Diver Veronika Tamulionytė calls Baltic Sea one of the toughest to explore

Underwater operator and filmmaker Veronika Tamulionytė says the Baltic Sea is one of the most difficult and dangerous seas for diving, LRT reports. Visibility can sometimes be so poor that divers cannot see their companions even at arm’s length.

Tamulionytė describes diving as being “perhaps like flying into space”. She says that underwater, colours, the pace of thought and the perception of the body all change, while everyday problems temporarily disappear.

She recently believed that ear problems would prevent her from diving altogether. After travelling to Indonesia, however, she learned to dive, became a rescuer within a short time and began filming underwater.

By the time she returned to Lithuania, she already knew that her next project would take place in the Baltic Sea, although she did not yet know what she would find there.

That journey led to the documentary film Sunken Land, which tells the story of relict forests hidden on the Baltic seabed and underwater archaeologist Professor Vladas Žulkus.

Tamulionytė’s connection with water began in childhood. The Merkys, a fast-flowing and cold river, ran near her grandmother’s home, but she did not see it as dangerous.

“We children went there very bravely. The river was fast and deep, but we had learned to master that element. I was not afraid of it at all. The water of the Merkys was very cold, but I felt good, calm and safe there. I knew every branch and every stone,” she recalls.

She also spent time with her mother near Lake Glėbas. The children played a simple game there: holding on to a footbridge, they would dive underwater and compete to see who could hold their breath the longest.

“That was my favourite game because I could stay underwater without breathing for a very long time. Now I understand that the desire to dive and explore the bottom was there from childhood. We collected pebbles and looked for things underwater. In our family, being in the water felt safe,” Tamulionytė says.

For a long time, however, professional diving seemed out of reach. Her ears hurt badly when she flew, and during a medical examination she was told that one eardrum might not be fully developed.

“I used to think I could not dive. If flying caused such pain in my ears, it seemed clear that the pressure underwater would not be good for them either,” she says.

At one point in her life, Tamulionytė felt she needed a creative break and went to the United States. There, she unexpectedly began watching underwater documentaries.

“I watched probably everything that could be found. It was the only thing that calmed me in America. Then I began thinking: perhaps I want to see for myself what it all looks like,” she recalls.

Alongside her curiosity came questions about whether her ears could withstand the pressure, whether the depth would be too great and whether she would become afraid underwater.

“I was not afraid to fly to Indonesia. The biggest question was whether my body could handle it,” Tamulionytė says.

In Indonesia, she chose a diving school. She first trained in a pool and was taken out into the ocean that same day, diving to a depth of about 15 metres.