Alone, Wet and Happy

The first thought that came to mind when I learned about our past cruise was scuba diving. Not only had I not been diving in a long time, Belize is a great place to dive. That's what I had heard anyway. Since The Wife isn't big on diving and someone had to watch the children she let me go as my Christmas gift. Sweet gal that one.

When the time came I was excited but I found myself in unfamiliar territory. I rarely do anything by myself. I had signed up to go with a group of people who were just learning to dive because it had been awhile since I had been. Safety first on with the things that can kill you I say.

Being by myself and already trained to dive I was allowed to sit back and observe all the different people negotiate their fears of something new. I watched as insecure people poured as much negativity onto the situation as they could to justify their poor performance, ruining the experience for themselves as well as the people with them. I saw macho men get humbled by fear. I saw people hand over their lives, literally, to strangers and trusted them completely. People are an odd bunch under stress.

I also found it amusing that when the 15 beginners found out that I, a total stranger, was a certified diver they took comfort in it. Despite the fact that five well qualified instructors, all dive masters, were telling them what to do, they would come to me for assurance that the information being given was the truth. In the end, three of the people in the class chose not to dive, though they were all capable.

After I descended into the ocean I watched as my class mates struggled to grasp the concept of neutral buoyancy. A task they mastered in a much shorter time than I initially did when I was learning. I watched the dive masters fuss over them for awhile then I turned over to enjoy the spectacular reef below me. The visibility was about a 100 feet, the colors and the fish were spectacular.

When I returned to the boat I watched and listened as my fellow divers couldn't contain the experience they had just witnessed. They all went on and on about what they had just seen and done. Divers high I call it. It was obvious the three that stayed on the boat regretted it deeply. All vowed to give it another shot the next chance they got.

Being there alone I was able to take in everything around me without any distractions. Belize is a unusual but fantastic memory I'll cherish for a long time. Oh, and the diving was awesome too.