Family Dive, page 5
Once again, Marlie was too cold to go back in the water after coming out. She did not join us on the drift dive from the boat. We were deeper than our other dives, and the water was perfectly clear. The reef itself is more open, not the huge heads we meandered through before. I found that by now I was much more aware of what was around me, turning more to compensate for the lack of peripheral vision caused by the goggles. I was also more accustomed to the lack of gravity. Sometimes the easiest way to take a better look at a fish or urchin was turning upside-down. Three dimensional movement, weightless. I saw a group of snorkelers pass overhead. We were sea life as they were peering in from above. One waved back as I waved to the group.
Hannah had learned to use water to clear her lenses if they fogged up. During our first dive, I could scarcely see her eyes. Perhaps she found the idea of a big wad of spit in them repulsive, and was to conservative on the saliva. This time, when they fogged a bit, she let a little water in them with her finger, swished it around by looking down, then with a good exhale through the nose, forced the water out. I found, too, that clearing my ears was never the issue it was even in the deep end of a swimming pool. The time allowed for clearing while still breathing eliminated one of my biggest concerns about diving.
Hannah and I both caught jellyfish this time down, my left arm got wrapped in a long tendril and was covered with stings. I saw that last one as I hit it. It was several feet long, stretching up though the water, looking like a curious gelatinous ladder with a tinge of orange. A strong argument for a full wetsuit or at least a long sleeve rash guard. The marks on my arm and itching lasted for over a week.
We managed to get in one last dive with Almost Heaven Adventures before we flew out. The four of us with Russ and another instructor named Tony. This was a wall section of the reef, different again from the other places we had seen. Once more Russ kept Marlie with him, showing her what he saw. On the return to the boat I saw an octopus. Something moved at the base of a rock, much like the motion of a snake. Unfortunately, the rest of our group was ahead of me and rising up to the boat. Without some noise maker under water, it is difficult to get the attention of those you are with.
I suppose our next step is open water certification for all of us. I will have to think through a plan. Do I want this enough to brave a central Oregon lake? Now that I have time in the summer, that option is not as grim. Or, maybe, we’ll have to include the time during our next trip to the tropics. However we do it, the world under the waves calls to me, waiting timeless and weightless for my return.
Return to page 1 ~~~~ previous page
Photo Galleries of Mexico on this site are:
Puerto Morelos
Tulum
Other Stories about Mexico on this site are:
Barre de Potosi; A Road Less Traveled