I completed an Erasmus+ internship at Alice and Beltran's diving school (as part of my
biology studies) and would like to share my entirely positive experience here:
As I had never been diving before my internship, I arrived a little earlier to get my diving
license in the days before. I was able to do this directly at the diving school where I also did
my internship afterwards. To get my diving license, I had to pass a theoretical test and
complete five practice dives. From the very beginning, I noticed how much importance the
owners of the diving school placed on safety - both for the divers themselves and for the
marine life under water. I was very happy and grateful about this, as I had unfortunately
already heard about various negative experiences at other diving schools.
Then the internship began, which was roughly divided into a practical and a theoretical part,
with the practical part clearly predominating, especially in the second month. The owner of
the diving school, Alice, is herself a marine biologist. She informed us about the
classification of various animal phyla that can be found in the Atlantic, as well as the
structure of the sea as a habitat. I was able to build on my previous zoological knowledge
from my basic module at the FU Berlin and deepen this knowledge, especially underwater,
when we were supposed to actively identify the individual organisms. We also exchanged
ideas about writing a scientific paper and about common statistical methods for data analysis
in ecology. This also enabled me to supplement my existing basic knowledge.
My boss's main research focus was the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa, which is particularly
important for various species of sea turtles, as they use it as their primary food source. We
mainly measured the density of seagrass per square meter in a defined area in order to be
able to better characterize the species. For these dives we always went to the Abades
Reserve, an area protected from boats and anglers in the southeast of the island, about 25
minutes by car from Los Cristianos. During these dives we often saw turtles frolicking on the
seagrass meadows to feed.
The internship consisted of various other dives: we went diving twice at night to observe
nocturnal organisms. We also collected garbage from the ocean on so-called "Dives against
Debris", which we then documented on the PADI Aware website and disposed of separately.
I really enjoyed that, even though it is always sad to see the underwater world so polluted.
We also went on a trip on land to one of the many natural pools on Tenerife to get to know
the coastal ecosystem better. Here too, our theoretical knowledge played a major role. Alice
also organized a lecture with a scientist from the north of Tenerife who reported on his
research on the shark species that live there.
My internship mostly consisted of a four-day week with an average of six to seven hours per
day. After the dives, tidying up and cleaning the equipment was part of the daily tasks. Since
we often had two dives in one day, we made sure to take long enough breaks. Our boss
always provided snacks and drinks, which made for a very relaxed and almost familial
working atmosphere. I also quickly became friends with the other interns and we went on
many trips together outside of the internship.
All in all, I would recommend this internship to anyone who is interested in marine biology, as
it offers a great balance to the university environment of the course. I am very grateful to
have gained additional experience in the field of marine biology through this opportunity.
I hope I can come back soon to complete my PADI Advanced Open Water Diver. :-)
