She's an island girl

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When I leave I want to leave a memory filled with love
The kind you don't forget
When I go I want to be known
As one who lived with no regrets
(Gotta love shuffle....)

Another day, another turtle. Unfortunately, no captures as of yet. We saw a decent sized adult on the reef during yesterday's afternoon dive, but he/she was pretty eager to swim away. Miguel (our divemaster) tried to grab him because he swam up first, got close, but couldn't get his hands on the animal. Even had he grabbed it, I'm not so sure how the swim to the surface would have gone. These adults are not only large (around 2-3 feet in shell length), but they are very strong as well. Today the other dive boat saw 2 adults on 2 separate dives, but neither were catchable. Our current luck has been frustrating, especially considering how many calm, easily catchable turtles I was forced to pass up on last week, but as is life I suppose.

Today we did find a little juvenile on our second dive. Christi's 6th turtle sense kicked in (maybe from all of her sonic tagging practice?) and she grabbed that little guy for all he was worth. Unfortunately, the little ones can often be the strongest (manatee injury memories? Just sayin'...) and the little bugger got out of her hands. The group tried to chase him down in a hot pursuit to the shallows, but turtles can be speedier than they look! We followed him for about 5-10 mins, and finally gave up. I was a little worried that the rest of the divers would be annoyed about the dive getting cut short, as I never expected Miguel to be so determined to track the tortuga down! Thankfully, though, when we got back to the boat, all the younger divers could talk about was how cool the chase was.

It's wonderful to see the other guests getting into my project as well. That was definitely one of my hopes, both for educational reasons, and for the sake of the resorts. It was very generous of Fantasy Island to help me out in such a huge was as they did, and I am so thankful that the guests are able to get a unique experience out of their vacation. Hopefully these relationships will help other resorts and organizations on the island realize the importance of research and conservation, and encourage these types of relationships in the future.

So I realized I have been telling you about the "exciting" details of my days, but neglecting some of the great, little things in life. As I'm sure I mentioned, I am unbelievable lucky to wake up every morning and open my door to a brilliant blue sky and sun shining down to crystal clear waters. This is my motivation to roll out of bed to breakfast, where I am met by the cheery "omelet man" as I like to call him, who happily makes me a custom omelet (con todo, pero pequeno). The friendly wait staff promptly fills our glasses with water and is quick to remove any unwanted items. Monkeys longingly peer through the windows at our food, and sometimes get lucky with a snack from a poor sucker tourist. The dive boat leaves at 9:00 island time, or whenever they feel ready to set sail. All of our reefs are a short (3-20 minute) boat ride away, giving us just enough time to gear up and get ready to start the fun.

Today Christi spotted a lonely spotted eagle ray drifting below, so I swam down to check it out. 100 feet later (don't worry, I wasn't on my Nitrox), I realized I was feeling happier and more relaxed that I had in a long time. I looked at my depth gauge and realized I might be beginning to experience the feeling of being "narc'd". Kind of the equivalent to a good buzz I suppose, but being surrounded by the deep blue ocean at the same time makes for no comparison. I went up a few meters and let my little buzz ride out for a while. Nice.

Anyway, after the dive, we scooted back to the dock, swapped out tanks, and were off for morning dive #2, highlighted above. After #2, we are sufficiently ravenous to take on the usual buffet food, consisting of salad, pasta, rice, fish, cooked veggies, and typically some sort of mystery meat or two. Today's kind of looked like chicken, had the texture of squid, but the flavor of neither. Suggestions? I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I'd love to show this kitchen a thing or two.

After lunch we have about an hour to kill doing whatever the little heart desires. For me it typically involves kicking back, feet up for a little siesta or trip to the internet cafe to update my spreadsheets for the day. After the hard work is done, I love to head over to "the bench" and shoot the breeze with the divemasters, captains, and Kevin, our crazy and incredibly honest captain, who is determined to fill me with hours of life advice. Then dive #3, and an exhausted, lazy evening of conversation and killing hours while sea breeze cools and the last flicker of sunlight passes over the horizon. Dinner rolls around, more buffet food, mystery dishes, and an evening of being serenaded by old-school pop blaring from a Blackberry with a surprisingly loud speaker. There are about 5 pop songs I would be happy to never hear again in my life... Another daily surprise is the mix of salty "boat people" who live on sailboats in the Fantasy marina. They will undoubtedly be lounging at the bar, around a table of peanuts and ash trays looking for a friendly face to join in their conversations. Some a crazier than others, but if you know me, you know I love a good crazy person to chat with every now and then. I've definitely had my share of odd conversations, but you have to love them for not having a care in the world.

Post dinner comes a night like tonight where, if I'm lucky, I have just enough energy left inside to write a few messages to the ones I miss and update the world about how life should be lived. I know I sound lazy, but this really is the lifestyle that I desire. Few worries, little stress, and a whole lot of laughter and love, all in the picturesque setting of a Caribbean dream. What more could a person possibly need?

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