If you have been in a convenience store anywhere in the world, they have sweet treats, usually local, next to the counter when you pay. So when I asked for one of the blue packages in the plexiglass I figured that it was some sort of local waffle treat. Not unless the soda cracker was invented here. Why does a convenience store sell Soda Crackers right next to the till? Odd.
Did my fourth dive of the trip today, it was very similar to my first one, except a little deeper (21.5m) as we exited the slope onto the wall, but that wasn't the amazing moment of the day, we'll get there. The highlight of Dive #4 was the large number of fish types which included an encounter with what is called a Nassau Grouper. I use encounter because it likes divers. If you happen across it (There are apparently a few, but one in particuluar) it will follow the group of divers around until they surface, coming very close in the flater sections, where it expects to be rubbed on the head and sides like you would a dog.
Dive #3 was the first dive this morning, that was for the deep dive portion of my Advanced Open Water course (Allowing dives down to ~30m). You swim down a sandy path (I hesitate to call it a canyon as the walls are not that high) and a slight angle, then it gets much steeper with overhangs on each side and as you swim down it gives the feeling of flying, then you are out of the shallow reef onto the wall and there is nothing but blue in various shades ahead of you, stretching out into the abyss. It was a fantastic moment that if equipment allowed would have caused my jaw to drop. Instead I assembled a Mr. Potatohead to show that at the 33.5m depth I was not "narked" or afflicted with Nitrogen Narcosis, which can affect some people at depth.
The rest of the dive as we headed for shallower water was a myriad of fish, best described as diving in an aquarium. Well, it was until the hose to my BCD (Buoyancy Control Device) inflator decided to stick on causing a significant, increase in floatation that was partially remedied by me releasing air from it, then being confused as to how I had released so much, then being hauled down by the Divemaster who examined the hose as I unclipped it. When they made us practice that particular skill in the pool and the lake, I never realistically thought I would have to do it.That unfortunately cut short (but not that short, I was getting close to my air reserve) the dive through the shallow portion (5-8m) which apparently had even more colourful fish than the earlier portion of the dive. Dang.
After the second dive of the day I walked home and was reading by the pool (It's a rough life, I know) when Kyle and Trevor showed up, they arrived on the island today.I passed along the parts I had brought and chatted with them for awhile about their recent adventures. The amound of off the path experiences they've had makes me glad I wasn't the one riding them. Turns out that the muffler pieces I brought for Trevor are to replace the parts that fell out in Arizona. It's been a wee bit loud.
Dusk here is a very pleasant time of day, somewhere around 1630, the sun dips below the tree line, and the light begins to fade leaving beautiful auburn-red rays to filter through the clouds and trees. It also stops getting warmer, which is also a welcome relief. An hour later, it decends briefly into dusk, similar to sitting on a back porch on a hot summer evening in Edmonton about 1030 at night in June, just significantly more humid. It is a lovely time of day, but due to the inconvenience of the latitude, it only lasts 15 minutes until it is dark.
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