You stand on the warm limestone shore of Protaras, sea air salty and bright, while the Mediterranean murmurs as if inviting you below. The instructor walks you through gear at the water’s edge; tanks hiss, masks gleam, and the shallow blue beyond promises weightlessness and movement without effort. A short wade leads to a calm shallows lesson where instructors teach breathing, buoyancy checks and hand signals before guiding you to a maximum depth around 6 meters — shallow enough to keep the coastline in sight, deep enough to meet sea turtles.