Location: Palau
I genuinely forgot how the day started off, other than me being equipped in my extravagant bandana that Tougy had donated to me to keep my afro intact, secretly listening to some Bossa Nova. I was most likely tearing some tissue with my TRX workout equipment to the scenic views of the main island, of course, carrying some canned meat on the premises. I definitely was reprimanded as my workouts always go into breakfast, and Ben is not fond of that (sometimes I smile when he sees me, as I am a firm believer that it could deter him or maybe distract him long enough to finish working out my right arm). After breakfast at the stern, I got ready to dive today, anticipating completing my Advanced Open Water for once.
In regard to exploring Palau, I only touched the surface, but Ive already been subjected to so much. I think about the singular day prior and recall: the hitchhiking, a slippery trek to the waterfall, an abandoned monorail system embedded in the rain forest, the extravagant seafood such as Parrotfish Sashimi, and the list goes on. When I say I only touched the surface, I meant it; I hadnt dived yet until today. I always thought I was well traveled until I enrolled in Sea| mester. Through them, I unlocked a world that was entirely new and abstract to me; one thats underneath the surface, or simply the ocean. Here I am, nearly 40 days later, beating the odds once again (Of course, surviving the unpredictable that occurred earlier in our passage).
I then proceeded to brave the blue abyss with my dive group, some of whom I havent had the chance to dive with until today. I had a sudden urge to breakdance in the middle of our dive, a flawless execution of my favourite dance move called the Squid (inside joke from a whimsical evening in Malaysia; Rocco reference, if he reads this), and because me, Jackson, Jill, Arden share a hive-like mind, they reciprocated by repeating the dance back. As I was typing this, I had (maybe immensely) triggered Luna by not including her in the blog, so heres her bit. She brought her alien saucer of a camera and then proceeded majestically to cut through the currents; she has a stupendous amount of underwater aura. I kept on trying to photo bomb her submission to National Geographic, but of course, my lungs could not keep up with hers.
An honourable mention goes to Cruise Control, who brought us tea, candy and buckets of hot water to help us reacclimatize after our dives. The lunch they also provided had blown me away; it reminded me of the movie, The Menu, but if it were set in Okinawa, Japan. It makes me afraid to admit that their hospitality was the highlight of the day; that and then some transcendental meditation in the rain right after. Going from the Mantra (exhibiting consciousness yet being unable to think of anything simultaneously) to my first ship wreck dive was profound; I almost felt like it contained some sort of psychotropic property, as I never exhibited a feeling like it before. It was a 45 ft. tanker from Japan that the U.S had destroyed from WW2, as Japan had occupied Palau during that period. Despite the poor visibility, I could still tell that the vessel was in a major state of decay, with a full-on ecosystem settling into the hull of the ship, which was oddly beautiful. I felt like the ship was never actually there and that the coral reef was actually shaped to be similar to a vessel, as it looked like a cluster of reefs and barnacles shaped to have a boat-like appearance, given its rapid deterioration.
Furthermore, we saw a batfish that looked like it went AFK since it remained static and made little to no movements. I also thought I saw a pigeon underwater, just to see it was a parrotfish that looked like one; I found this really funny, and yes, my humour is questionable at best, and so is my writing. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my blog.