Last Scuba Dive in Kenya

Day 74
7:30 Breakfast
8:30 Scuba Diving "Fun Dive"
12:30 Lunch
7:00 Dinner

Dive Extension Group

   Sea turtles, lion fish, trumpet fish. There was tons to see on the dive today. "On the boat ride back I sat on top of the wheelhouse. It was nice and refreshing, I never wanted it to end because going ashore meant that diving was over." We cleaned out all the BCD's and regulators when we got back.
   Today I bought some last minute souvenirs, relaxed on the beach and enjoyed the company of friends. At night I went out to the ocean with a couple girls. "We tried to see the bioluminescence in the water. We started out just wading, hiking up our shorts but a wave came in and soaked us, so we waded in up to our chest. We didn't see any lights but it was so much fun, we were shrieking with laughter the whole time." 10 years ago today I said goodbye to the Indian Ocean... for now.

Just Another Day WITH WHALE SHARKS!!

Day 73
8:15 Breakfast
10:30 Scuba Diving "Fun Dive"
1:30 Lunch
7:00 Dinner

   W-O-W! I am a lucky girl! We took the small boat out to meet up with the big boat and the guys were going crazy! There was a whale shark right there at the surface! "We jumped in with mask and fins to swim with it. We were so close we could have reached out and touched it. It was beside me, I could see it's eye. Beneath me there were remora fish that swim around and attach themselves to the whale shark." It was so incredible. I don't know why Ariel wanted legs so badly, under the sea is so amazing! 10 years ago today I was envious of a Disney mermaid!  

WHALE SHARK!!!

Day 72
7:30 Breakfast
8:00 Scuba Diving "Multilevel"
1:00 Lunch
1:30 Scuba Diving "Fun Dive"
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Whale Shark Slideshow



http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/whale-shark/

   I can't contain my excitement, I SWAM WITH A WHALE SHARK TODAY! It was on the afternoon dive and it was at the end of the dive. Cam kept motioning us to look around. "I heard someone yelp underwater and I looked over my right shoulder. A whale shark is swimming by me. Suddenly Cam bolts by me and I think "if he's going I'm going!" At first I was stunned and just stared at the huge animal. I was sort of scared. I was swimming with Cam and the whale shark turned to face us. I stopped swimming. Oh Shit. It's going to swim towards us and we're going to get sucked into it's mouth. Then it starts swimming up and goes above us. Cam and I had to stay at 15 feet. It was so cool!" We had to do our decompression stop and then when we got to the surface, the captain on the boat was pointing to it and said we could reach it by swimming along the surface. "There were jellyfish everywhere stinging like crazy. I can see nothing. I'm getting on the boat and suddenly the whale shark is right beside us again! I hand up my BCD to the boat and swim after it with my snorkel. Lee says she sees a manta ray in the water and when I finally get back in the boat I can see it underneath the surface. I can see it's white belly as it's feeding on the jellyfish." Hands down amazing dive. 10 years ago today I SWAM WITH A WHALE SHARK!

Logged 10th Dive

Day 71
7:30 Breakfast
8:00 Scuba Diving "Research Dive"
12:30 Lunch
2:00 Scuba Diving "Fun Dive"
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Scuba Class

   Two dives again today! On our research dive we had to run a transect, count coral in a quadrat and make a circular quadrat. There were lots of colourful corals! The second dive site we went to had different type of coral. "We saw a turtle off in the distance, then the instructor motioned us down and in a crevice was another turtle sleeping! We watched and he poked his head out, looked around sleepily and then gracefully and slowly took off. We followed it quite a ways. Then we saw another one eating the coral, so cool!" 10 years ago today I logged my 10th dive.

Feeling Narced

Day 70
7:30 Breakfast
8:00 Scuba Diving "Deep Dive"
11:30 Scuba Diving "Navigation"
2:00 Lunch
7:00 BBQ Dinner

   On the boat ride out to the dive site Cam gave us the drill on how our deep dive would go; once we got down to 100 feet below the surface, he would give us a math problem to solve. This was to focus our mind and deal with the nitrogen in our air supply. When we got to that depth we didn't do a math problem. "Cam said he thought he was "narced" (diver slang for nitrogen narcosis, a buzzed feeling from the high concentration of nitrogen) when he saw Christine swimming up to him with a fish on a line, just like she was out taking a dog for a walk!" The fish had a hook and line stuck in its mouth so we spent the time freeing the fish. It made a great story afterwards!
   Before we did our navigation dive we did a practice run on the beach. "We had to cover our heads with a towel and practice using the compass. We had to make a box and a triangle. We used our shoes as reference points. I'm sure the other hotel guests thought we were crazy!" On the dive we counted our fin strokes and hand strides and made a straight line, square and triangle with the compass. 10 years ago today I rescued a fish!

Dive Extension!

Day 69
7:45 Breakfast
12:00 Scuba Diving "Boat Dive"
1:30 Lunch
2:00 Scuba Diving "Underwater Naturalist"
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Scientific Diving Class

Coming In From The Boat

   I opted to stay on the dive extension and today we went diving twice. "Our first dive was no skills testing, phew! It was just a fun looking around dive. We saw a lion fish, an octopus in a crevice and long grey rays." We went back in for lunch and then had to quickly gear back up to go out for the afternoon dive. "Carrying in the heavy tanks and getting them refilled at the dive shop is good exercise!" Our afternoon dive was a "naturalist dive" so we weren't swimming around. We stayed in one spot and looked around. There were lots of fish and sting rays. This was my second favourite dive site, the first one being the 'fish highway'. This week I am working towards becoming an advanced diver, so after dinner we had a class. 10 years ago today I took my first step towards my next diving certification.

Gearing Up At The Dive Shop

Last Day Of The Program

Day 68
7:30 Breakfast
9:00 Nairobi Group Departure
10:00 Zanzabar Group Departure
12:30 Lunch
7:00 Dinner

   Today was very sad. It was the last day of the program and our tight knit group of 39 was dispersing throughout Kenya to do different things. One group was going back to Nairobi, another was going to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, several people were traveling independently, and some of us were staying on the coast for the dive extension. I was one of the dive extension people and was so sad to be saying goodbye to everyone else. There were many tearful goodbyes. 10 years ago today the 2004 program CFSIA ended.     

"Old Smoothies"

Day 67
7:30 Breakfast
8:00 Scuba Diving "Navigation"
12:30 Lunch
5:00 Marine Bio Exam
7:00 BBQ Dinner
9:00 Party at Don's Banda

Studying!

   My 4th dive was a compass navigation dive. We were mid-water column in plankton rich waters; visibility was low. "It was perfect conditions to practice with our compass, but not so great for spotting fish!"

Studying!

   After our marine biology exam I felt a sigh of relief, all my courses are over! After the resort had a BBQ (with the Masai Dancers again) we went to Don's Banda where he was hosting a party with Brian. They called it an "Old Smoothie" night, they served very alcoholic smoothies! It was a wonderful night to get addresses and have a good time on our last night in the program all together. 10 years ago today I was partying with CFSIA friends.

Making "Old Smoothies"

Fish Highway

Day 66
7:30 Breakfast
8:00 Scuba Diving "Skills"
12:30 Lunch
2:30 Marine Bio Field Trip "Mangroves"
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Scuba Class

   I nicknamed the dive site today "A Fish Highway" - there were fish everywhere! My little disposable underwater camera was snapping away! We practiced more skills during the dive and used our compass to navigate. It was a great dive! I can't believe how much I love scuba diving.
   On our marine biology field trip, we drove quite a ways down the coast. We went to a mangrove forest in Gazi. "We had to walk in the water which was knee height between all the roots. I stubbed my toe. It was a really neat experience though, a forest in the water!! We had to measure a quadrant for basal area and height." As the tide came in, creeping closer, we had to be careful to get out of the forest in time! 10 years ago today, I was on a fish highway.
  

Mangrove Forest in Water

Mangrove Roots - Low Tide

Mangrove Roots - High Tide

Entering the Mangrove Forest

Rocky Shores

Day 65
8:30 Breakfast
9:30 Marine Bio Field Trip "Rocky Shores"
12:30 Lunch
5:00 Marine Bio Class
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Scuba Class

   Imagine writing up a grueling university level lab report. Now imagine writing up that lab report on a hot and sunny day while sitting on a soft sandy beach, surrounded by monkeys with a soundtrack of bird calls and ocean waves. Much better. 10 years ago today I was not your average university student!

Boat Ride Fun

Day 64
8:30 Breakfast
11:45 Scuba Diving "Skills"
2:00 Lunch
5:00 Marine Bio Class
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Scuba Class

Dolphins!

On the Little Boat

On the Big Boat

   Low tide = land locked boat. Our dive was delayed until the tide came in a bit! We took the little boat (which can come in closer to the shore) out to the big boat. "The transfer across boats with all our gear is a bit tricky." We took the big boat out to the dive site. We saw dolphins! There was a strong current and large waves. It was scary waiting at the bow of the boat; we had to wait there while the instructor ran through skills with us individually. "The bow was rocking towards us and it could have hit us in the heat at any moment!" There were tiny jellyfish that were stinging us all over so it wasn't very comfortable either. During my skills review I got water up my nose when took my mask off underwater. I was beginning to become disenchanted with scuba diving! Other skills we practiced were a regulator retrieval, fin pivot, out of air signal, alternate air ascent and a buddy tow. We had about ten minutes to tour around the reef after the skill reviews and I fell back in love with diving! 10 years ago yesterday I was scuba diving in the Indian Ocean, and 10 years today I was scuba diving in the Indian Ocean too!

Rolling In Backwards



FIRST OCEAN DIVE!!

Day 63
8:00 Breakfast
10:30 Marine Bio Field Trip "Tide Pools"
1:30 Lunch
2:15 SCUBA DIVING IN OCEAN "Orientation"
5:00 Marine Bio Class
7:00 BBQ Dinner
9:00 40 Thieves Bar

   On our marine biology field trip we studied the crustaceans in tide pool. I liked the brittle stars. It was a nice morning but we had to rush our professor along because we were all excited about going scuba diving in the OCEAN this afternoon!!
   "The boat was rocky and it was a bit scary while we geared up on the boat. We had to roll in backwards, I don't like that! We descended along the anchor line, equalizing all the way." Once we were all down the line we went for a tour of the reef. it was pretty cool, "I feel like I'm in a discovery channel special, scuba diving around!" Under water the light is filtered due to the different wavelengths. The colours of the reef are muted. To take fantastic underwater photos you need filters on your camera lens to ensure the true colours show up. I didn't have a fancy camera. 10 years ago today I was scuba diving in the Indian Ocean for my very first time!



Party at 40 Thieves

Sea Urchin Spines

Day 62
7:00 Breakfast
7:30 Marine Bio Field Trip "Coral Reefs"
11:00 Scuba Pool Lesson
12:30 Lunch
4:30 Marine Bio Class
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Scuba Class

   Today we went on a cool field trip to a coral reef! It was a reef right off the shore so we could wade in from the beach. We had to wear our sandals because of the sea urchins! "I walked at first but it was really unpredictable where your next step would take you. I got a sea urchin spine in my heel, it throbbed." I switched to snorkeling once we got to about 2 feet of water. When it was shallower I was afraid of my legs, knees or chest touching or scraping the bottom. "When I went to stand up I lost balance, falling over onto a pile of sea urchins. Right into my leg and hand went a bunch of spines. I could pull the ones out of my leg, they left a nasty spot of bloody pin pricks." After that we had to squat in the water to do our experiment. I was fascinated by the stuff around us, I'd never seen a coral reef before! There were lots of little fish, sea cucumbers, a pipe fish and coral I couldn't identify. "It was was not comfortable to be squatting in the water with urchin spines 10cm long under your butt!"
   Back at the resort I asked Doctor John (our Canadian doctor who was traveling with us) to cut and tweeze out the spines in my heel and thumb. I felt waves of nausea and pain. He couldn't get the tip of the spine out of my thumb and said as it healed it would get pushed out.... 10 years later, I still have that sea urchin spine in my right thumb and can still feel it.





Plankton Tow

Day 61
7:30 Breakfast
12:30 Lunch
1:00 Marine Biology Field Trip "Plankton Tow"
5:00 Marine Biology Class
7:00 Dinner

   Our plankton tow was on a large boat out in the ocean. The smaller boat had to ferry us from the beach out to the boat. The plankton net is attached to a long rope and after dropping it in the water and recording the depth,we drove the boat while dragging the net through the water. We were in the middle of taking a sample when suddenly the rope broke! "We were sitting there waiting for a while and then a small boat came with some snorkel gear to dive down and look for the plankton net. Lee got in the water to look with them too." After 45 minutes of searching there was no net to be found. Our professor had other samples with him, so back at the resort he set up his microscopes for us to look at the plankton. "It was so neat to be looking through a microscope on the beach in a cabana, not like the lab back at school." I was so eager to work on identification! 10 years ago today I was a scientist in the field.

Practicing Scuba Skills

Day 60
7:30 Breakfast
12:30 Lunch
1:15 Scuba Pool Session
5:00 Marine Biology
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Scuba Class

   I spent the morning sitting by the pool. In a coconut tree there was a man who had shimmied up the trunk with ropes on his feet. He was chopping down dead leaves and coconuts for the resort. "A few blue monkeys were on the wall and they got on someones table and were licking the straw and putting their tiny hands into the glass. They tried to take some of the stuff but I guess it was too heavy for them to carry. It was pretty cute!"
   For our pool scuba session we got our tanks and assembled our gear at the pool. We practiced different entry ways. I don't like rolling in backwards! 10 years ago today I was monkey watching and learning to scuba dive in a pool in Kenya!

  

Field Trip to Tiwi Beach

Day 59
7:30 Breakfast
12:30 Lunch
1:00 Marine Bio Field Trip to Tiwi Beach "Estuaries"
5:00 Marine Bio Class
7:00 Dinner

   This morning I felt really nauseous from my doxy pill (for malaria) and spent the morning sleeping in. After lunch we boarded our truck to go on the field trip. "It was nice to be in the trucks again, I almost forgot about the bumpy travelling around." At Tiwi beach there were amazing Baobab trees. We saw graffiti carved into their trunks dated 1963! We were studying the estuary for our marine biology class. "It was so fascinating to see the breathing roots of the mangrove trees and the coral rock from the Pleistocene." In our marine biology classes we've been learning about physical oceanography, tides and estuaries and ecological principals. 10 years ago today I was studying marine biology in the field!