Greetings from... where are we again? Oh, right: Gili Trawangan. The same place we've been for the last two weeks. I swear, this place is like fly paper for backpackers. We're busily buzzing by and the THWACK!!! Just like that, we find ourselves to be hopelessly and completely stuck. (And yes, thwack is the official fly paper noise, I checked into it)
However, it has been a productive vacation-from-vacation. We are proud to report that we are now both officially certified as Open Water Divers (cue applause and confetti). It took three days; in between practicing drills both in the pool and in the ocean (taking our masks off, running scenarios of what to do if you suddenly run out of air, etc) and going on dives, we studied a LOT (you should see this textbook, it's practically as long as the Bible! Well, okay, maybe just the New Testament... but still, it's a big deal, we're on HOLIDAY). There was even ALGEBRA involved! Sara, surprising no one, aced the test with flying colours. She actually was one of the few people to have ever received a perfect score. As for me, well, after having the mathematical equations explained to me for over an hour, we decided it was probably best for everyone's brain if I just copied her answers. Funnily, my parents had always told me that the sky was the limit--clearly they were being optimistic, as it instead appears to be the ocean.
The dives, of course, were the best part. Not only did we see more turtles than you can shake a pepperoni pizza at dude, but we also saw bumphead parrot fish (three foot long elephant-skulled fish that look downright prehistoric) and a reef shark!! And it looked just like the sharks on tv!!! (I know that sounds ridiculous, but we both thought it) It was a good three meters long and came approximately twenty feet from us. It didn't seem too fussed one way or another that we were there, and swam in this slow, gliding, too-cool-for-school fashion, it's yellow cateye glinting even nineteen meters down.
One of our dives, however, did turn out to be a bit trying. When we first headed down, everything seemed hunky-dory. There was a bit of a current, and so we just relaxed and let ourselves be whisked along the ocean floor as though we were in some sort of Disneyland ride. But then, without warning, the visability dropped to only a few meters due to microscopic plankton and other ambient particles in the water. This made the dive challenging for everyone, but I ran into some added difficulties when suddenly I was unable to equalise my ears. I tried to ascend slightly to see if it would resolve the situation, but before I knew it I was up so far I couldn't see ANYTHING--not the bottom, not the surface, and, most frighteningly, not the other divers. OMGWTFBBQ does not even Begin to cover it. Fortunately, just as I was starting to get really dizzy and panicky, the divemaster (assistant to the instructor) shot out of the white ether like a saint in a snorkle mask and grabbed my hand. Of course, I was never in any actual danger--if worse had come to worst, I would have just swam to the surface, though the diving instructor probably wouldn't have been too pleased at that--but it was definitely unnerving to say the least. However, we both agreed that the challenge of the dive was, ultimately, benefical because it prepared us for conditions that aren't optimal. Plus, it makes us seem kind of hardcore when we tell our friends.
Other than diving, we've been spending most of our time at the beach getting our tan on or making friends with the good folks down at the dive centre. The beach here is beautiful--water layered in bright turquoise and deep sapphire like some sort of cocktail, misty purple mountains rising in the distance, and just enough coral on the shore to laugh at tourists as they hop and stumble.
The only real drawback of this island is the locals' bizarre obsession with dreadlocks. Without exaggeration: we cannot walk more than about thirty meters without being haggled by calls of "Hey Rasta girl! I love you!" and the like. It's gotten to the point where we've had to take back alleys just to avoid the hassle. Goodness, I feel just like Angelina Jolie!! *Sara rolls her eyes* Kidding, kidding!
But, of course, all good things must come to an end--to make way for new good things, we hope. And so, we are leaving Gili T. in two days to continue east island hopping...
0 comments:
Post a Comment