Photos of Lisa's "snorkle test"  are at the end of her journal

RD's Journal

19 May 2008

Our Gili Trawangan, Lombok, Indonesia adventure.

I will apologize first that it is RD writing this since Lisa remains on Gili Trawangan for another month getting her dive master’s scuba rating. Her verbal spontaneity will be missed by all who suffer through my interpretation of the trip.

We had this trip planned about 6 weeks in advance and the biggest problem was that the airline that serves Lombok is Garuda Indonesia. And they don’t do electronic tickets. Since there are no travel agents here in Doha that handled their business, we were stuck trying to get tickets through an on-line agent. We found one but then discovered that we still received paper tickets for both Qatar and Garuda Airlines. Quite a throw back to old times. And that will lead to one of the adventures of the trip that still continues.

We left Doha at Midnight and arrived on time to Jakarta via Singapore and enjoyed the superb service with Qatar Airlines. We were spoiled by the business class upgrades that we got to and from Saigon in March and were a bit put out to have to sit in economy class. Nonetheless, it was a great flight with good food and excellent service.

Jakarta airport is a bit confusing as are most. But it is unique in that it has many people with badges who act official who try to confuse you more. And if you ask them for advice, they want to show you where to go and then pout until they get tipped for their service. And they keep pouting after you tip them wanting more…I did wonder how big a tip it would take to make them happy. At any rate our bags came off the belt together and we got our 30 day visas for $25 each and found out that customs there is just a doorway with a sign over it that says “customs”….that we could deal with.

We used the ATM machine to get our Rupiah (about 9500/dollar) so by the time we went upstairs to the Garuda terminal were 2.5 rupiah millionaires.

We were scheduled for a 3 hour layover so we had a couple of beers and some Indonesian airport food and bought some good chocolate to hold us over for the next two weeks. The offerings of foot massages was too much for me to resist and I had a hour of that to burn the time. I thought I would be pushing the limits to meet the boarding time but when I got back to our gate, nothing was happening. After about 30 minutes, there were some announcements in Indonesian and many of the people in the terminal left. We found an attendant and asked about the flight and learned that we had been assigned to another plane. While it turned out to be a Boeing 737-400, they pack people in a lot differently that they do here or in the US. While they post notices that say carry-on is limited, I think the baggage area in the belly must have been empty since most people carried at least 3 bags or sacks or boxes tied with multicolored string.

The 10:30 PM arrival in Mataram, Lombok made it hard to get much of an idea of the surroundings. While the plane was small and there were no other planes on the runway, the welcoming area of the airport was packed with people….most of whom were there to offer tourists some kinds of service. Fortunately our driver had his sign with our names on it and we made a quick exit to his small SUV for the 40 minute ride over a paved but very narrow and winding road up and over a rather high ridge…I am guessing that we gained 3000 feet of elevation. It was almost a story book setting when we arrived on what seemed to be a secluded beach, he honked his horn and some lights came on in a powerboat just off the beach and a couple of young men came through the surf to get our gear…(Can you believe that Lisa packed for 6 weeks of diving and we only had a backpack and our diving bag)….Those bikinis don’t take up much room….I wondered too late that if I had complained about the weight if she might have exchanged the bikini for a thong…..!!

When we left shore, we were immediately impressed by the southern sky. We were about 8 degrees south of the equator and the skies were much different that we are used to seeing at 36 degrees north. (A tidbit for you…each degree of latitude equals 60 miles) (And the riddle…how many miles in a degree of longitude?) . The milky way was awesome and the north star, the big dipper and Orion were hanging on tight to the northern rim of the sky. There were constellations in the southern sky that we are going to have to research….we plan to need to know them when we start our sailing life in 4 or 5 years.

There are 3 Gili's (Gili means Island in Indonesian so to say Gili Islands is redundant), Air, Meno, and Trawangan in that order off the northwest coast of Lombok with Gili Trawangan being the largest about 5 miles offshore. It is about 4.2 miles in circumference and has a small nipple (“hump” just didn’t sound like a good description for such a romantic place) that has an elevation of about 300 feet but the rest of the island probably gets little over 10 feet of elevation.

Our midnight arrival was quiet and dark. I thought I was smart when I pointed out to Lisa that I was prepared having packed my headlamp and couldn’t believe that she didn’t bring hers…..can you believe she took that badly? I carried all the bags from the beach to our bungalow. These were traditional bungalows with parabolic shaped roofs of thatched palm leaves and lapped siding on the ends. The toilet, sink and shower were in a rocked, walled patio in the back. The bed was hard and the aircon wasn’t turned down very low but we still crashed hard….we had been on the road about 24 hours.

The Gili’s have no fresh water so the locals store up all they can from the rainy season and then they haul a lot by boat from the mainland which has a surplus. As a result, they use salt water for most of the sinks, showers and toilets. It causes a bit of a pucker the first time you rinse your mouth in the shower or after brushing your teeth. We quickly found that if you showered and then rinsed with just a cup or so of bottled water, that sticky feeling you get from salt water goes away. But as time went on, we got used to the salt water showers.

These were high end accommodations. Our room and breakfast was $40 per night. We always take our French press coffee maker and coffee with us on our trips so I went to the kitchen at 0630 and filled up with hot water. The guys who worked there had never seen such a contraption and I had to explain to them how it worked. After I let them taste the coffee, they were sold…..the local coffee is black, hot and coffee flavored but it is just slightly better than going without.

With coffee brewed, I tempted my fate with a quiet, gentle and tentative “Good morning, Lisa!” Coffee ready or not, I learned that it was not a good morning and that I was even more stupid than I looked. Lisa again proved to me that morning can be painful….and it is her belief that pain is better when shared.  My dilemma then was to drink all the coffee or leave her some cold coffee….after drinking a cup or two, I thought that just accidentally spilling the remainder might be my best choice since I really needed to be careful about painful stimuli this morning. 

On our trip through Mataram and up and down the mountain, it became clear that Lombok was an island of dog lovers….lots of dogs that all looked alike. All prime grade mutt. But none of them chased cars. If those dogs had had any American influence we would have been hounded for the whole trip. Is the need to chase and bark after cars genetic and seen only in Montana dogs? Darwin would have possibly had a whole new theory of evolution if he could have seen the results of inbreeding here.

In contrast, the Gili’s are cat heaven. And the genetics here would have been a wonder to Mendel, Darwin, and Watson and Crick. Nearly all the cats have tails that are crooked or shortened…not stub tails just ½ tails and these too had a crook in them as if they had been caught in a door. In fact I mentioned that to Lisa when I observed the first kinky cat. Then I realized that they were all that way….and they were everywhere…and while the doves and roosters waited until morning to make their noises, these cats love to serenade the moon. 

Sitting in the early morning sun drinking my coffee, I was conscious of how much the quiet island sounded like a farm, the roosters were crowing and the hens clucking that particular cluck after they have laid an egg and the doves were making there morning dove sounds. Since there were no vehicles on the island, all the transport was done by pony carts….so there was the sound of horses in the morning.

These were interesting two wheeled carts. The stanchions of the cart went high over the shoulders of the ponies and actually lifted up until the cart was loaded ahead of the axel. After I watched them haul everything from 30 foot bamboo, rebar, cement, water and lots of beer on these, I mulled on ways to improve them. Other than using a logging trailer set up for the long loads, I couldn’t come up with much.

The diving around the Gilis is good but not great while the visibility and water temperature are excellent. Like many places in the third world, Dynamite (Dupont lures) and cyanide were used for harvesting fish. While the cyanide killed the coral, the dynamite devastated it. The reefs around the Gilis show the results of these practices which have now been stopped. The numbers of fish are increasing and only line fishing and spear fishing is allowed. The Japanese fish the waters outside the territorial limits very heavily like they do every where and the numbers of fish that are seen nearer the coast is reduced. I have an opinion on this that is not PC. Like every natural resource, our oceans must be managed but since they don’t belong to any one country, that is hard to manage. I think a “ big brother”  or two with big sticks are needed to put some reason into the harvest of ocean fish.

I got my “advanced diver” certification while I was there and planned on getting my rescue diver certification as well but was a little sick for a couple of days and couldn’t complete the rescue diver course. Lisa is staying on for an additional month to get her dive master’s card. I was really impressed with the professionalism and thoroughness of Manta Divers with whom we spent our time. Many of these remote schools are very cursory and incomplete. Manta has a great staff that makes all the students complete all the steps needed to get added qualifications. Lisa will likely do over 60 dives while she is there and will get tons of experience in guiding less experienced divers into new locations. She will have to train hard for the swimming tests since they are not give-aways.

Every trip has its moments of hassles. Our came in the form of our paper airline tickets that somehow got lost. I think that our housekeeper accidently threw them in the trash. As remote as it is and dealing with third world airline staff, it was impossible for me to resolve the issue prior to leaving. When I returned to the airport in Mataram, I had to buy a replacement ticket for $100 and managed to get Lisa’s reservations changed to June 16 but suspect that she will have to buy a replacement as well. When I got to Jakarta, I explained the situation to the ticket agent and showed him my itinerary and he issued me a boarding pass and checked my bag. That was three hours before boarding. I returned at boarding time and the ticketing people were all excited and said that my boarding pass was not valid. Of course at that late time, we could not get the lost ticket issue cleared up and I had to buy a new ticket. The hit was that tickets at the airline counter are over twice what you pay for at a ticket office and it cost me over $900 to get a ticket home. For me, its electronic tickets only from now on. I remember how Leary we all were on the advent of electronic tickets and how worried we were about the security and reliability. I am now a believer.

5/4/2008

            After a 16 hour flight that started just after midnight we finally arrived in Lombok, Indonesia (Mataram Airport). Luckily we are becoming familiar with the Visa protocol in foreign countries so we were able to quickly clear customs in Jakarta (although the Jakarta airport is quite beautiful in that island, tropical way) and get on to Lombok. One little snag…they only give out 30 day visa’s and I will be here for 6 weeks! I’m sure there must be a way to get around that…if not my $25 visa gets penalized $20/day for each day I am here beyond 30. Once in Lombok we were picked up and driven about 40 minutes along a winding mountain road until we hit the coast. Then we waded out to a small speed boat which took us on a 20 minute ride to Gili Trawangan…the view of the Milky Way was so amazing it brought me to tears.

5/5/2008     

         Our bungalow is perfect. There is a front porch, one room with a queen size bed, and A/C and an enclosed bathroom/shower area in the back…so amazing to take a shower under the stars.               
         Turns out there will be no problem with the 30 day limit on the Visa…I figured they would know how to handle it. RD started his 2 day advanced open water course today…I went along on the three dives with him because I figured I could use the refresher since it has been 2 years since we last dove (Thailand). We did a deep dive in the AM, a compass navigation dive in the PM and a night dive once it got dark….three really good refreshers.    
         Afterwards of course we were starving so we ended up at an Irish Pub for wood fired pizza (where else would you find a wood fired pizza in Indonesia?) The local gin is 7000 rupee a shot …about 85¢ Our pizza’s were about $4.00 each. I can be a “cheap” drunk here! RD celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a Margarita.

 
5/6/2008

         This morning we started with a deep dive. As soon as I got in the water I realized that my computer had died. No timer, no depth gauge…normally this means abort the dive but since it was a certifying dive for RD I chose to tell the instructor and stay a meter above her at all times. A little stressful but it all worked out in the end. In the afternoon RD did a Nitrox dive (a dive with an oxygen mix different than normal air) and I had to do an “Emergency First Responder” course in order to start the Rescue Diver course tomorrow.
         We had to move to a different resort for one night so poor RD got stuck with packing everything up and moving it while I was sitting in a classroom. It’s not bad but I really miss the outdoor shower.
         Tonight we had to study chapters 1-3 of a 6 chapter book to prepare for the start of our Rescue Diver course. We took our books to dinner to study.
         I had a whole Grouper done on the Bar-B-Q…really good, and a salad. I think I am going to lose weight here…good basic food and lots of exercise.

5/7/2008

         We packed up our stuff and hauled it back to Manta Dive and started our Rescue Diver course with a video in the classroom, a review of chapters 1-3 and activities in the pool. Like helping someone with a cramp in their leg, clearing our mask, buddy breathing, etc. RD, being the “poop” that he is tightened up his hamstring so I couldn’t straighten his leg to demonstrate how I would help with a cramp!
          In the afternoon we went out for a dive…the instructor kept dropping his mask, his weights…all to see how quickly we would come to the “rescue”. At the end of the dive someone not in the class came up to me and indicated they were out of air. It was amazing to me how quickly instinct kicked in…I used the technique I learned 18 years ago! Not the one I learned today. I guess I have a few things to relearn…they are already teasing me about my gear being “retro” because it is so old.
         Had a BLT for lunch and a pork chop for dinner…boy have I missed pork! It’s amazing how much you WANT something when you can’t have it!

5/8/2008

            Last night RD developed an arrhythmia in his pulse…we thought for a bit that we were going to have to ship him to Bali to get shocked but it finally normalized at about 10:00 AM. Unfortunately it means he can’t dive for 4 or 5 days so I will have to finish the Rescue Diver course alone.
         My morning was spent in the pool learning how to deal with tired divers, a panicked diver and an unconscious diver. More difficult than they make it look!
              In the afternoon we went out for a deep dive where I had to perform all skills learned yesterday and today in the pool, while out in the open water, as well as “rescue” a tired diver while 20+ divers  watched…very intimidating…
          I must be doing OK because the instructor introduced me to “Ben” who will be my Dive Master instructor for the next 4 ½ weeks…I guess I better pass the test!
         We walked around this afternoon and took some pictures before stopping for dinner. I had grilled Barracuda…really good!

5/10/2008

            Rescue Diver course ended today with pulling an unconscious diver off the bottom, bringing her to the surface and doing rescue breathing every 5 seconds while towing her to shore. I ended up wrenching my left shoulder pulling my "victim" up on the beach. All-in-all more exercise than I've had in years!

5/11/2008

            Today I started the Dive Master (DM) program. They handed me 3 books and a boatload of paperwork that I have to get started on. One of the other DM's (Nick) is 18...I figured out that my dive gear is one month younger than him...and I thought the mask with bifocals made me feel old!

5/14/2008

I had to do a bunch of reading and finish 3 tests before I could get in the water with my Instructor and students so today was my first day in the pool beginning an open water class. At this point my only job is to be slave girl (get all tanks and equipment pulled out and ready for the students to set up) and be a bit of a "babysitter" in the water as the Instructor is working one-on-one with a student.

 5/15/2008

Tonight was RD's last night. We took a horse cart around to the north end of the island which is very quiet (we are closer to the "party" area...if you can call a few bars on the beach next to a cart path a "party area"). It was especially quiet (and dark) tonight because the power was out on the island. We went to a restaurant called Karma "Kayak" which serves Spanish "like" Tapas and is run by two Dutch women. Our table was on the beach and we sat listening to the waves rolling in as we drank Sangria...pretty fabulous.

5/16/20008

RD left at about noon today. I had to dive at 9, so got to see him for about an hour after I got back...it's going to be very weird being here without him but I think it will make doing the DM training easier to not have the distraction of feeling like I'm ignoring him when I have studying to do.
         This mornings dive was the first time out in the "open water" (as opposed to "confined" pool work) with a group of students. Exciting and scary at the same time! I must say, this side of the diving industry definitely makes you look at things from a different perspective.

5/17/2008

         I got my first evaluation. Ben (my instructor) said I was "Brilliant"...and to "not take this the wrong way but age and experience go a long way". They are mostly British around here so I'm slowly picking up British slang (like Brilliant and Spot On). I've picked up several more but I think I'll keep this PG rated.
         I also have a nickname...Cheese Burger (mostly because they called RD Big Mac). My instructor is "Fish & Chips", the Italian instructor is "Spags" and Nick is "Roast Beef".
     The dreaded Hush Puppies sandals I bought in Qatar are falling apart...between the sand and the salt water the insole is just shredding away so I have them taped up with Duct tape (you know RD...always the Boy Scout, he brought it with him). I haven't worn make-up since I got here and I need a haircut, so I think I'm starting to look a little rough around the edges. My dream of becoming a "Sea-Hag" is apparently coming true (I always imagined I'd look better!)
         Today we did a "Discover Scuba Diving" class...1/2 hour in the pool and then out to sea. Let's just say there was a strong surface current, three foot waves, a panicked diver, and a "tired diver" tow and that was all before we went down. Not exactly a "fun" dive. But they loved it so I guess that is all that matters.
         After all that I needed a pizza (45,000 rupee) and a gin & tonic (19,000 rupee) which is about $6.

5/18-20/2008

            We had a huge group, about 35 divers, come in from Jakarta...they will be here for three days. Of course right in the middle of the day, as the guys are desperately trying to get the tanks filled so we are ready for the next scheduled dive, the power goes off. Then we were scurrying around the island to other dive shops borrowing tanks because they weren't as busy as we were. It was pretty hectic.
         Somehow, in the middle of all that, word got around that I am a PT. One of the women in the group had a herniated disc...I ended up treating her twice and by the time I was done she was checking on airfare to fly to Qatar to see me...nice to know I've still got it.

5/21/2008

            This morning, while sitting in the “Baruga”, I watched a group of local women bringing boxes of “Bintang” (the local beer) up from the beach and to the back storage area here at Manta Dive. I was wishing I had my camera. They each had a piece of cloth wrapped on the top of their head to provide cushion because they were carrying them on their heads…no hands…talk about perfect posture! But the most precious was the little girl (about 6) who carried a cup on her head while walking up from the beach then took it off for the return trek to the beach…”in training”. A true Kodak moment.
         The reason I was sitting in the Baruga (as opposed to hauling tanks, setting up gear, or diving) was because Ben gave me a half day off to study for my first exam…Physics. I picked it to do first because it looked like the easiest to me (actually it was a toss up between Physics and Physiology), Physiology will be next.
         A “Baruga” is a platform about 2 ½ feet off the ground with a thatched roof over it. There are pillows to sit on and a low table for your food, drinks or books. A fabulous invention! Some of the restaurants even have TV’s and DVD players so you can watch a movie while you eat your dinner…”Brilliant” as the British would say!

5/22/2008

          I woke up this morning with a smoker’s cough. Almost everyone here smokes and last night I was sitting at the end of the bar, because a fan was blowing directly down the bar towards me. Unfortunately there were 5 smokers between me and the fan…I think I inhaled about two packs worth.
         Ben took Caroline and I into the pool today to start training us for our “skill circuit” exam. Essentially we have about 24 skills that we must be able to explain in detail while out of water and demonstrate under water in such a way that the student knows exactly what they are supposed to do without coming back up to the surface to explain again. We were pitiful and spent most of the two hours laughing at ourselves and each other. At one point, I was laughing so hard I was laying on the bottom of the pool!
         The pads of my fingers are worn off…salt water and sand does a number on your skin and nails.
         More British slang: ”dodgy” is "not quite right", “knackered” is "dead tired", and “a plonker” is an idiot.

5/23/2008

            I’m still coughing. The power was out so no A/C most of the day and there was a leak behind my toilet so they shut off my water this afternoon…no toilet, no shower…not a good day.

5/24/2008

            Sicker than a dog…not smokers cough…bronchitis. Therefore no diving for the next few days. I walked to Coco’s (the only decent cup of coffee on the island) only to find it mysteriously closed. Since I was already half way there I walked to the internet “café” (I use that term loosely because they don’t serve anything) to send RD an e-mail…closed, not open until 10 AM. I go back to Manta and sit in my bungalow for a few minutes enjoying the A/C…I definitely have a fever and the heat is making me weak. At 10 AM I walk back to the internet café (Coco’s is still closed so still no coffee), just as I get there the power goes off. This means no coffee, no A/C and no water in my bungalow. By 11 AM I am hot, exhausted, desperately needing a shower and a cool quiet place to nap. Power comes on momentarily and I think I am saved then 20 minutes later it is gone again. Antony, the owner say’s something to me about the water getting fixed later that afternoon…that was pretty much the straw that broke the camels back. I just crumpled to the sand and started to cry. In one smooth motion he took my arm, hauled me to my feet and walked me down the road to their high-end “villa’s”. Still no power but the use of a private swimming pool, a Baruga in the shade, and peace and quiet for several hours. I’d have to say he saved my life, or at least my sanity, today. I only spent a few hours there but it was just what the doctor ordered. By 3 PM the power was back on and they had fixed the leak in my bungalow so I had water again.

5/25/2008

            I’m still “grounded”, no diving for me until this cough is gone. I finally took my Physics exam and have started studying for the Physiology exam. My evening was spent trying to learn how to play Texas Hold’em Poker…I should have just given them my 20,000 rupee ($2) and called it a night! I am pathetic! At one point Ben leaned over and told me to go “all in”…of course I said “no way” and made some lame bet. As soon as I did that everyone but me knew that Ben was trying to get me to bluff. I will not be heading to Vegas any time soon…

5/26/2008

            I’m back in the pool today to test out my lungs, will try “blue water” and depth tomorrow. Worked with a different instructor today, she also thought I was “Brilliant”…I love that word.
         Small earthquake today at 7:13 PM. I was sitting on my bed studying when the whole bed started to shake! I have to admit I looked under the bed fervently hoping I was alone and no one had snuck into my bungalow…

5/27/2008

            Back in the water…but I’m not quite sure I’m ready. After the first dive I had chest pain (which I think was a diaphragm spasm), then after the second dive I developed a rash around my neck and jaw…jellyfish? heat rash? All I know is that it itches like crazy.

5/28/2008

            I tried to go out for a dive this morning but when the instructor saw my rash she told me not to dive. When we got back to the shop everyone took a look then started questioning me about yesterdays dives. Bronchitis plus chest pain after the first dive and skin rash after the second dive and suddenly everyone is convinced I have decompression illness. I feel fine, I tell them I think it was a diaphragm spasm and heat rash but after a quick call to Diver Emergency Services in Australia I am on the first boat to Lombok for chest x-rays…
         This time I got to see the winding mountain road in the daylight and was amused to see monkeys sitting on the guard rails and hanging from the tree branches.
         One of the boat boys went with me because he speaks the best English, I was very grateful he was there. We went to a private clinic instead of the public but even then by American standards you would be running for the door. The staff are all wearing name-tags made of polished coconut shell with their name hand-painted in gold…I feel like I should be ordering a Pina Colada! They take me into a room and have me lie on a gurney with a curtain around me which flutters in the breeze everytime someone walks by. The door to the street outside is six feet from the end of the gurney and I lie there listening to traffic noises as I wait.
          A young Indonesian woman walks in, she is the Physician. I am told they are going to do an EKG for my heart and then do x-rays. I try to tell them the EKG is unnecessary but try doing that with someone who doesn’t speak English…I give up and they do the EKG. It is a small box with 6 cords coming out of it, four are attached to ankle and wrist cuffs which they snap on me. The other two cords each have 3 suction cups which they put over my heart...as they pick up the plug to plug it into the wall...I having a fleeting thought that I should have gone to church more often. I’ve seen the “dodgy” electrical systems here so don’t fully trust it. Once they are sure that my heart is fine they send me off to “radiologi” to get my x-ray. The technician looks about 15, is wearing flip-flops and a hoody…the brand name on the equipment is DAEYOUNG which is just a little too close to DIEYOUNG for comfort…The x-rays look perfectly clear to me but they are sent off to a Doctor in another office to look at. Once he clears them I am given a prescription for prednisone for the rash (which still itches like crazy) and we are off to the Doctor at the decompression chamber to get a letter that will clear me for diving. He looks at my x-rays, points to the chamber and say’s “not for you”…I am very relieved, I’m not claustrophobic but they are not much bigger than a coffin and if you do have to go in you are usually in there for hours.

5/29/2008

            I’m out of the water again until I finish taking the prednisone and the rash is gone. Everyone seems satisfied that I do not have decompression illness. It seems like a lot of hullabaloo over nothing after the fact but it is comforting to see how seriously they take even the hint of a possibility of decompression illness. I took my Physiology exam after studying all afternoon and passed it with flying colors.

5/31-6/5/2008

            Back in the pool. I’ve never been so happy to be under water in my life. I did my first swim test…actually a float test…15 minutes, the last two with your hands out of the water. We have two new students from Wales…their accents are so strong it doesn’t even sound like they are speaking English! We’ve dubbed them “Stew” and “Dumplings”.
         As it turns out I spend the next few evenings having drinks, dinner and watching movies with them. They are both 23 (both of their mother’s are the same age as me…49…but not “mental” like me, i.e. wouldn’t run off to Gili Trawangan for 6 weeks to do a Dive Masters training) and seem to really have it together. One is in the middle of starting a business doing graphic/fashion design for surf wear and the other is starting her Ph.D. in Psychology with an emphasis on Sports. They have invited me to come to Wales for my 50^th birthday…I’m pretty sure I would not be able to keep up but it would sure be fun trying!

6/6-9/2008

            Ben is off to Bali for 4 days for Antony and Anna’s wedding. I’m having difficulty finding an instructor who will take the time to help me with questions I am having about the skills. I really need someone to get in the water with me which is more time consuming but the only way I can learn the stuff, doing it dry on land just doesn’t click in my brain. I took my last two exams on 6/8 and 6/9 so I’ve got those done and I did the 400 meter swim as well. I have two more swim tests, the 800 meter and the 100 meter tired diver tow but I have to wait for Ben to get back.

6/12/2008

            Ben jumped all over Caroline and I for not having our swim tests done and not being further along with our skills…unfortunately for him I ran out of hormones 4 days ago. I jumped right back at him…no, I couldn’t have done the swim tests 3 weeks ago, I’m damn near 50 and needed the past three weeks to get in shape, he had been gone for 4 days and no one would help us, when he did get back and I asked for help he said “I can’t be bothered” (a lot of friends from the wedding are still here and he was busy socializing) and his suggestion that we get in the pool and practice skills with each other was ludicrous…the blind leading the blind…how would we even know if we were doing them wrong? We eventually got it worked out and developed a game plan for our last few days to make sure we get everything done.

6/13/2008

            Got up this morning and did the 800 meter swim. It’s graded on a score of 1-5 with 5 being the best and 1 just being able to complete it. I actually got a 3/5 which I thought was pretty good considering I wasn’t even sure I could complete it. The rest of the day was spent in the pool doing skills for about 4 ½ to 5 hours. I am really sick of the pool.

6/14/2008

OMG! What a day! The morning started out bright and early with a 100 meter tired diver tow…not fun…followed by about 3 ½ hours of skills testing in the pool, getting a grade on 20 different ones. Then at about 6 PM we did the Equipment Exchange, lovingly called the “Stress Test”. I’m not going to go into detail but it involves a half hour of buddy breathing (meaning only one person has air), changing all equipment with the other person while a number of instructors mess with you trying to “stress” you out. All three of us, Nick, Caroline and myself did it at the same time…it was total mayhem but we all survived and then the party began.
         Eighteen of us went out for a celebration dinner then they dressed the three of us up in costume for our “snorkel test” (more on that later). They decided to go with a theme since there were three of us and chose Harry Potter. Nick of course was Harry, Caroline was Hermione and I was Professor McGonagall. Once dressed, they paraded us down the main “drag” (horse cart path) to the Irish pub where they sat us on bar stools in the street for our “snorkel test”.
         What’s a snorkel test you ask? That’s where they stick a diving mask on your face and a snorkel in your mouth that has a funnel attached to the top of it. They then pour about a half a pitcher of some wild concoction of alcohol and assorted liquids into the funnel and you have to drink it or end up with it all down the front of you. This is all done while 50+ people stand around watching and cheering. I represented team America quite well I might add.

Photos Of the Snorkel Test: http://picasaweb.google.com/DeGroot222/SnorkelTestGiliT"

6/15/2008

            Decided I still had too much alcohol in my system for the 9 AM dive (went to bed at 3 AM) so my last dive was this afternoon. Caroline and I were going to do a fun dive together, just the two of us, but Farshid (a guy who had just finished his advanced open water class) wanted to go with us so we ended up “guiding” a dive together. A really good dive…white tip reef shark, baby black tip reef shark, black frog fish, and cuttlefish just to name a few. Farshid said it was the best dive he had been on since he had been here. It was a great way to end the six weeks. I ended up doing 50 dives over the 6 week period with about 7 days out of the water due to various problems and several days spent only in the pool.

6/16/2008

            My last day on Gili Trawangan… It was a very emotional day. On the one hand I was happy to be heading home to RD but on the other I was leaving behind many new friends and an incredibly satisfying way of life. A friend who also scuba dive’s e-mailed me and asked me if becoming a Dive Master took the fun out of diving. I have to admit that when I took the Rescue Diver course and really grasped all that can go wrong it was a bit unnerving and I wished momentarily that I was still blissfully oblivious and didn’t feel a sense of responsibility to keep ever vigilant. However, as the training progressed into the Dive Master program I learned many tools to help me deal with problems and how to start problem solving under water. I realize I have only begun this journey into the world of “professional” diver but it feels like a really good start.
         My fast boat to Bali was leaving at 1PM. At 12:30 one of the guys helped me carry my back pack down to the area where the boats leave from. Nick and Caroline came over and gave me a hug, then I was alone, staring out at the water, wishing I could go for one more dive (I really do love spending time under water).
         A few minutes later I turned around and most of the dive shop was walking over to say good-bye…of course I burst out in tears (I'm turning into such a slobber-bunny in my old age...or maybe it's just the lack of hormones). Manta Dive was an incredible place to do my Dive Masters training. The instructors were top-notch and everyone there felt like family. I will miss them tremendously.
         The boat ride to Bali took about 2+ hours and then another hour in a car to get to the airport. As I watched the Bali landscape slide by I wished I had made the time to visit this island as well, but know that I will return. My driver was wonderful. When he realized it was only 4:30 and my flight wasn’t until 11:30 he dropped me off at a seafood restaurant on the beach, facing west to watch the sunset, where they took you to the airport for free if you ate dinner with them.
         Where Gili Trawangan is primarily Muslim, Bali is primarily Hindu. The shrines and statuary here on Bali are fabulous. As I sat waiting for my dinner one of the waitresses brought out an offering and lit some incense while saying a “prayer” at the Hindu shrine on the beach.

Life is “Bagus”!(Indonesian for “good”)…

            Sunset on the beach, fresh grilled snapper and a gin & tonic. I don’t think I’m in paradise…I know I am.

I would like to give a huge Terima Kasih (Thank You) to my wonderful husband for suggesting that I stay on and get my Dive Masters Certification. He is an amazing man and I am a very lucky woman.