I may have spoken too soon in my previous post, as the day morphed into an unexpected escapade. Friends on the same island, in a village nearby, nagged me into visiting, arguing that biking 18 km with a 3 km hill was somehow easier than driving. Thus, I dusted off my bike, only to discover I was flat-out of luck with a flat tire. Having not repaired a tire in 15 days of cycling, I tackled the challenge and, after about 45 minutes, hit the road. A quick bite, a cocktail, and a couple of short rides later, I realized bedtime should have been an early affair.
Day four of diving brought two splendid “school” dives, where I encountered larger fish, a sizable hermit crab, a colossal school of fish, and navigated through impressive rock formations and even a quaint cave. The day was uneventful in terms of equipment, thanks to a pre-tested borrowed mask.
Day five found me sleep-deprived but thrilled, as friends came over for their discovery dive. I couldn’t resist a bit of mischief in gearing them up, a little friendly sabotage, but nothing too cruel. As the sea had cooled down, I lounged in the sun, which turned out to be a mistake. Coupled with the lack of sleep, it led to a splitting headache, and I opted out of the afternoon dives. As the saying goes (now by a guy who cycled from Denmark to Croatia), don’t push your luck too hard. Their excitement about potentially taking a diving course was music to my ears.
The final, sixth day of diving began with a hiccup. I had chosen the wrong mask, leading to a cancelled first dive in combination with a minor pressure balancing issue of diving buddy. After cancelling the first dive, we decided to test the gear and status with a brief, shallow dive before attempting anything more ambitious. This test dive turned out to be nothing short of magical, spotting an octopus, some big fish, and a snail. Following this, we cleared up some miscommunication on the boat, which set us up nicely for the last dive of the day. Despite the chilliest waters yet, we were treated to a stunning canyon landscape, another giant hermit crab, a moray eel, and yet another octopus sighting. Back at base, we wrapped up our underwater escapades with a delightful post-dive hangout.
Returning home on Sunday was a melancholic affair, splitting from the group and bracing for the mundane work week ahead. Despite this being my sixth diving camp, with the usual chaos of a large group, more than 30 divers, the positives far outweighed any negatives, which, if any, are quickly forgotten. This adventure was strenuous but exhilarating, pushing my limits across 8 of the planned 12 dives, each memorable in its own right. I’m hoping for another dive later this year, perhaps a shorter stint.
As this grand June adventure wraps up, I’m thrilled to share the cascade of epiphanies that struck me, except, of course, if by ‘epiphanies’ we mean those quiet moments of absolutely no revelation whatsoever. Stay tuned for another minor adventure brewing on the horizon, and don’t forget to follow for the juiciest updates!
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