Besides breaking through (and down) the unbalanced lifestyle to start MOVING more often and doing NOTHING more often, I also recently went diving in the ocean for the first time in a long time. Last year while in Nice I went on a short guided dive which didn't take much skill at all. This dive trip I recently went on was organized through the Cincinnati Diving Center (http://www.cincinnatidiving.com/). Prior to the trip we did prepare for Nitrox use and advanced open water diving in the classroom, field, and pool. We reviewed night diving, photography, navigation, and so on. We practiced compass use with towels over our heads in a field at a local park. We familiarized ourselves with various types of spear while stabbing foam cutouts of lionfish in a local YMCA swimming pool. If you ever have thought about getting basic open water certified or getting more advanced certifications, Cincinnati Diving Center is completely awesome. Their instructors are all geniuses and pretty nice:) Basically they all love what they do and I love what they do too!
The trip took place on the Juliet, which is a beautiful 104' sailboat. To read more about the Juliet visit http://www.julietsailinganddiving.com/. The trip was a liveaboard, so once we left shore in Miami we were in open water till the trip was over. My vestibular system was still rocking a couple days after the trip, but I didn't mind one bit. This trip is rated one of my top absolute favorite experiences of my life thus far. There were 12 of us passengers on board, including one of those genius instructors from the Dive Center and one of my bestest friends all the way back from high school! There were also five crew members on board. Juliet's crew includes the Captain, Dive Master, Marine Biologist, Sous Chef, Chef, and Engineer. The staff rocked. The Captain kept us safe all day and night on the Juliet and on our dinghy excursion. He was also very patient with questions about whatever we wanted to know. The Dive Master gave us dive briefings before every dive, with really artistic and detailed pictures. He pulled us in when the current got the best of us, fixed our gear and even fixed our anxious thoughts. The Marine Biologist knew pretty much everything there is to know about sea life. She gave us a 'fish of the dive' before each dive and helped with identification post dives. She also took pictures/video and made a wonderful DVD for us to remember our trip. I don't have many words for the Sous Chef and the Chef besides...YUM. Best key lime pie I've ever had...and lionfish tacos (although I've never had those before). Everything was delicious and unique. We had watermelon vinaigrette...it was great...but I don't even know how they thought to make such a concoction. Basically, no one would ever go hungry on this boat. And the Engineer is too smart for me to even understand what all he has to do. Besides all of the technical engineer type stuff, he was a pro at climbing the boom or mast or whatever those parts of the sailboat are called. Well, all of the crew were pros at climbing and putting the sails up/down. They were also all excellent at helping us ambulate the landing and steps with our heavy tanks pre/post dives, hooking the mooring line up to the sites, keeping a watch out for us, and just straight up making sure we were happy and having fun. The people and the environment were perfect.
Ashely Saunders, a Bimini born internationally known author wrote:
Bimini
yesterday is forgotten
today takes care of itself
and tomorrow is a grand time for the future
Being near the water, whether it be floating on top, swimming and diving under, sitting waist deep, or strolling seaside, always seems to make those mindful in the present moment type words so much more easy to understand and apply. On that note, I'll continue with efforts to forget about the stresses of yesterday, today and tomorrow. I'll let the creative juices flow and write a poem for the first time in a long time. When you see such beauty all around, it's an obvious reminder that all the little worries mean absolutely nadathing.
Bimini Bebop
Into the ocean far from the city
Let the waves take Juliet up and down
Oh so pretty
Peace has been found
Into the ocean straight toward the old full moon
We'll greet the Bimini Islands very very soon
Into the ocean away from the null
Passengers answer dreamland's call
Into the ocean opening eyes
To see the sunrise
And rainbow surprise
Into the ocean long stride
Fluttering to find the mooring line
Equalize
Dive
Into the ocean close to life
Wrasses, parrotfish, angelfish, bonefish
Juvenile damselfish
Squirrelfish
Spotted morays, reef sharks and sting rays
Cucumbers, conches and creepy urchins on display
Spectacular sponges
Fire coral, lace coral and sea fans
Tiny whitefin sharksucker
Who quickly became our new best friend
Into the ocean exploring the strip
Fighting Stevie Wonder's vibes
Floating around and under moxon rocks
Drifting along victory reef
Letting loose at lunkhead
Lionfish hunting amongst piquet rocks
Swimming in the light
And into the dark night
Sinking deeper deeper and deeper in the nodules
Having fun in bull run
Navigating the Sapona wreck
Bubbly, beautifully, buoyantly, blessed
Into the ocean our time here in Bimini is nearing done
Soaking up the sun
Juliet crossing, crackeling, cradling
Passengers slipping, sliding, steadying
Water spraying, sprinkling, soaking
Sipping on rum
Smiling
