Pacific Blue - take 2

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21st May, 2010

It’s been about 6 months now, my friend in Tokyo and I had planned on going to swim with the dolphins, on a tour which includes snorkelling in the pacific, swimming around dolphins and the works.
My friend returned home and when I realized this the past Tuesday, there was but only one thing to do.
So it’s Friday night and I’m aboard the Sylvano Maru. I didn’t expect the ship would be so big, but it’s a pleasant surprise. It rides for 6 and half hours from Tokyo to take me to the island of Miyakejima, where I meet my tour guide, Taguchi san.
The ride itself is mostly uneventful, but tomorrow is a brand new day.

22nd May, 2010

The Captain made the announcement at 4:30 when I woke, that we would soon be arriving at Miyakejima. I was up until 2 last night and I’m so sleepy. At 5, I see Miyakejima, it looks very much like a tropical island except for a few black stains.
There’s someone who’s come to the port to pick me and takeme to the ‘Minshuku’, a Japanese style guest house. The nice lady showed me my room and I immediately crashed to sound sleep. She wakes me up at 8 for breakfast. The breakfast is awesome, fitter than for a king!
Taguchi-san then arrives and drives around to meet more people. He asks me ifI’m from the US Army!! That’s how cool my haircut is. We then meet Taguchi-san’s assistant, Franziska from Germany and Tsuru san who is a professional diver, making her 30th dive.
The 4 of us head to a nearby beach and it’s a perfect day for diving - Bright sunshine, clear skies and the mighty blue Pacific. We get on our gear and enter the shallow water for some snorkelling. Snorkelling always sounded a little creepy to me, like a snivelling rat or something.
I was relived to find it’s almost like the opposite of it. It’s, in fact, pretty easy and you don’t even know how to swim. I saw many coral reefs, some bright fishes. All of this, the first time outside of an aquarium. We did this for about an hour but I sucked at diving. Even with my weight, I managed to just stay afloat and couldn’t get inside the water.
Fran san tries hard to teach me but …. I anyway learn how to stand in water, how to remove water from the mask from her. In fact, she’s the one pointing out if there’s a interesting fish or something to see since I was managing to miss many!
This was a truly beautiful day, so Taguchi san suggested we head to swim with the dolphins today itself and since there was a forecast of rain for the following day. So, after some refreshment, we hop on to the Santomo Maru, a little yacht like boat that can ride at crazy Japanese speeds. Some other people have also joined us and there are like 13-14 people. We ride for about 45minutes and the Captain sees the first dolphins.
My first jump will be my most memorable. I climbed to the side of the boat with my feet hanging on the outside. I was supposed to then just jump inside the ocean. However, to me it seemed like there was a ledge or something on the boat where I could stand and then ump in. While I was trying to feel around for the ledge, I missed my footing and just fell in!
Oh, it was deep but a awesome blue. Visibility was great and we saw the dolphins. They were coming toward us, crossed us and then swam past us like we did not exist! That’s so cool. I’m told that sometimes they are in a playful mood when they swim around you and kind of play with you but I guess I’m not so luck. We made another 5 or 6 dives. The last one, like a climax, was the most successful. We saw three sets (is it schools, or herd?) of Dolphins and it was the longest dive. I saw one female dolphin being chased by 6 male ones… (Though I saw this clearly much later on the tape, with the explanation)
It turns out; I was the only one making my first dive there. Taguchi san was impressed that I made it to all of the dives. First timers usually make only 3 or 4...tch tch. I was pretty tied by now, so I got myself a great spot on the Santomo. The setting sun in the distance, the pacific stretching into forever….I’m sure I looked silly for just staring out and smiling the whole while.
After getting back, I went to an Onsen. The speciality of this one is that the water is mineral rich and is taken from the volcano (remember the back stains n the island?). As I lay in there, I realized it was my first time on an active volcano, my first dive into the pacific. It felt like I had conquered many worlds in a day. I got back to the Minshuku after that where I had a meal that was prepared for 9 kings. I don’t remember the names of most things, but see if you can figure it out from the picture.

Gute Nacht!

23rd May 2010

My day starts with breakfast, another Maguro delicacy. Taguchi san and Fran san offer me a guided tour of the island with Fran san. But there’s unfinished business, so I say, let’s go snorkelling again. In the rain, the ocean looks slightly more ferocious. I am undeterred and Fran san says not too positively that I’m passionate. However, we get in and after a demonstration by Fran-san, I make my First Dive. It was heavenly. I saw the fish and the reefs real close up. Note, wearing weights while diving makes it easier to dive and it doesn’t make you drown.
Taguchi san is out with Tsuru san for some deep sea scuba diving. He returns after an hour and sees me making the dives. He also films me on his camera. Objective Achieved!
We still have some time, so Fran san takes me around Miyakejima. She shows me where the volcano hit, the towns it affected and how the island changed. It was interesting, but nothing to beat my dive.
Finally, it was time to board the ship now and we headed to the port. Taguchi san, Tsuru san and Takahashi san (who had picked me up when I arrived) were waiting for us. I went on the deck and the 4 of them kept waving till I was out of sight. When your tour guides feel like friends you are meeting for the first time, you know you had a great trip. I also learnt that there are some good goodbyes, one’s you would like to have more often.
So I’m back on the deck, writing this and staring out to the ocean. It’s pouring and the ship that was rock steady on it’s way here, is swaying to the tunes of the Pacific. Coelho usually writes about the deserts teaching a lot of stories, I think it is the same of the Ocean. It gives us so much and can take away everything as well. It seems to demand reverence.
I’m at the end of my journey now and as Cap’n Jack Sparrow says, bring me my Horizon!

Note: Sometimes you think it’s the end when it really isn’t! I was on the deck when a whole bunch of aged people also got there. A simple hello got them talking and as it turns out, they’re from the Japan Alpine Club, into restoration of forests and go once a month to plant trees. Also interesting, I met the person in the picture who travelled from Xi’an to Istanbul for 3 years, on a cycle! Not an everyday hero, eh?
I have been invited to join them for planting trees and hopefully you will hear more about that in the future.

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