It feels like the wind would like to do just that. Thursday a big storm arrives, with the ocean tossing and turning, water rising high around the docks, and ominous clouds everywhere. I awoke with the thought that I was going to be first on the line to Continental and get my ass out of here before I was stuck for days in a hurricane. However, as is often the case, as time passed, the situation seemed less threatening and I headed up to breakfast (what some good food won’t do for the spirit!). The view from our deck:
The dive boats were loaded and the pilots braved the high seas to a rendezvous spot on the other side of the island. Us divers all piled into buses and met them there. Lo and behold, it was like a different world. Still overcast (and pounding rain for a few moments, during which I was ready to bail again), but the relative calmness was reassuring. Into the water for the first dive, and man oh man, the water felt like a bathtub. I guess it was the comparison with topside temperatures. Visibility not as good as other days, but the deco stop at the end of the dive (when you hang out at about 15 feet to let the nitrogen in your blood dissipate) was over some great coral and I puttered around peering into cracks and crevices, looking for the telltale sign of little antennae for red banded coral shrimp, arrow crabs, lobsters and other little critters. Near the end, there was a long crack in the ground, kind of like the leftover scar from an earthquake, and there were two HUGE crabs in there. Leebaby, where is my bib and crackers for those guys? They were absolutely prehistoric looking. I had plenty of air left in my tank and a few of us wanted to keep looking for another 30 minutes. But the rest of our dive contingent was already on the boat, and with the wind howling, it was getting mighty cold up there.
Back to the key to relax, have some hot cocoa and another viewing of the sea lions, then back on the boat. This time, we dove “mystery reef” – not really a dive site, but the coral is such that you can really jump in anywhere and cruise some grand reef structures. The reefs are not as colorful nor the life as abundant as what I’m been spoiled viewing in the Pacific, but it’s still great fun to search for something unusual to show your fellow divers, or maybe, if you’re lucky, something you’ve never seen before. Bert found a couple of big squid (can I see them as anything other than calamari?). I found a scorpionfish, which is so good at camouflage that I was looking at a big hunk of coral for a little while before realizing that there was a fin there! Dinner-plate sized french angels, a spotted moray eel, lots of tangs, lobsters, wrasses, trumpetfish, spotted drum fish, shrimp and grouper. Used my flashlight to check out all the crevices and holes, hoping to see an octopus or sleeping shark, but not so much. Floating along the wall and occasionally glancing down about another 80 feet…Oooh, it’s dark and hazy down there. We could sure use a little sunshine topside to clarify things!
Back on the bus, back to the resort, and we were all starving (yes, it’s true, we mostly dive and eat and drink). Afternoon nap, then up to the main area to play scrabble against a new acquaintance. Evenings are usually pretty quiet: happy hour, dinner, and back to bed early. Sun tomorrow?