Getting Back to Life as a Scuba Bum

My brief foray back into my old life was difficult. I think it always is difficult when someone you know dies unexpectedly, and obviously way too soon. But I was thousands of miles away from it all, living in Utila and expecting a friend to arrive on the 25th.

It was probably just what I needed, to keep me from  getting lost in the misery of Mike's death and everything that goes with a line of duty death in law enforcement. My Facebook feed was filled with it.

Greg was scheduled to arrive on the 25th, a Saturday. He is in the process of buying a house here and this trip was originally scheduled in hopes the house would be his. Doesn't really work that way here, there could be a thousand things that slow up the process including the speed of the government to do much of anything. So instead it appeared this would be mostly a vacation for him and a chance for me to dive and hang out with one of my best friends.

I had told him I'd get a Tuk-Tuk to the airport to pick him up, he was scheduled to arrive at about 3:30 p.m. Weather had come in, keeping the ferry from coming in and word was the airport in La Ceiba was closed. But I knew he had a flight directly to the island from San Pedro Sula and it was looking better. Greg and I both have US phones that neither of us uses as a regular phone when in Honduras, that just gets way too expensive. We also both have Honduran phones so that we can at the very least text each other.

I went to the airport but when I got there almost everything was shut down. A woman who works there told me that no more planes would be coming in, that the airport in Ceiba was closed. I said he was coming direct from San Pedro Sula and she told me that flight was scheduled to come in the next morning.

As I've probably mentioned in several of my other posts about getting to and from the island, there are not daily flights here so her saying a flight would arrive Sunday morning sounded unlikely to me, they don't fly here on Sundays. I was concerned because I had received word from Greg that he had gotten to San Pedro Sula but no text or anything saying he was not getting to Utila on Saturday. I returned to the hotel and finally got a message that indeed the airline had agreed to make the flight on Sunday morning. I reminded Greg that I never seem to get anywhere in one day. Clearly there would be no diving on Sunday morning and we'd have to see if there was an afternoon boat.

Early Sunday morning I got to the airport and the Tuk Tuk driver and I waited. I'm not very patient. As the minutes ticked by past the time he was scheduled to arrive, I wondered if he had yet again had a flight cancelled. When you only plan a week for vacation getting a day or two taken off your vacation can be really annoying. He finally arrived about 30 minutes later than scheduled.

We chose to skip any dive on Sunday and instead made plans for diving Monday morning. Besides his own recreational diving, Greg had agreed to teach Laurent, one of the instructors at Captain Morgan's, side mount diving.

It was a lovely week, diving four days, Greg taught side mount, we killed several lion fish which we then cooked up right there at the restaurant/bar at the hotel and shared with anyone who wanted to try some. I killed my first lion fish during this week, and my second kill was pretty cool, came close to breaking the record for size. But alas, close only counts in what horseshoes? But it was fun none-the-less.

First the diving ...

Greg with one of his lion fish kills.

Spotted Moray Eel

Crab .... a huge crab.

Queen Trigger Fish

Toadfish

And then the side mount training ...

Laurent sharing air with Greg

Greg sharing air with Laurent

Getting through some smaller spaces

Lots of options for getting through difficult spaces.

Thursday night of his stay was Greg's birthday. I think it made him feel pretty great to be greeted by so many good wishes and a cake especially for him.

All in all a great week. Good friends, good diving, good food and good drink. Greg left Saturday the 1st to head back to Nashville. He was returning for the Thanksgiving holiday with our friend Sandra. I would be gone as I was visiting the US for the holiday.

Note: I'm certain I mentioned my bad luck (or stupidity) when I had flooded both of my strobes. I was lucky, Greg delivered to me a new strobe so at least I had one. But it is still a challenge to get things right with either none or only one strobe. But I won't complain because I at least had the one.

So now it is a bit more diving then preparing for another trip to the states. Wonder how this one will go? That is in the next post.

Diving ...... Finally.

I’m quickly approaching having been in Belize for 7 weeks, and I finally got to go diving.

Back home, my friend Greg had a student for open water training that was coincidentally already planning a trip to Placencia with a group of friends. Greg was kind enough to refer him to me. Although I can’t teach myself I was happy to the hook Harlin and Will and their wives and another couple up with Andre from Paradise Resort. Harlin was hoping to complete the first two of his four open water dives and Will, a certified diver, wanted to go  along just for fun. The other four in their group wanted to snorkel. It was only later that I learned that two of the women in the snorkeling group had wanted to learn to dive but both are pregnant so are putting off  their own dive adventure for a bit. Congratulations to both couples!

On Tuesday, another couple of relatively new divers from Canada, Carol and David, also joined our group as well as another two women snorkelers.

We set off at about 9 a.m. for Silk Cayes. We were told by Kenley and Max, our divemasters that the Cayes (pronounced keyes) consisted of 3 separate little islands. They were formerly called Queen Cayes but at some point the name was changed to Silk Cayes because of the silky sand on the cayes. (I can’t confirm any of this but it was a lovely story.)

The boat ride out was just over an hour, but went fairly quickly. We were lucky with relatively flat seas. I was hoping to see dolpins on the way out but no such luck. We stopped at Middle Caye which had a barbecue pit on it and an outbuildings which were the" facilities" (no it isn’t plumbed, no running water). There are a couple of “rangers” on the caye who gave us a briefing bout the caye and mostly the conservation efforts of the Gladden Spit/Silk Cayes Marine Reserve, the rules for diving and snorkeling there and their effort to raise money to pay for the rangers etc. This is also who you pay your marine park tax to ($10 US per day).

The cayes (North Silk, Middle Silk, and South Silk)  are part of the larger Southern Environmental Association (An NGO that co-manages three important marine-protected areas in Southern Belize ) and is closely protected. We were reminded that NOTHING can be taken from the Caye, alive or dead. No fishing, no lobstering, no taking conch, and no collecting shells. One side of the island was sandy while the other side had no beach to speak of and lead to shallow coral area. They warned snorkelers to only enter the water from the sandy beach side and do not step on any of the coral or they would damage and kill it

We dropped the snorkelers off, Harlin and Will both did a couple of skills in the shallow “confined water” area of the island before heading out to the dive site.

We did a back roll off  the side of the boat. Harlin and Will stayed with Andre, while Carol, David and I went with Kenley. We dove at a site called Silk Cayes North Wall.

It didn’t take long for Kenley to point out a huge Cubera Snapper and an enormous Goliath Grouper. The Cubera are the snapper that while spawning attract the whalesharks. We continued on and saw more large grouper, several really big lobsters and crabs and I was taken by surprise by a free-swimming green moray that was pretty big too.

The lobsters are huge.

This Green Moray surprised me a bit. I think at least 5 ft. long.

A Cubera Snapper, hard to tell from this picture but huge, at least 3 ft long.

Grouper. The underwater sign is to rub your stomach, like mmmm, mmmmm good.

As with many other areas in the Caribbean, in order to try and “train” some species to be a predator of the dreaded lion fish (an invasive species in the Caribbean), many divemasters have fed just speared lion fish to morays. Some have seen a moray actually eat a live lion fish so the training is working. But, this tends to also train morays and other predators that when there are divers near there is a possibility of an easy meal so they are more likely to be free swimming rather than in their usual hole. I have heard although not confirmed that they have done the same, feeding lionfish to barracuda, although the way the story is told the barracuda just saw an easy opportunity and struck while the lionfish was still on the spear. Hearing the teeth of the barracuda hit that metal shaft will give even the heartiest spearfisher pause. Barracuda can be very fast and have very sharp teeth

.

Note, in areas that can be fished, nothing can be taken while on scuba except for lionfish. Everything else must be taken while freediving.

After the first dive we rode back to the caye where the crew provided us with a wonderful Belizean lunch of stew chicken, rice and beans, and  coleslaw. We watched a baby lemon shark swim in the shallow coral area and watched some pelicans diving for fish, well it looked more like they were “bobbing” for fish since it was a bit too shallow for them to dive. There were several frigate birds harassing other sea birds to the point of giving up theier catch to the frigates … bullies.

After lunch the divers got back on the boat and headed to the second dive site while the snorkelers stayed with Max for another snorkel tour just off the caye.

I dove this time with Harlin, Will and Andre and Carol and David stayed with Kenley. On this dive I saw more huge lobsters (they must know that lobster season is over and they are relatively safe), but boy when one of them is frightened they can move like a shot. After Harlin did his required skills for the dive, Andre pointed out a couple toad fish, one of my favorite fish. I got a picture of a toadfish completely out of his usual hole, usually all you see is the head and face of the fish as it lies in holes under ledges in sandy areas. This one was spotted although Andre says they do have the Splendid Toadfish in these waters as well. They are really amazing looking with the yellow “beard”.

A Toadfish, maybe the first one I've seen completely out of his hole.

The usual view of a toadfish.

The French Angelfish, one of my favorite subjects

The lionfish looked very well fed, would have been nice if thre had been a speargun.

Smooth Trunkfish, another favorite. I especially love the "fish face".

We were a bit shallower on this dive and saw more juvenile fish, and some gorgeous French Angelfish. Also a lot of really big fat lionfish. Unfortunately no one with a speargun around, have to get them another day.

We rode back to the caye and picked up the snorkelers and rode a little ways away where we got to a snorkeling site. In my last post I posted this picture of a sailboat with all these other smaller boats stacked on it. I didn’t get it at the time but it all became clear.

Now I understand the sailboat is the hub and the fishermen each use their own smaller
boat and row out to their spots for fishing then return to the sailboat for cleaning and icing their catch.

Can hardly describe how huge the larger of these loggerhead turtles was. Just beautiful.

This area is known for the place where the fishermen come. They arrive on the sailboat and each fisherman then takes his smaller boat out and they spread out from the sailboat, and freedive for fish then return to the sailboat which has on board ice and an area for them to clean and store their catch. When they come back to the sailboat after fishing and clean the catch it attracts nurse sharks, stingrays, spotted eagle rays and turtles to the area. It is shallow, only about 10 feet deep and so we all snorkeled here. The turtles, loggerheads are humongous and known to be a little aggressive – it is feeding time mind you. Max was very careful to keep himself between each of the snorkelers and the turtles. It was a great opportunity for the snorkelers to see some of the larger animals usually only seen by divers.

The boat ride back was another hour or so, a little bumpy but those boats can move.

Our boat for the day, a back roll into the water, and then to get back on we took our gear
off and handed it up then climbed the laddre on the side.

All in all an outstanding day of diving. I wasn’t there but he report from the snorkelers was that it was great as well and that Max did an outstanding job as their guide. I know that we were all really happy with Andre and Kenley as our guides on our dives.

Congratulations to Harlin on finishing the first two dives towards his Open Water Certification. He plans to finish with Greg and the folks at Island Hoppers Scuba in Nashville when he returns. I don’t know, diving at Pennyroyal Quarry is just not quite the same as diving the Caribbean and a tad colder as well. Water temps for our dives was about 82F. I wore neoprene shorts and a rash guard. I’m a wimp and I got a little cold on the second dive, would have been happier probably in my 3mm shorty but live and learn.

Can’t wait to go again, I wasn't thrilled with my pictures this time but I find after some time off it feels almost like starting over when I get in the water with my camera. More reason to just go diving more often!

So when are you coming down to go diving with me?

Planning for the Big Adventure

I've been thinking about this for a while, this idea to just up and move and now I'm actually doing it. But let me back up a bit, for those that don't know how I got "here", planning to go "there".

I retired from a career in law enforcement in California in 2008. Following my daughter who had moved to Tennessee the year before I up and moved to Nashville. A good move, for both my mental, emotional and physical health and definitely for my monetary health.

I've long dreamt of becoming a writer. You know, a real one, with published books and all that. Once retired I had to begun to ask, what was stopping me (besides that awful internal critic who kept reminding me I could NEVER be a writer). So I attended a writer's workshop and started writing a memoir, about my career mostly and my life. And I kept on writing and dragging that internal critic around with me.

I had learned to Scuba Dive when I was in my early 20's in California, my dad had wanted someone to take Scuba lessons with him and it seemed like a good idea to me. I liked the "idea" of scuba diving but in that 53 degree water in Monterey I was not having a very good time. I was cold, the visibility didn't look at all like those tropical postcards I had always seen and did I mention, I was cold. So I had the card that said I was certified and never dove. Then in about 2006 I had the opportunity to try again. I did and although I had more of a desire and I was obviously more mature than I was in my early 20's, the water was still 53 degrees in Monterey and I was still cold. But I had to admit, I really did think it seemed like it would be fun if I could get warmer and see more.

As each year passes I find myself hating winter more and more. It looks pretty in pictures but other than that you can keep it. And the idea to move where winter wasn't an issue kept running through my brain. In 2012 I finally actually wrote a bucket list and on it I listed wanting to finish my book I was writing, diving more and I listed some of the places I longed to go and mostly wanting to move to somewhere tropical .... no more winter.

I am happy to say, I finished a first draft of the book, it is nowhere near done, in fact I may rewrite the entire thing but I did write a first draft. I continue to work on editing and I am now excited about writing fiction as well. I got to attend a writer's workshop in Montana near the entrance to Glacier National Park, it was a stunning locale and it re-energized my writing brain.

I have been fortunate enough to travel to some amazing places in the world to dive including the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, Truk Lagoon in Micronesia, Hawaii, Australia (only one short shore dive but I'm not complaining, I still spent 3 weeks in Oz), and I just returned from Fiji.

In August of 2012 I became a scuba diving instructor and I have also started taking underwater photographs.

Finally about 18 months ago I decided I was ready, I wanted to move to somewhere warm, tropical, where I could dive and write and take pictures. My plan was to move in June of 2013. As June approached I decided I wasn't really ready, where would I go, what would I do, how could I .......

I put it off and extended my apartment lease for 7 months. But I sat myself down and had a long talk with me and finally decided, if not now, when? And I made my life mantra the Richard Burroughs quote, "Leap, and the net will appear".

The other quote I am living by is the one that titles this blog, by George Addair ....  "Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear."

My lease is actually up this week. But I'm already out. In fact, I have left Tennessee in my rear view mirror and I am in California for a short stay. I'm walking through the fear to the other side, I"m leaping and hoping for the net to appear, and I'm doing it all just flying by the seat of my pants. This blog is part of that journey, a diary of the adventure, the good, the bad, the scary and the exciting and some other stuff, like my writing, my pictures and the things I am most passionate about.

I'm hoping you will join me, keep me in your best thoughts for good weather, fun, adventure, beautiful pictures, great dives and some day maybe a book tour with my published work! And wherever I land, I hope you'll be with me, either through this blog or come visit, we'll go for a dive!