brownie
Contributor
I don't know if I have chosen the right forum for this post, so mods please re-direct if I have chosen incorrectly.
It's been 12 very long months since I have been on a dive trip--I'm retired and often travel 4 or 5 times a year. My last adventures were Cozumel, Galapagos and the Red Sea (from Nov. 2019 through February 2020). I miss diving very much--will haul out my drysuit and venture into Lake Ontario in a few months.
I like to reminisce about special moments underwater. I am not a photographer, so I do not capture permanent images. What I do have etched in my brain are memories of images that stand out. For example, I recall a wall dive dive in Indonesia (maybe Bunaken). I was about 2 or 3 feet away from the wall. I noticed 2 scorpionfish in mid-water, ahead of me. They approached the wall, came to a stop, then nestled onto a ledge in close proximity to one another. They were now absolutely still, thus becoming part of the amazing and ever-changing tableau of marine life on a wall. This unfolded directly in front of me.
Again in Indonesia, I was viewing a pygmy seahorse on a sea fan (using my magnifier) when it unhooked itself, travelled a few inches across the fan and then re-attached.
And finally, the dive site was Monad Shoal, Malapascua Island (Philippines). We had viewed thresher sharks in hazy, turbid waters at a depth of 110+ feet (could barely see them). We ascended to shallow, clear waters (about 70 feet deep) for the balance of our dive. A thresher appeared about 5 feet away from me. I curled up to make myself small, still, and tried very hard to exhale few bubbles, fearful that I would scare him away. He stayed with us for at least a few minutes--such a thrill to see it so close up.
I am grateful for these memories-- they lift my spirit in these strange and stressful times.
It's been 12 very long months since I have been on a dive trip--I'm retired and often travel 4 or 5 times a year. My last adventures were Cozumel, Galapagos and the Red Sea (from Nov. 2019 through February 2020). I miss diving very much--will haul out my drysuit and venture into Lake Ontario in a few months.
I like to reminisce about special moments underwater. I am not a photographer, so I do not capture permanent images. What I do have etched in my brain are memories of images that stand out. For example, I recall a wall dive dive in Indonesia (maybe Bunaken). I was about 2 or 3 feet away from the wall. I noticed 2 scorpionfish in mid-water, ahead of me. They approached the wall, came to a stop, then nestled onto a ledge in close proximity to one another. They were now absolutely still, thus becoming part of the amazing and ever-changing tableau of marine life on a wall. This unfolded directly in front of me.
Again in Indonesia, I was viewing a pygmy seahorse on a sea fan (using my magnifier) when it unhooked itself, travelled a few inches across the fan and then re-attached.
And finally, the dive site was Monad Shoal, Malapascua Island (Philippines). We had viewed thresher sharks in hazy, turbid waters at a depth of 110+ feet (could barely see them). We ascended to shallow, clear waters (about 70 feet deep) for the balance of our dive. A thresher appeared about 5 feet away from me. I curled up to make myself small, still, and tried very hard to exhale few bubbles, fearful that I would scare him away. He stayed with us for at least a few minutes--such a thrill to see it so close up.
I am grateful for these memories-- they lift my spirit in these strange and stressful times.
