On dreams and obstacles
Trip Start
Oct 08, 2007
1
67
110
Trip End
Dec 16, 2008
Cairns,
Australia
Friday, April 18, 2008
Seeing your dreams come true is both satisfying and disappointing experience. It is part of the growing up process I think. Dreams are pure, perfect, unreachable. Reality is very tangible. It is either piping hot, or freezing cold, or it stinks and your shoes are uncomfortable. The Death Valley for example was mysterious and adventurous in my dreams, worlds away from the snowy streets of Sofia. Acapulco was a tropical heaven. Mariachi with big moustaches and sombreros playing on beach at sunset. Fast forward 20 years. There I am, walking on the beach in Acapulco, a filthy tourist town, way past it's prime. There are no mariachi in sight. Dead fish is washing on shore. Fast forward few years more. I'm driving through the Dead Valley in an AC car on a perfect stretch of highway. Not a hint of adventure. It is high noon, and the desert looks as unimpressive as it gets.
Yet, seeing a dream come true is almost a religious experience. It is time for reflection, time to pat yourself on the back and say - I did it. And the more dreams you see come true, the more you believe everything is possible if you want it bad enough.
Alien, ready to dive
So here I am in a full scuba gear, standing on the edge of a boat, one foot in flipper stretched out, ready to take a step and plunge into the waters above the Great Barrier Reef. This is the last one, the last dream on my childhood dream list, about to become true. My hearth is rising. The weather however is not in unison with the literary hero. It is cloudy and windy. The water is choppy. In the few seconds for reflection, all I manage to think is that I haven't dived since 2005 and my diving skills might be a bit rusty. I take the plunge. I've put too much weight on my belt and it takes me good deal of energy to keep above water, before I figure out how to inflate the BC a bit more. My nose is full with salty water, hence I have to breath through my mouth. Did I mention the water is choppy? I finally inflate the BC, but still breathe too fast. If I breathe like this, my air will be finished in 20 minutes and I'll have to go back. The whole dive group will have to go back sooner because of me. It is not a calming thought, so I almost grasp for air. The dive instructor gives us the thumb down and disappears under water. So does everybody else. I try to follow, but by this point I can barely take enough breath above water, let alone breathing from a tube. I swim back up and abort the dive. The crew helps me back on the boat. Somebody bring me a glass of water. I remember my father bringing me a glass of water when I almost flipped out from a mountain hut balcony in Bulgaria when I was 4. I remember thinking then - how is this going to help?...but I drank it all the same.
With a little help from a friend
Everybody wants to know what happened. I drink the water. Nothing, I say, I panicked. It's been a while since I dived. Second try. They send one instructor with me to go over the basic diving skills. I feel like a complete wimp and a drama queen, which I'm not on any other day but today. I'm both surprised and appalled to see how much attention you get when you start wining. I'm grateful of course. Kim is very patient. We dive to a meter or two, and she starts going over the basics - take the regulator out of your mouth, put it back in. Easy. Fill your mask with water, then clear it out. Not so easy, but after a few tries I almost manage. Now, take the regulator out of your mouth and let go. You have to stretch your arm behind you to retrieve it. I spin the regulator away and stretch my arm to find it. I can't find it. It's not there. I don't know what to do. This is not according to plan. Then, I don't know why, I suck up some water and start choking on it. I stare blankly at Kim. I can't decide what to do. A second later, I frantically swim right up, holding my breath, trying not to choke. Kim swims after me, desperately trying to communicate under water that I should be excelling as I go up (standard diver's procedure). I choke all the water out and take a deep breath. Am I okay? Yes. Do I want to try again? Hell yes! It is now or never. I have a ticket to Darwin in 32 hours. If I don't dive the GBR now, I never will.
Third time lucky. With Kim holding me by the arm, which helps with my crappy buoyancy, I finally make it to the bottom and snap some photos. The afternoon dive goes even better. I dive with the whole group and stay calm. It is very peaceful and colorful down here. I have no idea why I panicked the first time around. Lesson learned - the main obstacle to achieving your dreams lies within yourself. Now I really sound like a drama queen. Enjoy the photoes as much as I enjoyed taking them.
P.S. Oh, and now what? Now that I don't have any unfulfilled childhood dreams, I think I'm ready to grow up. I got the "What color is your parachute", and currently in the process of figuring out what I want to do, after I've done everything I ever wanted to do. Might take me a while, so don't think i'm coming back any time soon:)
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Hugs & Kisses, Vik
