Day 3. Today was going to be the first time diving in the ocean on the Great Barrier Reef. First we had to be transported from Cairns to a bigger live-aboard boat, since we were going to spend 2 nights on the boat. I had a package of sea-sick pills with me, which I’m really glad I bought before the trip. I took one before the departure since I still did not trust my stomach even though I am usually fine on small boats. It took two hours to get to the reef which surprised me since I thought Cairns was practically sitting on the reef. The waves were rough, and the boat swayed hard from left to right soaking everyone on board. The journey was too cramped and too long and by the end of it more than half the passengers were standing in the back staring out onto the horizon with their pale faces.

When we arrived to the big boat we were given our rooms, lunch, and then it was time for the first dive. Getting ready was the same as in the pool but when I stepped into the water it was salt and not chlorine I tasted and that’s when my nerves started. Thoughts about not being able to equalize, not being able to breath, or not being able to do the skills in the ocean ran through my mind and I began to feel panicked.

Once we were all in the water we were to begin the decent. Since it was our first time we were supposed to hang on to a rope which attached the boat to a huge cement block. We all lined up along the rope with our buddies and let the air out of our BC to descend. The rope was slimy and green but I clung to it as if it would somehow save me. Very slowly I moved my hands down the rope equalizing at every inch. When my ears bothered me I’d inch upwards again, and I did this a few times. The bottom arrived sooner than I expected and we kneeled in a semi circle around the instructor as we had in the pool but now we were on a patch of sand. We did our skills for the last time for the instructor because this was our test we had to pass to get certified. Once in a while a fish would distract me but I managed to do everything well and then it was time to go back to the surface. Ascending is easier since you don’t have to equalize, but it has to be done slowly, 9 meters a minute to be exact. When my head broke the surface I was relieved, and felt comforted breathing air not from a tube.

I thought it was over but we had more tests on the surface such as removing and fastening the weight belt in the water. I didn’t know the point of this exercise since if I was to take off the weight belt I would drop it and therefore couldn’t put it back on. The problem was my belt was even heavier than it was in the pool and shorter, meaning I had no slack to grasp to buckle it. I did panic a bit thinking I’d drop the belt to the bottom of the ocean, since it is very heavy to hold, or that I plain and simple wouldn’t be able to put it on again. After some time of struggling I managed to buckle it around my waist again. Then we had to take off the BC and put it back on, but that was easy and I could do it with no problem.

I was definitely glad when I was back on the boat and relieved of all the heavy equipment, but knew I’d be back in the water sooner than I necessarily wanted to.

I was a bit more relaxed during the second dive. We sank into the water without the aid of a rope which was more calming than crawling down the rope, and this time we did some sight seeing of the coral world. The only thing I could hear is the wheezing sound of breathing through my regulator and the bubbles which then formed as I exhaled. It can either be a very calming or nerve wreaking sound. We played follow the leader with our instructor and saw magnificently colored fish and sea life. I loved looking at all the creatures but couldn’t help feeling that I was just inside an aquarium exhibit and not in the vast ocean.

Near the end of the dive we had to do one more skill before we could be certified and that was sharing air in case your buddy ran out. I was paired with Hendrik and we did everything well, hand signals and me giving him my spare regulator correctly. Then as we slowly ascended together with linked arms and we nearly reached the top Hendrik decided he was done and let go and blew up his BC with air from the tank, forgetting that he was supposed to be out of air and with the aid of using me as a flotation device he was supposed to blow up his BC with his mouth. So we failed the bit and had to do it the next day again. I didn’t let him live that one down.

After the second dive I was totally exhausted and didn’t know how I was going to manage four dives the next day. That night we filled in our dive log books and went to bed early, since our first dive was at 6 in the morning. I felt ill as the bed swayed on the waves and had to take another pill which was like magic. The pills were the only reason I survived that trip. I didn’t sleep too much however since I have trouble sleeping in new environments especially if those environments move.

Day 2.

It’s bad that I’m on day two and I’m halfway through the trip, but anyway. The next morning I felt better, not too much, but I wasn’t throwing up anymore. I didn’t want to go SCUBA diving but I didn’t want to lose money when I’d paid for diving already or spend 4 days in Cairns doing nothing even less. Plus there was no way Hendrik was letting me out of this one. I ate one slice of raisin toast and took another one for lunch. Luckily we first had a classroom session during which we learned about calculating how long and how deep you’re allowed to stay under the water. The precautions have to be taken because of nitrogen build up in the body which is a bad thing because it can form air bubbles in the blood stream, which can kill you.
There are three charts that allow you to calculate how deep you can go if you have already dived that day and our instructor spent the time showing us again and again how to use them.
“Do you all understand?” No, I didn’t understand. The numbers and letters were all just gibberish, and I was feeling rather overwhelmed again and hoping I just wouldn’t get sick. Luckily, there are computers that calculate everything for divers better than any chart could, and we would be using them when diving, so I wasn’t too worried.
Then it was back to the pool, to practice the skills like filling the mask with water underwater and then emptying it by tilting the head upwards and blowing through the nose and practice going down again. I went down to the bottom of the pool very slowly, equalizing all the time, feeling as if I was squeezing air out of my ears, and I made it with hardly any pain at all. I felt much better by the afternoon and therefore, felt much better about the whole SCUBA thing altogether.

After the pool we had to take and pass a test to be able to continue being certified. It was multiple choice and most of the questions were easy except for the chart calculations. The instructor purposefully left the room during the test, because he didn’t want anyone to fail either. So I filled in the same circles Hendrik had filled in and passed the test.

Tomorrow we were supposed to head out on the boat and our instructor gave us his sales pitch about owning your own mask and how better SCUBA diving will be with your own. It was true that it is more comfortable with your own equipment and you have a better chance of it not leaking. Plus we wanted to buy snorkeling gear for our trip anyway and figured we might as well invest in something that’s quality and has a lifetime guarantee, as I was told I’ll never again have to buy a mask and snorkel even if it breaks no matter if I stomp on it on purpose.

Right away Cairns reminded me of Florida. An unnecessary amount of sprawl, two lanes for every road and brightly lit shops filled with tourist trinkets. Tourists in their khakis eat overpriced, not so great food, and fall into tourist traps. We were glad we had a five day scuba diving course ahead of us because we would not know what to do with ourselves in Cairns otherwise, but then again we wouldn’t be there for so long otherwise. I was super excited but also nervous about learning how to dive. We had to get up bright and early for the lessons so I decided to have a coffee in the morning, before going to the diving center. I thought the milk was sour because it tasted rancid, but I didn’t think too much of it since Hendrik had one too and he didn’t seem to think it was bad.

I soon forgot about the coffee as I began to sign my name over and over again on forms for the diving school. Then we were told all about the dangers of scuba and the possible injuries such as lung expansion, the bends, and suffocation. I felt quite woozy after that but decided I was just really nervous. Come lunchtime I ate my sandwich not out of hunger but because I thought I had to eat.

We started off in the pool, where we had to take a swimming test. I swam around the pool no problem but since I did not have goggles, the over chlorinated water irritated my eyes so much that I couldn’t see clearly or open them properly for the rest of the day which was really handy when I had to learn how all the equipment fits together and how to use it.

By the end of the lesson after we learned some skills in the shallow end we were finally allowed to go to the bottom of the four meter pool. Everyone disappeared under the water and I tried to do the same but my ear wouldn’t equalize no matter how hard I blew into my pinched nose. As I went deeper the pain increased and I had to go back up. I forced myself to back down and swam around a bit even though my ear was still in pain.

I was relieved when it was over and I could climb out of the water, and that’s when I felt all the weight. To add to an aluminum tank I had a weight belt around my waist too so I would sink. It was wonderful to take it off, but I was shaking, I couldn’t see, and my ear hurt. Luckily the instructor picked my equipment to dismantle as show so I didn’t have to bother putting anything away and just went to change.

I felt nauseous before I got into the van to go back to town, so I sat in the front. As we neared our destination I didn’t think I’d make it. Then the van came to a halt and the instructor began to tell us about tomorrow. I just got out closed the door and puked on the Cairn’s street. Right in front of the whole van so everyone in my class had a front row view.

I left ASAP and went straight to bed and spent the whole day sleeping as my body purged itself. I was embarrassed, miserable, and absolutely terrified of diving. I didn’t think I’d go diving again and tried to convince Hendrik to go without me.

So I have this website dedicated to myself because my boyfriend wanted a website for our new facebook application ( weSocial ) which everyone should use, but anyway, it was buy one and get one free for domains so ta-da clementinevitek.com is born.  (I just wanted people to know that I didn’t go out of my way to buy my domain name, because that’s too egocentric)

Several weeks ago I went to a trivia night at a pub here in Sydney and the question was ‘name the most eastern point of Australia.’  Of course I and my team had no clue since we aim for last and the host came around and said “You’ve probably been there.”

Then I said “I’ve never been out of Sydney.”

“You’ve never left Sydney?” he asked in disbelief.

Hendrik gave me an odd look and said, “You weren’t even born in Sydney.”

“Oh right.”  Well the point of the story is that I’ve been sucked into Sydney and I feel like I’ve never left.  While Sydney is a gorgeous city to look at living in it is just plain blah, and I have been here way too long and I’m finally leaving. Que in travel blog, so yes this is where it is supposed to start.  My travels and adventures.  So maybe I’ll come back and start the whole travel blogging thing, but don’t hold your breath, put on some scuba gear instead! (Yeah, I am aware how lame that sentence is but I don’t feel like pushing the delete key) That’s what I’m gonna be doing the day after tomorrow in Cairns!

Until then…