16th Oct 2002 - Snorkeling

The island is lovely and i never saw the ocean water so crystal clear before. I can count the sand grains on the floor below!! We had several options for that day, and we all voted for this excursion trip to this island which included lunch on the beach. But now that we have reached here, we are kind of lost. None of us are ready to shed our clothes and hit the water. We wonder if this is all this excursion all about? This the sun-shadow side of the island & the breeze has a slight chill & dampness in it. Soon several other excursion groups arrive and the little beach is getting crowded.

As we loiter around, we find a person shelling out fins and snorkeling equipment. On further inquiry we learn that snorkeling is part of the excursion fare! My companion is all thrilled, he is a good swimmer. Wearing a life vest is also like an insult for him. Me? well, suffice it to say that I make double sure that the straps of my life vest don't slip. I dunno swimming, i ask the guy if non-swimmers r allowed. He says it will be a bit difficult, but no body is stopping.

Obviously this place is not USA or Dubai where they need u to sign a release declaration before u take the plunge. We take the snorkel and skip the fins, thinking what use r they? Little did i know how direly that careless omission was going to cost me latter in the day.

My companion's mom is very upset, but she doesn't want to be a spoil sport and stop us. The fear shows on her face as a trace of sagging & whiteness, a kind of desperation. But she draws solace from me being with her son and lets us go with an instruction to take care & not to take undue risk.

We soon depart from the island, out of the little cove and turn right. The beach is now out of sight and soon we see this little secluded island. The ship anchors in the open ocean a good mile away from land. This is kind of crazy! you are expected to take that ladder and step down in the ocean!! my companion takes the lead and i follow... the life vest takes my load and floats me. i try my hand at swimming. My companion urges me to look down in water and i put on the snorkel and float face down. wow! suddenly it is a technicolor world!! I think i can put a hundred exclamation marks and yet i can't capture the amazement.

This is nature's aquarium, and the best man-made aquariums are a pale shadow in comparison. There are schools of fishes gliding by, of various shapes & sizes, glowing all the shades of rainbow - right within my hands reach. Playfully i try catch one, it eludes me so effortlessly. This is their world and they are the adapts, there is no way i can match them suspended by my fragile life-vest. We spot a particularly dangerous looking specimen, dark & ugly, hiding in the floor among rocks. We give him a wide berth. The water here is shallow, just about shoulder depth. There are many rocks underneath. We are bare feet.

But then suddenly the atmosphere changes. it begins to drizzle, and the winds start groaning, and i am sure a hurricane is right upon us. These idiots never checked the weather i suppose! the waves become choppy, and my snorkel keeps getting filled with water. I wear and it fills with water, I hang it around my neck & it chokes me. and the waves are rolling me. I find that i can't float on my belly. I roll over and do back-stroke, i think i am better at it. I look around and see that the boat is far off. The ocean current had silently carried us away from the boat towards the island. I never thought i could every swim that far - quite a marathon it looks to me. I see my companion, head half inside water, floating effortlessly. I shout at him, he looks up. I ask him to keep an eye on me in case i drown. He says ok, and says the view is amazing and promptly goes back to his business of spying on those unsuspecting fishes. I try to find anchor by standing on a rock and it seems to have a razor sharp edge. I see blood oozing out of my feet! aahhh... i wonder how badly i am cut. I hobble to another, but can't make out much of the damage. My thoughts are on drowning. Are the last moments kind of crazy when i asphyxiate? Or can i just relax & let it go? Some people can stay under for 10 minutes & more, i can hold mine for a minute easily enough.

By now i am quite visibly struggling. a couple passing by stops & asks if i need help! I smile & say "no, i can manage". They suggest i should stick to back-stroke, and move on heads half submerged in water. My companion looks up with an amused look and goes back under again. I keep stroking, and each stroke takes me nearer to the boat. I wonder if we are late and whether they can see us. May be they will choose to depart thinking all are aboard? They never took a roll-count when we boarded. I bounce of a small fishing boat parked in between, and stroke on. I finally reach the boat, coolly i grab the ladder and hurl myself up in one quick swift motion, the ocean flowing out of me and pouring back. Slowly the rest of the party gets back, small groups at a time. We stand there, the breeze cold on our wet clothes, the life vest our only shield. A group of Israelis are standing near by, and this girl stares at me for a good 10 minutes & more. almost unblinking... I check my feet and there i find a hundred thorns! another person looks at it and says sorrowfully that i must have stepped on a particular variety of sea plant. I ask him if i die? He said it is not poisonous but definitely it is going to be very very sore for a long while. These thorns break inside the skin, and being very fragile, they can't be pulled out. So they stay there, very sore, until the body rejects them in the course of time. Well, i am happy enough to know that I am alive!

On reaching the shore i limp back. My companion's mom is relieved to see us, no doubt obliged to me for bringing her son back safe! We had been away for around 3 hours and they had just sat there scanning the sky line, waiting for our ship to get back. I wonder if it is worth the trip causing a loved one so much anguish. And yet love is not about clipping the wings, it is about setting them free.

This was trip that will remain etched in memory for perpetuity, it was so amazing to peer through that seemingly uninteresting & opaque green water surface and suddenly get the glimpse of such a beautiful world!