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Published: July 10th 2006
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By now, I’m starting to think that I got my money’s worth in terms of diving. I really want to go again, but the energy to jump into my freezing cold, wet wetsuit and breathe dry compressed air for an hour has dwindled slightly. That, and the fact that my ears are expanding in order to compensate for diving to depth so much, has allowed me the opportunity to take it easy today. I did one REALLY nice dive with the guys and then hung around the boat for the rest of the day. On the dive, called Fantasia, we cruised around and found some really cool terrain. There was a decent size cave that we all gave a go, one at a time, and we swam through a group of probably 40 yellow-tailed barracuda…they were babies, ahem. Otherwise, we got to see a bunch of anemones, and oh! The LARGEST CLAM I’ve ever seen in my entire life-estimated to be over 100 years old by the onboard marine biologist, Arnold. I have to admit that I was reminded of two things, both related: First, the episode of Curb your Enthusiasm when he makes the hand gesture for a lady with an oversized woo hoo. The other, I felt like Jack in the Beanstalk, where I was a little guy who just so happened to come across the largest woman I’d ever seen. I’m sure some may be thinking that this is an overstatement, but I do not hesitate to break out the pictures, where I really think it is an exact replica that could be used to inform future gynecologists of the ins and outs of the clam. Anyhow, an unforgettable dive.
…Later that day, we had a call for minke whales! When I caught a glimpse of the whale’s dorsal fin, I was ready to jump in and say g’day. I had a really special encounter with this one. It swam less that 10 feet from me, and I was one of only a handful of people in the water, I was sure that whenever it swam by me, it was checking ME out! One of the greatest things was that it felt comfortable enough to surface very close to me. This not only gave me many chances for some great pics, but also to have an upclose encounter with an animal that was over 4 times my length and heavy enough to crush a school bus, but at the same time so gently, coming up right next to me for a breath of air. While the whale made me feel small, I was completely comfortable around it, and I know that it must have trusted me to a large extent as well. I mean, it wasn’t swimming this close to everyone else in the water.
My guess is that really, it was interested in the sound of my snorkel gurgling the sea water as the waves, which topped 2 meters, whitecapped and tossed salt onto my air tube. It probably didn’t appreciate me choking though, or burping through the snorkel when I swallowed too much water.
The session ended when the rain came crashing down. We all jumped on the boat, and skipped through some 4 sized waves. With each wave taking a few strides to go up the top, and then as we went down the back of the wave we built momentum. In the distance, just past where we were protected inside the reef, we could see that the outside ocean waves caused the horizon to be sharp like a jagged knife. The skipper informed us that those waves out there were 5 meters, easy, and a few of the locals would sometimes test their surfing skills out there. “But you don’t want to fall out there or its over.” Because you crash down onto the reef, and there’s no way that you’ll make it out considering that the 5 meter waves will drag you down and the reef will pierce whatever’s left of you. Regardless of those enormous waves out there, we were in some pretty good chop of our own. I knew it got really big when I looked up to see the next wave coming our way.
But as of now, we are out, and neither lunch nor dinner decided to come up for a look around the ship. I got everyone on the boat watching Boston Legal, and as I write this log, can hear the theme song playing loud, clear, and crisp. Boo, Bee, boo bee boo boo bee doo!
Going to finish off my chat about whales and the world cup with Arnold, walk around the ship to see what the guys are up to, and get a good night sleep for my last day aboard the Explorer.
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Shiruba-kun
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Wish I was there Down-Under too
Man!!! I'm so happy for you!! I've been reading your travel blog for the past days, and it sounds so great! I'm gonna be a pain in the ass, but could you try to put some pictures online? Pleaasssee?