I took another SCUBA class last weekend- I’d gotten the first level of certification before I left America, and got the advanced level last weekend. It was great… the second day we boated out (we being me, my friends Jame, Lafi and Aaron, and the instructor) in this tiny boat outside of the reef, which is CREEPY- there’s a big difference in water within the reef- it’s shallow (ranging from 3-15 feet or so?) and no big sharks and not wave-y, but outside the reef, there’s a drastic difference- huge swell, and infinitely deep, immediately. The water is a dark, dark blue (a beautiful color) and you can’t see the bottom and god only knows what’s down there… but on the way out (we went to the southwest part of the country, in between the two major islands) we caught up with this big pod of dolphins- about 15-20 of them, right under the boat. They were riding our bow wake, and if I’d wanted, I could have easily touched them. (I wanted to, actually, but Jame is a marine biologist who did a lot of dolphin research and wouldn’t let us touch them…) It was so amazing! I’d been close to whales before, and of course seen dolphins at Sea World and such, but to be literally a foot from them- so neat! They were about the size of a large dog- so pretty small, and they were leaping and splashing and doing dolphin-y things… It was pretty awesome!
When we stopped to dive, it was good to know that the dolphins were nearby somewhere, although we didn’t see them from underwater… it felt safer. I saw several sea turtles, which are pretty common, and a big octopus- bigger than a basketball. The reef was incredibly dramatic- it went from a ledge at about 20 feet under and immediately dropped down to at least 90 feet, then just disappeared in the deep. It was great to feel somewhat touristy in my own country, and remember that despite all the crap that happens- it’s still beautiful. (Although I did see a plastic bag attached to the coral reef at least 50 feet under!)
I felt bad for the PCVs that get stuck in Mongolia or Siberia or the Sahara Desert, and happy to be in the South Pacific.
1 comment:
That is so cool Jordan. Dolfins are so amazing in the wild. I have seen them in Mexico and Belize and will always remember how special it felt for them to follow my boat when they could be anywhere in the whole ocean. Things are ok here...not great yet but I am still alive not actually having died from a broken heart(even though some nights it feels like I might). I will write you a long email soon and fill you in on details. On the up side however...I have lost 45 lbs since Jan 2nd!!! So I'm single and hot!
Love you
K
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