I Have A Crush

[FWNurseshark]

Wow, c'mon,c'mon c'mon..... keep them coming! It all makes me want to dive more and more- not that I wasn't already there-lol.

The giant turtle---- I didn't even know existed and I doubt will ever see but it tells me there is so much out there that I can't even imagine.

The nurseshark- guess I was spoiled right away... I saw 3 of them on my first snorkling in Cancun and that's part of what got me hooked because I wasn't even the slightest afraid of them and they were just off in their own world minding their own business.That was in 1994- who'd have known that I would use that for a name later on. That was part of the thrill for me-- sharks in general have a bad reputation for being mean and I thought they were so tame and had a different kind of beauty about them.

Dee- I would love to go diving with you and also hear stories from you. You must have alot of them but the one about the octopus is just soooo awesome. As thrilled as I was to see the one I saw I don't know if I could have handled it if it "reached out and touched me" like you. Not that I'd be afraid but just overwhelmed with joy.

Wish that I was in Coz too and will have to go again soon- real soon but now will go to Arkansas to see the leaves turning. "It's all good"...

 

[SeaHunt]

On my first ever saltwater dive in Papagayo Bay out of Playas Del Coco, Costa Rica, I had an experience that is still as fresh as if it had happened yesterday. Barely a few minutes into the dive a HUGE and I mean HUGE school of 1 foot long silver fish (I forget the proper name) swam up to us and completely enveloped us. As they did they formed a circle around me that extended from the bottom to the surface, I felt I was in a cylinder. I could look up and see the surface or down and see the bottom but any other direction it was just fish, I could not see the other divers. The fish came to within arms length of me and simply swam in a continuous circle around me. It was an eerie yet exciting experience to find myself being observed by hundreds if not thousands of individual eyes. As I moved they did too always staying just out of arms reach. Finally after what seemed to be 3-5 minutes they simply swam off again in a school. It was then that I realized I was no more that a few feet from the other divers who had the experienced. I was like, oh wow, that doesn’t happen everyday.

Just after that two white tip sharks and a devil ray showed up and decided to stick around and show off for us. Saw a whole bunch of other stuff too including octopus, so I’d say it was a perfect dive for my first saltwater experience.

Jim

 

[sealskin98]

There seems to be a common thread here.

The holding an octopus and letting it crawl over your hand then watching it grab onto the reef and do the color change performance, having an arrow crab crawl over your arm, watching two spotted morays come half-way out of the reef about a foot apart and look like they are dancing, the huge sea turtles gracefully and slowly making their way through the water just a few feet from you, the "little" barracuda swimming along with you almost within arms reach giving you the "fish eye" with a 5 foot mother watching a little ways away hanging over the reef, the yellow sea horse delicately holding on to the coral while being gently swayed by the current, the nurse sharks following you, the blacktip sharks cruising, Stingray City, toadfish, giant lobster, etc., etc., etc.

I'M GETTING WITHDRAWLS!!!

 

[SeaHunt]

sealskin98 once bubbled...
I'M GETTING WITHDRAWLS!!!

Yep Seal, I agree. Where next to get a fix for this affliction? Hmmm, time to break out the keyboard and start digging around the boards for a new found deal on a far-away destination.

God how I love to plan the next trip...,I think it's as much fun as the trip itself. The anticipation is unbeatable, unbearable at times but still unbeatable.

 

[Dee]

Mike...I haven't tasted salt water in 6 months and likely have another 6 months to go before the next time....you're not making it any easier!

Have ya'll noticed all our memory stories occured when we were newbies? Not that we have gotten jaded because we've certainly had at least similar experiences since then but that first time, when all your senses are on overdrive and you're trying to convince yourself you really are there, it leaves an indelable mark that will never be erased or written over!

To continue Mikes memory.....feeling the Jewfish thump you as you get close, the Yellowhead Jawfish popping up out of their burrows to dare you to get closer and even better to show you the babies he is carrying in his mouth, that first night dive when you turn out your light and see the ocean by moonlight and don't want to turn it back on, the feel of a lobsters antenae as they tap you on the leg, Damsels the size of silver dollars with attitudes of a pit bull defending their small territories.........

 

[FWNurseshark]

It's all so great. I don't think I can ever get jaded either especially not now reading more and more about what one can experience "down under." I haven't even heard diving at night just from the moonlight. Being a night shift worker that may be just up my alley.

I was talking openly about scuba diving outloud at work and someone replied, "yeah right- dream big" ...as is to say they didn't believe me. Well you know it is like a big dream literally and then some. So now that phrase was a double pun.

ut:

 

[Dee]

It was a big dream....especially in your 40's to realize there was still a chance to make a childs dream come true. To realize that you weren't too old, too out of shape and that being a girl no longer was a deterrent! I've been dreaming big ever since.

You haven't done a night dive under a full moon yet? What a treat to have ahead of you! Know how the yard looks with a full moon shining on a clear night? Now imagine that same pearl grey cast to a reef. At first, when you turn out your lights it's dark and all you can see is the lime green bioluminescence coming off the fin tips of the divers around you. Waving your hands through the water makes sparks fly from your fingertips.

As your eyes get adjusted, you can tell you are no longer alone. Few of the fish and creatures are familiar to you as they are usually hidden safely away during the day. The octopus is out hunting, encasing small coral heads within the umbrella of his arms or reaching into crevices with his 5th tentacle, searching for those daytime creatures who are hiding from the dark! The big-eyed Squirrelfish looking startled that you finally saw them. And the dancing Juv. Spotted Drums expanding their figure 8 dance in the search for food. The sharks that avoid your sight when they hear your bubbles during the day come to the edge of your vision, their curiosity about you finally getting the better of them. And for some reason, especially if you are a night person, you'll feel totally at home. Completely comfortable with the moonlight that is almost too bright now that you are acclimated to it. The other divers lights intrude on your solitude and remind you that you are just a visitor in the night.....

 

[FWNurseshark]

Dee,

I've never cared for poetry but some of the ways you write makes me feel like that's what I'm in- "it's good!" Thanks again for sharing- with all your experiences have you written anything?

 

[Dee]

FWNurseshark once bubbled...
...with all your experiences have you written anything?

No, not really. Not unless you count trip reports! ut:

I just write what comes to my mind as I'm replaying the dive from my memory, hoping the listener can see the same thing.

 

[sealskin98]

FWNurseshark once bubbled...
Dee,

I've never cared for poetry but some of the ways you write makes me feel like that's what I'm in- "it's good!" Thanks again for sharing- with all your experiences have you written anything?

Write something Dee! With your artistic bent on photography you will come up with some fantastic writing. The photojournalist thing.

How about a 1,500 to 2,000 word short story to go with your pics?

Ummmm...lemme reprhase dat...

Write a story without the pics (can I get an autographed copy?).

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!!!