Since Etendues Sauvages was founded, we have focused on designing tailor-made journeys to so-called “land-based” regions.
Orange soft coral on a drop-off
Yet seas and oceans cover nearly 70% of our planet and hold magnificent sites where underwater life reigns.
Not offering these wild underwater expanses would have been, if not a mistake, an unforgivable lapse of taste!
But one cannot know everything, and no one becomes a scuba diving specialist in two fin kicks and three breaths through a regulator…
So, following the old adage that “what matters is not knowing everything, but knowing the person who does,” we gradually drew closer to a specialist in the field.
After more than 5,000 dives, several years of experience as an instructor and dive guide at some of the most renowned sites on the planet, and while continuing his work in audiovisual production, Zahel has placed his trust in us by collaborating with our team to design magnificent tailor-made journeys that combine scuba diving with the discovery of the region being explored.
An alliance between water and land.
Zahel maintains constant contact with dive centers, with other experts in this demanding community of enthusiasts, and above all, with you.
Whether you are a beginner diver or a highly experienced one, whether you wish to experience your first discovery of the underwater world or organize a total immersion to fully indulge your passion (cruise, stay…), whether you have specific requirements, technical questions, or even metaphysical ones about diving…
Do not hesitate to contact him. He will listen, help you, and design your journey together with our team of specialists.
Always tailored to you.
Get to know Zahel Aitaissa by watching this interview filmed in October 2012:
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And if you prefer reading…
Here is the full interview with Zahel Aitaissa, scuba diving specialist for Etendues Sauvages:
Zahel, let’s get to know you…
How did your passion for diving come about, and how long have you been diving?
It simply comes from the fact that my father is a diver.
I’m turning forty this year, and I started diving just for fun at the age of six.
And from a more professional standpoint?
I left an airline where I was a cabin chief to pursue my passion, diving. I earned my instructor certification in 2003.
Zahel diving!
And after all these years, how many dives does that add up to?
A little over 5,000 dives to date, whether leading groups, diving for pleasure, or teaching, since I’ve worked in dive schools, guided groups on cruises, and provided accompaniment.
So yes, the number is starting to add up!
And travel, in all of this?
My father worked in aviation, and as I mentioned, I was also a flight attendant and then a cabin chief. So I always had the opportunity to travel, and that gave me a taste for travel, for self-discovery, for discovering others, with the pleasure of being accompanied and of accompanying others. All of this led me, once again, toward diving.
You have been working with the Etendues Sauvages team for several weeks designing tailor-made journeys that combine diving with the “on land” discovery of the destination. In your view, what sets this approach apart?
Most existing tour operators have products that are fairly closed off, fairly standardized, and sold as-is without modification.
The Etendues Sauvages team listens to its clients, and after a period of development, we end up with a truly unique product, shaped according to your wishes, your desires.
And that is something I have not found anywhere else.
And how do you work with the Etendues Sauvages team?
I come in quite simply during the trip’s planning phase, to create this “diving” component that will adapt to and fit within a journey. I accompany the client and help them define their needs, their wishes, to meet their desire to see a particular animal or a particular region. From there, we can design, coherently and once again attentively, a journey that reflects who they are, that is entirely personal to them. Not a journey you can find anywhere else.
Diving with a gurnard
And through diving, what would you like to share with those who wish to take such a journey?
I believe it is, above all, a passion; we are here to enjoy ourselves, not to show off to others or perform athletic feats. We are here to listen, to witness, to be present for an event, whether it’s a whale passing by with her calf, or manta rays, for example.
Today, given the state of sustainable development, we don’t quite know where we’re heading, and I think it’s important to be a witness, with passion and humility. Not really an actor, but a respectful witness.
And in any case, you need a bit of luck?
I’ve always said the sea is not an aquarium. If you’re lucky and the weather is good, everything goes well, and if not… But I think it’s precisely the uncertainty that makes it so enjoyable. If we were 100% certain of seeing something, there probably wouldn’t be so many enthusiasts.
Are there sites that every diver should discover, regardless of their level?
That’s opening Pandora’s box!
Everyone has their own kind of diving and their own diving aspirations. If you want to see marine biology up close, Indonesia and the Philippines will draw you in with phenomenal sites for macro photography or muck diving; if you want to see large species, a flagship destination like the Malpelo – Cocos Island – Galápagos triangle will clearly attract you; if it’s great visibility and clear water you’re after, I think Mexico with its magnificent Yucatán cenotes, or Antarctica with its pristine water, will appeal to you. It all depends on what you’re drawn to at the moment.
But it also depends on your diving level?
Yes, of course; the pleasure is the same regardless of level, but everyone has their own capacity. My wife loves running marathons; personally, a short two-kilometer run suits me just fine!
After all these years of diving, is there one dive that left you with a particular memory?
There are many, but one truly moved me, for its sensitivity and emotion. It was in Djibouti, in a place called the Japanese Garden. At this site, there is a resident family of long-beaked common bottlenose dolphins. During one dive, I spent forty minutes playing with a baby dolphin that followed me and did exactly the same things I did. I went up, it went up. I went down, it went down. I forgot all about my air consumption, and it was the first time I ever ran my tank dry!
It was a great moment, full of emotion, because for once I was an actor and not just a witness. But still respecting it. I was in its home, and it knew it. We had a great time together, and it was about sharing. I think that’s the key word: sharing.
And the next dive?
I would love to discover Antarctica! Those vast white expanses, those great wild expanses :-)…
And the visibility of cold water, where there are such beautiful things to see…
