I have been on the sea in crafts at high speed in fierce conditions and have gotten stranded twice when engines got cut out. So I never thought that sea sickness would be on the cards at all.
Let me back track.....we are doing a dive course. A course I really only wanted to start in October for various reasons but my impatient husband decided to go ahead and force the issue immediately. So sure, I'm always game to give anything a try.
There was a whole lot of theory and quizzes and a big exam. Cue anxiety triggers right there. Then underwater skills in the pool for hours on end. Cue exhaustion and anxiety right there. Flood your mask then clear it. LOL! Yeah right, right? Take out your breathing apparatus fling it over your shoulder, don't hold your breath while trying to flip to the side and find it, purging the water that has now gotten inside the mouth piece and THEN you may breathe again. Hahahahahha! Joking right? Wrong! .........
Of course I understand that one must learn all these skills for any eventuality as being underwater at depths of up to 18 metres, one cannot just bob your head above the surface instantly and correct whatever went wrong. But it is sure scary as hell, especially as I want to go through each action in point form in my head and that takes too long and then it freaks me out coz I'm running out of air as I cannot hold my breath. Ugh!
So after finishing all the theory; making it through all the quizzes and the exam relatively well; it was time for the real deal.
Arriving at the centre I was in full blown inner panic state. Then when I saw how many people were joining us it escalated. There was barely any space for ones feet on the duck after it was kitted up. The wait was long. It was relatively hot and being in a wet suit when the sun beats down on you is not fun. After about two hours we were finally on the water and once my wet suit was fully zipped up it felt like someone was choking me. Cue full panic mode. I was praying to be airlifted home immediately. THEN came putting on the heavy equipment. I swear I was so near tears. I missed the first entry which made things even worse as I had to wait even longer with the heavy weight on my back and choking feeling. Finally I flipped over backwards and was in the icy cold water. I was now wishing for that warmth of earlier.
Going down was not as easy as it was in the pool. I'm not sure what it was but eventually I had to be dragged down by the instructor. THEN as Murphy would have it I couldn't stay afloat and kept crashing into the bottom, which eventually led me to scratching my ankle pretty darn sore. The instructor fortunately saw I was struggling hugely and took my arm and led me around trying to get me to concentrate on the beautiful new world below instead of my panic.
It was so darn beautiful. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The colors were so vibrant. The fish were so chilled, not even minding me flubbering about like a fool. We saw so many different fish, a stingray, a lobster hiding in his home, some camouflaged creatures.....it was just amazing.
Eventually hubby came to hold my hand when he got himself orientated. That was lovely. He did a hand signal to say 'i love you' and I was like Aahhhhh.
Then it was all over and I was back on the horrid deck and got some serious sea sickness vibes. It was awful. I decided no ways am I going back down so stayed on board for what felt like forever. Thankfully the skipper gave me a sucker and that helped ease the nausea.
Hubby went down of course and aced everything and even had a shark swim right up to him. Yikes.
I was so cold at this point I couldn't feel my fingers. It was still a long haul before I got home.
Days after I still felt a lump in my throat and a hollow feeling in pit of my stomach. I'm not sure when I will attempt it again. For now I'm trying to regain some strength. The entire course just sucked the life out of me.
You are so brave.
ReplyDelete