Being back in the hustle, heat and noise of Bangkok it's hard to believe that 32 hours ago I was lazing on a white sand beach watching palm trees wave and pale Germans cavort in the clear water. It's funny how far you can get with a high-speed catamaran and an overnight bus.
My last day on Ko Tao the weather finally showed a glimpse of the tropical paradise it's cracked up to be. Dowsing rod that I am, I arrived with a front of dark clouds and rough seas, and it only got worse throughout my stay. Some of the older ferries couldn't get back to the mainland, the beaches were empty, and Ko Tao's famous diving sites were marred by silt that cut visibility to less than a meter. This didn't stop me from signing up for, and completing, an open water dive course. I'm stubborn enough to carry on regardless of the weather
We started the class off in a little swimming pool whose temperature had dropped dramatically after a couple cloudy days, leaving the Thai instructor, two other German students, and myself shivering despite our wet suits. The ocean turned out to be warmer, although much murkier. The weather was strong enough that even in our protected bay on the southeast side of the island we were getting seasick just bobbing on the surface.
Our final dive was like something out of "Deadliest Catch". The 40 foot boat trundled out of the cove and around to the lee of Shark Island, a small upcropping of rock a little ways off shore. It was just enough to protect us from the worse of the weather, and it's amazing how little you feel 30 knot winds and 6 foot seas when you're under the water, not on top of it. The coolest thing by far was looking up at the heaving surface of the water from underneath, watching the wind ruffle the huge waves and sheets of rain dimple the turbulent surface. That, and the giant pufferfish suspended above us in a fan club of darting silver fish.
Adverse conditions just make for better stories, and the opportunity to come back and be blown away by everything I missed the first time around.
Hey! How cool to be able to catch up with your adventures! Oh, what a shame about the weather! However, I am sure that you enjoyed it all the same, knowing your determination.... I wonder what your next stop is! Big kisses !! I wish you all the best!! :)
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