mybestkungfu's Diaryland
Diary
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Scuba diving:
the first slight panic attack was when i was getting
fitted for my gear. what the hell, those tanks feel
like a ton! reminds me of the time i tried to give
Jeremy a piggy-back when he was a light 230.
hernia inducing.
i struggled to put on my fins without tipping forward.
finally, i'm sitting on the back of the boat -
on the flat grill part - with my feet dipping in
the ocean.
the divemaster is treading water below me.
he holds his hand - palm up on the waters surface.
(the *shrug*/'i don't know' pose - except with just
the right hand). then he says, 'dive into the water,
aim for hitting your forehead on my palm'.
and it's the first of many times i silently think,
'are you crazy?! screw you buddy'.
i plunge in face first anyway.
not that bad.
i was already prepared for the freezing temperatures but
i forget that i'm not going to get water up my nose
(because of the mask). and breathing into the regulator
wasn't the most natural feeling but it sure beats
getting water in your mouth.
we do a few underwater exercises while we're at boat's edge
- he teaches us how to get rid of water that's leaked
into our masks by blowing out through our noses
to force the water out.
'i'm going to tap on your mask,' he says,' then and
then i'm going to reach over and let water in,
and you see if you can get it out'.
we duck our heads under.
he reaches over and lifts the edge of my mask.
i respond instinctively by pulling my mask away from my face
but i'm getting even more water in it.
did i mention that i have
the flu? and a runny nose? and that blowing out of my
nose had double effects?
we also learn to clear our regulators by basically spitting
into the valve. i wonder where it all goes. back
into the water? apparantly you can vomit into
these things and it's alright.
we get towed in the water, via a rope attached to the back
of a motorized raft, towards our destination.
it's only me and Michael and the divemaster out here
which is good because my reaction time in a foreign
environment is quite slug-like.
Divemaster reiterates basic instructions,
'so we're going to go into the water, and every time i do
this *holds nose*, we're going to equalize
(hold our noses and blow out to relieve pressure in our ears)
and then i'm going to ask you if you're ok
*thumb and forefinger makes circle while other fingers extended*
- which on an unrelated topic - is a signal for 'money'
in the philippines).
'this DOES NOT mean OK *show us thumbs up signal*,
it means you want to resurface.
THIS means ok *hang ten - thumb and pinky extended*.
a few more signals and we're good to go.
cue drumroll in my head.
we descend.
not that far down. 5 to 7 metres.
every few feet we equalize.
but i don't think i'm doing it right.
i'm not getting the pressure relief that i need.
there is distinct pain in my left ear.
i can't see a thing except blue around us.
we're sinking into the abyss.
it's freakin' freezing.
equalize signal.
egad! my ear really hurts!
where the hell am i?
what the hell am i doing here?!
Divemaster has stopped moving and is floating
lazily.
I grimace and inadvertantly get water
in my mouth. crap!
Divemaster makes signal for listen to the whales
as i attempt to not drown.
dude, screw the whales! i'm dying over here.
i make the shakey hand movement and point to my right ear.
signal for 'somethings not cool where i'm pointing'.
he makes the equalize signal.
equalize THIS yo.
i try again and hear a squeek coming out
of my left ear. what the hell? but it feels good so
it must have been the right thing. my right ear
still hurts so i equalize every few minutes.
i start to acknowledge our surroundings.
we're totally surrounded by coral.
and i am completely flabbergasted.
there's so much life going on down here!
and they don't even care that we're hanging out with them!
i see many different types of looks-like-a-big-brain-coral
and spongey hope-you're-not-really-a-predator-disguised-
as-something-pretty anemone and spiney please-don't-be-venomous
uh...plants and schools of big and small please-stop-trying
to-grab-us fish and non-fish-but-swimming-things in a riot of colours.
my only 2 main concerns are that i: 1. don't scrape coral with my fins therby damaging at least
a hundred years worth of growth
(some of them develop at a rate of a centimeter per century). 2. don't scrape the coral with my bare skin and risk getting an
infection (my wetsuit only covers up to forarm and midthigh). after 10 minutes of swimming in wide eyed exploration,
i opt to accomplish the first thing.
i think that i'm farther up than i actually am until i
hear/feel my right fin make contact with something hard
- and scrape along it.
damnit! i try to paddle furiously but don't feel like
i'm getting anywhere as fast as i should. i kick it again
for good measure. take that pretty coral. Divemaster pulls me up a bit and makes an adjustment
on my gear to help me float up more.
i am starting to get nervous again - this time because
i REALLY don't want to wreck anything.
we're in the Great Barrier Reef for pete's sakes!
but divemaster is a jackass as he leads us into an
even more complicated environment.
we're completley engulfed now. i can't
even see a spot of sand underneath us.
there's so much to look at!
we're swimming around what looks like a cavernous area
and Divemaster points into a dark crevice.
'Screw you again dude, i AIN'T going down into that thing'.
Divemaster looks at me and points again. i nodd
enthusiastically but make no move to swim in his direction.
later on, Michael said that it was because there was a potato
cod in there, they're about the size of a 5kg sack of potatoes.
Michael also later mentioned that i should have controlled
my rise and fall with how much air i held in my lungs
instead of my crappy paddling.
oh, i'll show you crappy paddling... we explore more of the reef.
my ear goes from slightly uncomfortable to excruciating
at regular intervals but i'm blowing my nose in my mask
often.
Divemaster swims on his back near the bottom and makes
bubble rings that get wider and wider as they rise up.
i realize that i've been keeping my head straight down
this whole time because i'm used to the snorkelling position.
i turn my head from side to side to get a beter peek
at things.
i make like a starfish and stop moving altogether.
it feels like we're floating on air.
it's really clear down here although they said it could
have been clearer because it's overcast today. Divemaster signals that we're resurfacing.
we all hold hands like schoolchildren and make our way up.
and up.
and up.
cool.
it totally felt like we were only a foot underwater.
we break the surface and get a tow back to our
boat, the Mantaray. then we saw some whales blah blah.
then we had a buffet lunch on the upper deck yada yada.
then we went to some pristine, practically deserted stretch
of beach on a small island where if you'd be looking at
paying 5 thousand dollars a bottle for the SAND etc etc.
then i had some chocolate cake.
what a crappy day.
12:30 a.m. - Aug. 03, 2005
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