded them. Waking up on the island was a dream come true, and never in my life have I been more present in the moment. Learning to SCUBA Dive was such an unbelievable experience: I still picture all the amazing animals I saw underwater and am counting the days until I can dive again.
The people there were also absolutely amazing, and we still talk nearly every day. I never felt judged by my peers, and Broadreach makes it so easy to bond and make lifetime friends. The instructors were all great and I found the classes fascinating. We were able to learn so much in such a short time, but it is all very manageable and low-stress.
Getting to work with local conservation efforts was very rewarding, and I still can’t fully believe that I’m certified as a coral restoration diver now. If I weren’t aging out, I would absolutely do another trip. To anyone who is even slightly considering broadreach: go for it. You will not regret it.