things are going swimmingly. erm…excuse the horrible pun.
scuba diving is very unique. it’s like being able to fly, and being on the moon, and snorkeling; it’s wonderful and terrifying. sometimes we soar over twisted, spiky orange forests like skeletal fingers with thousands of tiny movements from all the life living in them. fish eyes peer out at us curiously. other times it’s stretches of sand with mushroom-cloud shaped trees of coral growing upwards emerging from the gloom, surrounded by a teeming population. i’m finally getting used to equalizing (you know when you dive down in a swimming pool and your ears start to hurt? it’s easy to rectify by blowing out through your nose while plugging it: it fills the cavities in your ear with more air, because what was already in there is being compressed) and blowing through a regulator (it’s noisy, and there are loads of bubbles!). i’ve taken off my mask at ten metres below the surface, learned what to do if i run out of air, how to use a compass underwater, how to make myself neutrally buoyant…the list goes on.
tomorrow we go to 18 metres, our depth limit as open water divers. the pressure increases most the first 6-10 metres, so i’m not too worried: mostly just excited to see what kind of life exists at that depth. i can’t wait to take my advanced so that i can go to 30, and dive in wrecks (there are lots, apparently, in vancouver).
i am really enjoying myself, but i’m getting really homesick. it’s getting worse every day. it’s meaningful, missing a place i wanted to leave so badly even in a perfect place like this. i hope the olympics haven’t spoiled the good things about my city too much.
in six days, we leave for indonesia. i’ll miss this place, but i’m excited to move on as well.
yes, i’m still here. today some guests checked in that i’d love to tell you about, but to stay safe i’m leaving the details until i’m far, far away.
also today, i went on my first scuba dive. i thought it would be like snorkeling, and at first it was except for the noise of the exhalation. bubbles framing my face, i descended with the three others. even though we only went to 6 metres, it was just different. i don’t think there’s anything i can compare it to, and it’s hard to explain. underwater, I breathe differently: about half the speed as on the surface. looking up at the waves from underneath was unnerving.
more on this later. i’m really tired out from being inundated with the dangers of decompression sickness.
still here. food and a roof, bed, air conditioning and a hot shower for the minimal work we’re doing is too good to pass up.
the other day in the heat, the high-pitched mechanical sounding tune of the crickets our soundtrack, covered in a layer of sweat, we followed the power lines and hiked to the non-functioning (the island uses diesel for power) wind turbines and solar panels at the top of the north end of the island. we saw a monitor lizard that must have been two metres long, and scores of butterflies. tom led the way armed with a stick he waved frantically in front of himself to destroy the webs of the army of spiders in our way.
at the top, we stood and looked down at the view (pictures to come): turquoise stretching away to the horizon, lush green, and a huge staircase to nowhere. we descended, and tried to climb the rocks back to long beach. after about forty-five minutes of rather strenuous exercise we turned back, out of water and energy. we stopped at a drizzle of water from a spring that made a natural shower in a crevasse in the rock. deliciously cold and drinkable, it gave us what we needed to go on.
it seems everything needed to go on is here. it’s the most relaxed and beautiful place i’ve ever been.
soon we’ll be taking our open water diving course, enabling us to dive anywhere in the world. snorkeling itself is almost enough: just off the shore there are thousands of fish of every colour and size you can imagine. the other day tom saw a shark, and i saw a squid. the island and the ocean around it is teeming with life.
well, i’ll leave you here. saya rindu awak kawan (“i miss you friends” in the local dialect).
we arrived in the perhentian islands about four days ago. i say “about” because it’s hard to keep track of time in a place like this. culture shocked after our fourteen hour overnight train ride from the bustling sewer-scented kuala lumpur, we accepted a ride from a local to kuala besut. the woman who sold us our boat tickets to the islands unnecessarily apologized for the weather (which was, and has been, perfect) as it’s the off season. we waited amidst smiling locals, hopped on the boat, and were taken here.
the most memorable words spoken as we walked down the dock were “this place would kick most postcards’ ass”.
it’s just what you imagine when you hear the word “paradise”; a sickly sweet but thoroughly incredible cliche of white sands, palm trees, grinning locals, delicious food and affordable, comfortable accommodation. minutes from our room is a beach with, just offshore, a teeming world of fish and coral straight out of a nature program. for just $10 each, we went on a half-day snorkeling tour and saw massive turtles, black-tipped sharks, and every colour of fish imaginable. watching them crowd together in front of our faces, fighting for cracker crumbs we crumpled under the surface, was like nothing i’ve ever experienced.
we’ll be working for maybe a week or two for food and accommodation at shangri-la, the resort where we’re staying. next we push on, up through thailand.