Gosh … it’s been four months since I posted my last story!
I wrapped up my scuba diving course on Sunday (14/7) morning … after three “real” dives at Gapang beach in Pulau Weh, Indonesia. Learning scuba diving is like going from the starting point zero to infinity. I get some theoretical and lots of practical knowledge, something that I can use over and over again. Once we know the how-to, we are on the course of moving forward to where-ever we want to take ourselves to, possibly to perfection. For me that’s the beauty of practical skills.
My loving hubby took me for my first open water dive at Rubiah Sea Garden on the same island. We toured a beautiful garden some 13 meters underwater, accompanied by hordes of amazing creatures that were swimming peacefully, undisturbed by our presence. We stopped here and there by the colorful coral reefs that have been living there in solitude for million of years, unruffled by the wrath of tsunami four years back, and interrupted few fishes that made the corals their homes. These were the settings that I could only see in marine expedition documentary or recreational aquarium and … yeah, I was there! As I was floating in limbo underwater — err, I’m an amateur scuba diver on her maiden open water diving trip, remember? — I tried to convince myself over and over again that I dived with my dearest one! This is also one of his ambition, him an advanced diver exploring the underwater world with his wife!
It was also a memorable trip for a particular reason: He lost his valuable dive computer! He came back with a small “search and recovery” team but there was no luck this time. He even lost his glasses, blown away to nowhere by the wind gust!
A few instant before he dropped his computer underwater, he was showing his rookie diver-cum-wife how to remove the buoyancy compensator device. I was not really a fast learner on this type of sports, I previously had a bad experience with it. He felt something fell down but he wasn’t aware until we drifted away and parked near a rock waiting for the boat to pick us up. He came back to the area where we descended, but couldn’t find anything. He came back on another boat trip with some locals, but also no luck. A Malaysian diver said, “he is really a persistent man!”. Yes, and I’m really proud of him just by being him. And I spent the evening enjoying his abundant love, at the cost of his dive computer and glasses.
We woke up early Monday to catch the van that would take us to the seaport. We saw an early riser who was contemplating the sunrise over the Indian Ocean. We met an old Spanish man who expressed his regret on hubby’s lost and said a few wise word before he left us for a yoga exercise on the beach, “Remember, this is a thing that can be replaced.” And my hubby continued with his gentle smile, “yes, while people aren’t replacable.”
The search continues as we left Pulau Weh on Monday. The dive center owner offered a “search and recovery” mission on a discounted price. The owner also reminded him not to push me to learn the sport and that I should progress at my own pace, not his. Or he risks hurting or losing me for diving without precautions.
It is an honor to me for the chances to know these warm-hearted and caring people who make this water sport the love of their lives. They are as miraculous as the rainbow that I saw on the misty Monday morning from my boat.
