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First it was "They found it, it will be here tomorrow morning"
Then it was "It got delayed, it won't be here until tonight."...

Central Europe Travel Log (Fall 2003) [2]

Robertphelan
2004-02-06 23:51:41

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to hop in. One foot off the deck, push off with the other, and ... *PLUSH* Ok, the water is a little cold, but it's no problem with the wetsuit I'm wearing. I cleared the water from the mask, checked the regulator my stabilization vest, and then took a look underwater to see what was below me. There were large, coral encrusted boulders directly beneath me, but when I looked out just a few meters the view expanded off a costal shelf into darkness. For those of you that haven't been diving, a few like that makes you feel like you're up -really- -really- high. Well, when you see that, the average brain says "AAAAAAAAAHHHH!" I'm surprised I didn't use up all of my oxygen before I started the descent. That first view was pretty terrifying, and I think it showed on my face as my diving partner stuck really close to me and kept checking to make sure I was OK.

I gradually got used to breathing regularly under water again and got into a pattern of clearing my mask and equalizing the pressure in my ears as we went down over the shelf and down to the bottom. As I got more comfortable, I wanted to go off in different directions to check out different things, but my underwater navigation skills were a little rusty and I kept bumping into things and forgetting to clear my mask. My diving partner kept guiding me closer to the group as I tried to wander off. I got to see quite a few different fish, some corals, starfish, anemones, and the whole lot. All too soon we had to go back to the surface, so we started up the underwater cliff-face.

On the way back, I skirted close to the corals and suddenly I noticed the seafloor -move-. I watched for a second longer and realized what I saw; it was an octopus! Wow! It was the first time I'd ever seen one in the wild! I wanted to get closer, but my diving partner caught me and indicated that we needed to head for the surface. I felt like a kid saying "awwww Mom, can't I go play with it?" Oh well, maybe next time :) It was so cool to be diving in such clear water and so deep too! The furthest down I had been before was 30 feet, and that was pushing it in dark, muddy water. This time we went down 25 meters, 75 feet! Awesome! I'm hooked, I'm going to have to do more diving in waters like that. Hopefully the Peace Corps will put me in a country bordering the Mediterranean. :) Oh, and the total cost for the experience, including all the rental gear and the boat ride to the diving point? 34 Euro! I was prepared to pay up to 80!

Tonight I'm heading to the train station to find out if I can stay an extra day here. If I can I may look for a sport-fishing boat so that I can do some deep-sea fishing, but we'll have to see.

Wow, is it really only 3 days until I'm back in Missouri?? Crazy stuff. Best to all!

September 29, 2003: Heading home.

Well, tomorrow I get on a plane headed back to the midwest. I don't think I'll have time to make an update then so I'll go ahead and post the final one now.

It's been a really amazing trip with lots of adventures and new experiences. I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to do all of this. It's almost kinda sad to be leaving, even though I won't be leaving anyone behind this time. Oh well, it's not like my travelling days are over anyway, I'll be back in Eastern Europe with the Peace Corps in 4 short months.

Well, everyone back home, get ready, I'll be back at 7:45pm tomorrow. To all of my friends in the rest of the world, keep the light on, you never know when I might show up in your neighborhood :)

Bye for now.