Swimming with Sea Turtles

Nov 24, 2007

This Saturday I went diving in the oceans around Ras Al Khaimah for the third time. (the second time didn't really count much because it was from the beach, even if I did get to hold a Sea Cucumber... yeah!) I was prepared for the issues I had faced the previous time, wearing a motion sickness patch and taking a nodiz pill just as I got on the ship. It is a beautiful ship and I really wanted to enjoy this trip. We arrived at 8am and were right on time, the rest of the divers arriving at the same time. This time we were with a group of Arabian sport fishermen and divers. One of them was a member of the coast guard. I think he was just checking out the ship.
Anyway,
We headed out to sea. We were going to dive first, me and my dive buddy, at the site of a deep wreck (lowest point is 25 meters, but we were only planning on 18 meters at the deepest). I was worried. Today is the day of my final exam. 50 questions on a topic that includes mathematical equations relating to nitrogen times and maximum depths. I spent most of that early trip reciting things in my mind, glancing over my book now and again to make sure I understood aspects. I even made up funky acronyms to help me remember which things come when. Not that you really want to hear about me studying while riding on a yacht out in the ocean.
Sooner than I expected we arrived, and I hadn't gotten sick. Not even a little queezy. I was doing beautifully.
Our dive instructor dove in to tie the yacht up to the buoy marker for the dive and as I watched she swam. First she swam out to the buoy and yelled back " the current is really strong". The captain turned to me and my buddy and said "I sure hope you two are strong swimmers". !!!!! Well I know I am, but my buddy is a little less sure of herself, so I just smiled and turned back to watch the instructor. She dove down to the chain... and missed. She did it again... and missed again. The current was so strong that my instructor could not tie off the lead rope. So they hauled her back to the ship and we canceled the dive.
When a dive instructor says no, you can bet that I agree completely!!!
So we turned the ship to head to an alternate dive site (one I had never seen or heard of) and off we sail. Brunch is served. I had salmon with poached eggs on a bed of fresh baked bread and a side of fresh fruit. Yeah baby! I ate every bite, with great joy. Delicious.
We arrive at the site, again sooner than I expected. We prepare our equipment and choose to get into our gear in the water. It just looked like more fun to me. We slide into the water, it is so nice against the hot black wet suit. I place the regulator in my mouth, slowly let the air out of my BCD jacket and sink under the waves. At first I couldn't get down. Then I realized that I was not breathing deep enough, so I let out all of the air in my lungs and took slow, long, measured breathes, exhaling completely and remembering to equalize my ears at every meter. I sank into the water and down, down down to the bottom. And there in front of me lay the remains of a sunken ship, shattered by age and wear into scattered pieces across the sea floor. And there is the hull, a hulking dark shape in the distance. Slowly we begin to glide across the ocean floor towards the dark shapes. Then, it comes into view. A living breathing thing. A mass of metal overcome by coral anemone and giant sea urchins. At each breath it seems to take, a curtain of fish shower across like a living waterfall, multicolored, multi-shaped, yet uniformly moving making the this skeletal remain one of the most beautiful and vibrant I have ever witnessed in my life. And as we swim around this beautiful living reef, I spot something more exciting to me than anything else can be. A sea turtle. A beautiful sea turtle, his shell caked with barnacles, his head stretched out among the fish, his flippers moving him forward in a steady beat. He was gorgious, one of the truly great thrills of my life. We followed him around for a time and then we swam back to the wreck. We spent about 50 minutes swimming around and around that wreck, finding fish, playing with everything we saw.
Too soon for me, we returned to the ship (I was at the point of air when the instructor had said we would need to return, so I suppose we had to)and it was time for us to take our final exam.
It didn't take me very long... For some reason I take to this like a fish to water.... I passed.
While we took our exams the other divers went for their turn under the water. Then the others came up and we headed back for the docks. As we sailed back it was time for dinner. I had the doris fish with a creamy gorgonzola sauce and boiled vegetables. It was amazing. I had such a good time. Took a few photos, got back to the dock, and headed home.

I will post the photos soon, even though there are not many of them. But, it will be a few weeks before the underwater photos and video are developed.... Yeah, you didn't think I would forget to take pictures did you! I love sea turtles.

Hope you are having as good a time as I am!

Seasick 2

Nov 17, 2007

Again, warning this contains graphic descriptions of my rather unfortunate scuba experiences.

The dive master asked if I would like to climb into the water. Apparently getting into the water can sometimes relieve the feelings of seasickness. I was up for anything at that point. My stomach felt like it couldn't take any more. So, I took of my outer clothes and walked to the dive platform. I jumped into the water. Just me, my swimsuit, and the ocean. For a short time I started to feel better. Then I realized that all that vomiting had left me as weak as a day old kitten.
The seasickness was gone, but I wasn't sure I could continue to swim against the current to stay near the boat. It was a fair current. Actually, it probably wasn't that strong at all but with as bad as I was feeling it felt like the current was ready to pull me away. I stayed in the water for 20-30 minutes using my feet to hold on to the dive buoy. Thank goodness for my monkey like toes.

I climbed out of the water and back onto the boat, ready to watch the video. I knew the sickness was going to come back, but I sat below deck and watched the whole video, nursing an ice cold glass of water and taking small measured bites of bread.

Then the yacht moved to the shallows so that we could try to practice the skills that we had learned. Before getting out the gear, we went through the usual gear lecture and a review of all the things we needed to do during this dive. Then we geared up. I have to be honest, seasickness is the one time that I tend to run hot.

Usually I run cold. You can ask my friends. When they are hot I am comfortable, and when I am cold they are comfortable. But not when I am suffering from motion sickness. Then I run hot. Really hot. So trying to put on a wet suit and wait for my turn to get in the water was torture. I felt like I was totally on fire.

I did the giants stride and got into the water. What a relief it was. But I was still feeling poorly. They signaled us to use the line to go down. So we slowly worked our way down the line. I had to stop part way because my buddy was having mask issues. That was fine with me, I prefer to equalize for a while anyway. I like my ears and the way they work. I don't want them to get hurt, so taking my time was just fine.

Then we sank to the bottom. We were suppose to do our skills, but the bottom was completely covered in spiny black sea urchins. No place for us to try our thing. Not unless we wanted to be stuck. So instead of the skills practice, we ended up doing a short exploring swim. I realized that I was much better at scuba when I did it last time. Of course, I was also doing Tai Chi at the time and my breathing was in much better control.

Anyway, it was a lovely swim. The brain coral and the little fish were wonderful. I really enjoyed myself. Finally relaxing and having some serious fun. I loved it.

One of the divers started having bouyancy problems, so we had to cut it a little short.
The ascent was fine, the swimming was fine, but when I got to the top of the water it hit me like a ton of bricks. I carefully filled my bcd with air so that I would float, then took my regulator out of my mouth and puked as hard as I could. I quickly placed it back in my mouth and took a long breath. Then I pulled it out again and puked hard. I could feel that there was nothing left and the dive master told me to go ahead and puke into the regulator, just leave it in my mouth. So I put the regulator back in my mouth and had the dry heaves at the top of the water. It was quite a horrible experience.

I swam over to the dive bouy line off the back of the boat and as the others were getting out of their gear I lay floating on my back holding on to the line and trying to stay centered. I took off my weight belt and handed it up. Then I took of my fins, carefully one at a time. Then I took off my BCD and tank. Of course, through it all I still had the regulator in my mouth. I kept it in my mouth until I handed up the BCD. Then I climbed slowly and carefully out, shaking the whole time. When I got to the platform, I sat down on it. I was just so uncomfortable and shaky. It was really hard to climb into the hold to take a shower. The water felt good, but being inside when ill is so much worse than being on deck.

I got dressed and went back on deck. We had our after dive debriefing and made our plans for the following day. Then we went to have dinner. I sat down at the table and a beautiful plate of soup, this lovely lentil and vegetable soup, was placed in front of me. I took one look and knew it would never get passed my lips. SO I apologized and told them I could not eat it. They brought out the second course, the salad. I nibbled lettuce, took a taste of tomato, and ate two pieces of cucumber before my stomach said it was bordering on unhappy. So I sipped ice cold water. Then came the final course, a delightful little fish with this beautiful side of vegetables. It was absolutely gorgeous. I wish I could have tried it. The dive master asked if I was going to be able to eat it. I told him no and he asked if he could have it. I said "please, nothing would make me happier". So he did.

And I know it was good.

They cleared off the table and I spent the ride back with my head on my hand slightly tipped to the right side staring hard at the horizon. As we headed back to the shore I laid my head down on my arms, still staring at the horizon line. And I fell asleep. It was a lovely ride in. I woke up about 15-20 minutes later and we were almost to the dock. We tied up and disembarked.

It was a lovely trip.

I highly recommend Arabian Diver in Ras Al Khaimah for diving training classes.... and taking your motion sickness medication BEFORE you go!

And that is what my first day of diving was like.


The second day was much better, I had fun and no real problems. I am back into scuba and loving every minute of it... just not the before and after...

Seasick

Nov 17, 2007

Before I write this blog, I wish to post fair warning to those who wish to read it. The title is not the slightest bit off from what I will discuss here today. I suffer from acute positional motion sickness, and when I get an attack it is more than colorful to describe. As such, if you have a weak stomach or are feeling the slightest bit queasy, please do NOT read my blog.
thank you.


On November 16th I got up at 6:30 in the morning in absolute excitement. My first day back in scuba diving. I caught a ride with my friend (my scuba buddy) and we drove out to the marina, to the yacht.
It is a great yacht. A beautiful sailboat with a diving platform off the back. We climbed aboard. Met the captain and the dive instructor, as well as the dive master and numerous other divers who were going with us. Most of those divers were going down to a wreck to explore, or finishing their training, or just out having fun. There was even a couple that were celebrating their anniversary and out for a ride on a yacht for the day. It was lovely.

As soon as I stepped on deck I had a feeling of regret. I had forgotten to bring any medication and stupid me, I didn't think to ask. But for the first 2 hours I was fine. felt a little queasy when they turned on the diesel engines to motor us out of the harbor, but all in all fine.

Then we were asked to go below to watch the introductory video. I sat down below deck as the video started. The dive master turned and asked if we had any questions. I promptly asked him where I would be permitted to be ill. He gestured above deck and said, over the side please. I climbed the stairs, sat down next to the railing, looked out over the sea, and hurled.

Then I felt better for about 5 minutes. Then it came rushing back and I was clutching the rail for dear life, certain that I was experiencing a similar affair as one my mother had once described to me involving a whiskey I know I will never even try. I puked so hard I could feel my anus trying to leap out of my mouth. I don't remember puking that hard before. I was very relieved that I didn't shit my pants.

Then I was unsteady, shaky, and felt like I couldn't even lift my arms. This feeling remained for quite a while. At that point, brunch was served on the yacht. It was quality service, a lovely omelette with peppers, a side of fruit and a glass of fruit juice. Since my friend is Turkish, she was served bread. Glorious bread.

I was feeling a little better and wanted to do anything to help, so I had a little of the omelette, I tried some oranges and a little apple, and ate some of the bread. about 10 minutes later, I lost that too. But it wasn't as bad as the first go.

The dive master asked if I wanted to go into the water.

Too be continued...

Writer’s group

Nov 9, 2007

Today was the first day of writer's group. We met in a sunny room with the crisp smell of omelettes and bagels, tea and coffee, and a hint of something sweet. We had a brief warm up, which made me particularly nervous because I have never been a part of a writer's group before and had no idea what expectations I might have of the group, or theirs of me.
It was lovely. I had no problem expectorating words in a semblance of meaning and then reading it to the others present. I expected that my words would be pedantic and trite, but they weren't. I was able to read without feeling too much of the usual panic. I was able to share with a sense of pride.

And I was able to listen to and accept the gently provided criticism that was offered, without feeling threatened or worried that my overly sensitive ego would be crushed.

I did just fine.

Yeah, my work isn't perfect. The typos alone can be annoying... the misspelled or miswritten words and the paragraphing and organization issues... not to mention my overwhelming need to embrace the passive voice. but I am happy.

....

Following the writing group I was riding in the car down the road and came to a hobbled camel who was crossing the road. I got a great shot of his rump as we moved past
from the passenger window. I didn't zoom in, he really is that close but he was moving away so I wasn't that nervous. The kids loved it.

And I spent the afternoon watching my husband in the rowing competition on the waters of a small ocean inlet. His team lost by 20 seconds, but they did have 2 fewer men than the other team (and most of the team is women too). You can see the photos in the album. I couldn't seem to stop snapping photos of the rowing team.

October Box

Nov 7, 2007

Written as a challenge by my writing group, here is my latest piece... In honor of national novel writing month (November), here is....

October Box

a fiction piece by Crissy

 This piece has been temporarily removed for editing.  I am submitting it to a competition.  I will let you know how it goes.

Voice of Will: Sumo

2007-05-21 - 3:34 p.m.
What can I say about sumo?
Wow?
Nope. That doesn't sum it up.
A very large build up, then a quick climax?
well it is that, but so too are many other things that get you sweaty.
Sumo is just... undescribable, but I will try.
We arrived at 11am to watch the days sumo bashio. The kids were excited, criss's co workers were excited and midly worried. I was looking forward to it.
So we get to the tournament center, and we have a problem right from the get go. When criss bought the tickets (on the first day they went on sale) and was told, "no you get kids tickets the day you go for 200 yen." Oh, ok. 200 yen for the kids, that is dirt cheap. ok. Well not ok. It appears they only have very limited kids tickets each day, and they were sold out. Ok, buy a regular ticket. Nope. The only tickets are 9200 yen. yes that is right $90.00 per person.
WTF? Ok. I guess the kids go home. who with? I can take them home, and then come back and watch the bashio later (we have 2 tickets). Just then, a co worker of criss's offers us her 2 tickets, so we would have to buy one adult ticket, and they would buy 2 tickets... We had a discussion, and decided that would be ok, because we didn't want to ruin the sumo match for the kids.
We go in, and it is 11am. This means the scrubs of sumo are fighting. They don't even have the indoor lights on yet. But becaue this is the scrubs, the unranked sumo, they have NO ONE there. The tournament hall is deserted. So we all move down to the third row behind the judge. We are so close we can see every pore on each sumo's face. We can see the hands, the feet, and the butt cracks (some of them were huge).
Some thoughts on watching the scrubs. There were two that stood out. The first one was the individual who had 6 operations on his knees. You could see 3 scars on each knee, and you could hear them creak and pop (worse than mine) as he worked his way up the step onto the platform. I kept thinking, "If you have had to have 6 operations, and you are still an unranked scrub, why do you keep fighting?" Now maybe he had once been ranked, and was working his way back into rankings... or maybe he just loved sumo, but at somepoint you have to look at your body, and say, enough is a enough. I played just enough football in jr high school, and early high school to hurt my knees, and ankles. I decided I didn't want to walk in pain the rest of my life, so I stopped.
The second thought was watching this romanian sumo. He was BUILT. There was no fat on him. He moved like he had lots of judo or other martial arts. Watching the women watch him was like watching a human with a hungry vampires... the girls were licking their lips, and you could see how handsome he was. He won. He was against a larger guy, but he managed to move the behind the big guy, and when it looked bad, he did a great hip throw.... wow.
At this time we moved up above to watch from the original seats. The idea was to go up, and let the kids read their books, and maybe play some gameboys. Well the kids went to the bathroom. Rae comes back, will jr comes back. No zeb. No zeb. 15 minutes go buy, no zeb. WTF? I go in the bathroom, no zeb. I go into the other bathrooms, NO zeb. Go back to the seats, no zeb. He is gone!! We call in the security guards, they start looking for zeb. we are looking all over at the top. Criss says, hold on, and looks downstairs. There he is sitting with the people we came with. Turns out, he purposefully snuck out behind dad, and snuck downstairs.
Well needless to say, he got in a boat load of trouble. At this time, criss who was not feeling well, started feeling nauseous. We spoke about it and she wanted to go home. So she left and took the kids with. I stayed.
I must say the best fights were the second ranked fighters. They are ranked, but are inbetween the scrubs and the top notch fighters. These guys all are HUNGRY, they all want that higher level ranking, so they all put up great fights.
The highest level guys were pretty awesome. People who are my size, but who are exceptionally quick and strong. In this group you have 3 current foreigners from eastern europe. 2 of the 3 won todays matches. It was good to see them win.
One of the other benefits of sumo, is the sumo have to walk among the crowds. There are no special exits, there are no team busses. So as you can see from my picture. I got near two of the same sized sumo's in the hall. Both had won their matches. They looked at me, and asked if I wanted to learn sumo...
No thanks I replied, I like my original bone structure. They didn't understand that english and I said, No NOSE and then make a squishing nose. And pointed to my collarbone and said "crack",and then said "no thud" They laughed, and said, yes lots of "nose" squish and thud... I said no thank you. They replied, well you get lots of girls, and with that a group of japanese women surrounded the sumo and away they went...
sumo groupies...go figure...

Sumo, or what it is like to have a Japanese man in your lap.

May 20, 2007

I am going to leave out the annoying and that bad, knowing that it doesn't really matter in the end. Rather, I have decided to tell you the way I want to remember what I have seen today. Today I went by subway to the sumo ring to watch the wrestlers do their thing. To see the ultimate in pure male physical exertion. To hear the crack of bones, feel the sweat of the fighters, watch as two men big enough to crush me with their bare hands smash together like trains colliding.
Without a doubt, this spectacle was a feat I would enjoy repeating again and again.
We walked through the doors into the arena and promptly walked all the way to the floor level, 2nd row from the actual ring itself. I sat just to the left of the judge to the north. Seated just behind that judge, I was able to see every pore on the face of the competitors, every bruise and straining muscle, every nervous eye, the sand sticking to their feet, the sweat dripping from their foreheads, and the hair on the back of their thighs... okay, so sitting directly behind that particular judge may not have given me the greatest of views... I did end up looking right at the back side of the wrestler before he crashed into the opponent, but I was very happy to be that close. Close enough to reach out and touch the wrestlers waiting their turn.

Regrettably, I was sick today. I was running a fever as soon as I woke up so after nearly 4 hours of watching and enjoying sumo I had to leave early. I am sad about leaving early. An actual sumo match is everything I have ever thought it would be, and I would gladly do it again in a heartbeat. If I ever get the opportunity to come to Japan and see Sumo again, I know that I will jump at the chance. It was everything I wanted it to be and more, even with all the foreign guys competing.

Keep your eyes open for the sumo matches shown on ESPN this month.... You may just catch us all on film. Because we were there. Second row, center... on the floor.

And our tickets were for the nosebleed seats...