THE UGLIEST AMERICAN 4: The Sea Is Angry, Amigos!
Trip Start
Nov 04, 2006
1
4
15
Trip End
Dec 03, 2006
La Ceiba,
Honduras
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Well, it finally is over. I completed my training as
a certified Open Water Diver and didnīt die. I canīt
say I actually conquered my fear, but at least Iīll go
down there in a pinch. The last two evenings have
yielded more fun and social opportunities. For my
final two dives of my course, we explored a shipwreck
and a cool reef mound that had a plethora of weird
looking critters all surrounded by plants and light
and shit. It was breathtaking, and I say that because
I took a lot of breaths. I canīt seem to shake my
undersea claustrophobia and weīll talk in a bit about
my last dive of Utila in a moment.
The food continues to be awesome. Itīs been a true
pleasure to explore the oceanic world, the last great
frontier of our planet. Itīs been really cool to be
able to come face to face with colorful, exotic fish
and eventually eat them the same night. Canīt lie,
yáll, Iīm a groupie for grouper.
On an introspective noteĄ
Have you ever noticed how unfriendly I can be to
strangers!Part of it is my residual shyness, part of
it is fear of rejection, and part of it is a general
disdain for small talk. At the behest of two of my
best friends, I have made quite an effort to be a
better listener and take a more interrogative stance
in conversation. But with strangers, Iīve always
adopted this YOU COME TO ME attitude and there are
plenty of times that backfires.
Botany, or Potany?
The other thing Iīvenoticed is that I frequently fail to see othersī
interest in talking to me. Itīs a control thing, itīs
an ADD thing, and itīs a bad way to conduct yourself.
I say this because Iīm slowly becoming an adult and
without going into too much detail, I did the right
thing with my diving instructor. And doing the right
thing always feels good, itīs just getting there that
is difficult. Thatīs all I have to say aboot that.
So after the written dive test we all went out for
beers, then I got drafted into an all night Hold Ém
blow out that drain several Lempiras from my general
pocket. But it was a small price to pay for a great
evening of trash talk and being able to say AINT NO
CHECKING IN MY GAME to a group of Islanders. Things
get somewhat blurry after that but Iīm certain that no
cocktails flowed and I didnīt start no drama.
So letīs get to my last two dives on Thursday. I was
slightly hanging from the poker night fiesta but was
up for it. The 3 weeks sober guy was our Dive Master
and he took us to a dive site called The Aquarium
which lived up to itīs name. Moray Eels, charks, and
a tiny hawksbill turtle. Really impressive. But when
I got on the boat, things went south pretty quick.
Seasickness set in, I started burping up baleadas
(like tostadas with balls), and I got dehydrated. But
I had one more dive to go. Let me tell you, from the
second I got to 20 meters to our eventual ascent, I
was having some serious drama. I was near pukey,
claustrophobic, and fatigued. It wasnīt a fun dive.
But I maintained after I had a 2nd panic attack, I
remembered my relaxation techniques, focused, and
chanted my mantra in my head. (robster, robster) Then
we got back and a caught a boat to the mainland, where
I am now. For the record, Iīm typing this in at a
shopping mall. So much for the rustic Central
American odyssey you may have envisioned.
So itīs a night out tonight in La Ceiba. The saying
goes that Tegucigalpa thinks, San Pedro works, and La
Ceiba parties. So bring it on.
Peace Love and Diver Down,
TT
Comments
robster robster
I miss the robster like you miss Marty.
Awww, Robster
Alright, now I've read the second post, and Purple Reign in the house!! Congrats for con'queer'ing the diving fear, and for facing up to the new people stuff! Seeing, being grown up ain't that bad, well, at least so I've heard!