Under the Sea to the Octopus's Garden

Water session!  Words I grew to love!  This first one was a little rough, though.  As I was getting ready to go out, Oscar, the dive master, told me they couldn't find the red tape.  Therefore, he asked if I would mind having a chaperone with a life ring instead of going out on my own.  I didn't mind that a bit.  So, I met Nathan who would take me out the first time.   As he was getting ready to come out with me, I sat on the platform putting on my fins and getting ready to go. I took this video with the handheld camera and set the action camera to start filming.
 


Then I put on my mask, got in the water, and suddenly wasn't able to breathe. I got back on the steps, and went in more gradually, reaching for the savior ring. I made it, but I was actually getting panicky. It felt almost like the panic attack I had trying to learn to dive!  I fought the panic and kept my face in the water, but I had my arm around that ring and was clinging to it for dear life!  Poor Nathan!  I couldn't kick to help him propel me through the water.  I couldn't do anything other than watch the scenery (which was beautiful and amazing) and concentrate on trying to breathe!  I'm sure he was exhausted by the time that 45 minute session was over and we got back!

When we got back, he asked me if I had PTSD.  He was so understanding!  Said my response to putting my face in the water with a mask on (or anything that would tend to restrict breathing), is a classic symptom they see frequently with PTSD, and he gave me some tips for getting past it - if I wanted to.  I definitely wanted to.  I wasn't going to let a little thing like incapacitating panic stop me from spending as much time as possible on this reef system!  When I got my fins off and was able to breathe properly again, we went back up on the boat and talked to Oscar, who said he would let me down on the platform with my stuff as soon as the watch was posted, so I could start trying to acclimate myself to the water and mask before actually going in, and he gave me a few more tips, too.

After that, I stowed my gear in my bin, took the action camera off the mask, and sat up top to dry off some before going inside.  I apparently didn't learn how to turn the action camera on.  It didn't record a single thing.  And I was too frozen and clutching the savior ring so hard, I wasn't able to take any pictures with the handheld camera.  It just stayed hung on my arm the whole time.  So, I just took a few pictures of the boat that brought us out and some pictures of the reef from above.

I was still wet, but not dripping when they called us in for lunch.  This boat had an excellent chef!  Our first meal was a salad with mixed greens and other vegetables, prawns, sweet potato fries, and crumbles of cheese, eggs and riced cauliflower.  Delicious!  Sign of good things to come!

The next trip out was much better.  Terrence was my escort, and while I was waiting for him to come down, I got my stuff on, sat in the water for a while, put my mask on and off, ducking my head in the water both with and without the mask before we started off.  I was able to take some pictures only holding the rope around the savior ring with one hand.  I was also able to kick and help him propel us through the water.  At one point, he turned and motioned that he would like to dive down, and I even felt comfortable with him letting go of the tow rope, though I kept my death grip on it where it was attached to the savior ring.  He dived down and tickled open a giant clam for me to see!  He did that a few times.  I still wasn't in control of myself enough to keep myself guided to any particular place, so I missed or terribly blurred a lot of shots.  I did get some pictures, though.  The water filter on my Fuji underwater camera isn't very good, and I still haven't learned to edit the pictures, so the pictures look much duller than the reef actually was.  I did get a few decent shots, though.  Unfortunately, again, the action camera didn't record.  The reef was actually very vibrant, just like the professional pictures, though the deeper it was and the less light was reaching the coral, the duller they appeared.

After the second water session, we took off for Norman Reef, where we would spend the night!

Oo-ee Oo-ee Baby, Going On My Reef Cruise!

Up and out early this morning to board the boat that will take me to the reef!  I was sooo excited.  This has always been one of my bucket list items and one that I never believed I would do.  I'm not sure why I always thought Australia and all of its wonders was out of my reach when nothing else was, but that was just always an internalized feeling.  So, I had a lot of difficulty containing my excitement on the day I'm heading out to this place I've wanted to see my whole life.

As I was standing in line to check in and board the Reef Experience, the lady was asking some people ahead of me for their tickets.  So, I decided to go ahead and pull mine up on my phone in case she asked for it.  For those of you who don't wear women's clothes, I'll just put out there that we frequently don't get pockets, and when we do, they frequently are too small to be of any use.  So, when my hands are full, I carry my phone in my bra.  Bruce calls it my "square booby".  As I moved the straps of the backpack around and started reaching for my phone, the guy beside the check-in mentioned how hot it was that morning.  His eyes got as round as saucers, and he laughed and said, "Didn't expect that!" when I stuck my hand in my shirt and came out with my phone!  But, I got boarded and situated.  Those of us transferring to the overnight boat had a reserved table and munched on the breakfast buffet while the others listened to the day tripper briefing.  Before we shoved off, I did get a bad picture of the bay from the front of the boat.

Before we got shoved off, one of the crew came to see me.  Said he needed to talk to me before we departed based on my health questionnaire we filled out immediately upon boarding.  He wanted to make sure I understood that with COPD and a prescribed inhaler, I was not allowed to dive.  Remembering that huge panic attack I had when I was trying to get dive certified before the breathing problems started, I did let him know that I didn't plan to dive - that I was only interested in snorkeling.  Of course, I didn't tell him that I had a panic attack trying to learn to dive.  I didn't really thing it was relevant.  I had practiced in the pool using my new full-face mask and settling to regain my breath when I exerted myself too hard.  I did know that my breathing issues were relevant, though, and made sure the guy knew I wasn't upset that he had singled me out to talk to me.  He also said that because of the breathing issues, they needed to put red tape on my snorkel so the person on watch could always easily locate me and make sure I wasn't in any trouble.  I let him know I definitely appreciated it and that I brought my own mask, so when we got to my boat and I got my gear back, we could take care of that.

So far, everything's going great!  Nice people truly concerned about safety instead of just filing the questionnaire and letting it go since I signed the release, a sandwich and lots of fresh fruit for breakfast, and a nice ride out to the reef!

When we got out to Saxon reef, we pulled along side the overnight boat, the Reef Encounter.  The crew lowered the gangway, and we made the transfer to our overnight accommodations on the reef!

After a short briefing covering everything from safety to any flavorings or foods that any of us don't like so the chef could tailor the meals to each of our taste, we picked up our gear and were given our rooms.  I got lucky and got a berth to myself instead of having to share a single with another single traveler.  The rooms were nice - actually a little nicer than the ones on the Costa Mediterranean cruise that Chrissy and I took in the spring.  All guest cabins are ocean view.

As you can see, it didn't take me long to change into my first bathing suit and plug in all of my battery chargers!  For these two days, I had two underwater cameras, each with huge SD cards (one with a huge, high speed SD card) and each with at least 3 spare, long-lasting batteries.  I had tested the action camera with its new SD card and batteries, and found I could get right around an hour and a half of recording at any one time.  Since the schedule posted on the wall said the water sessions were around 45 minutes each, I was good.  All I had to do was remind myself how to use it.  I got it mounted on my mask and got fitted for some fins, and I was ready for the first water session!

From Fiji to Cairns

I had planned to spend the last morning just walking around Nadi, maybe checking out the local Hindu Temple.  I was reeeeeally tired and sore, though, after the spelunking trip, so I took my time getting repacked to check out of the hostel, have a leisurely breakfast, and maybe get that massage I didn't get the night before.  I had two days of travel coming up, and didn't want to be too tired and sore to enjoy the Great Barrier Reef, which was my next stop.  While I wasn't going far, comparatively, air travel that is broken up is more tiring to me than long flights, and this was split up.  I was coming into Sydney on the last flight in before the airport closed for the night and had to stay overnight in a hotel, getting up early to catch my flight to Cairns.

So, I picked a nice table in the shade to set my computer up on with a beautiful view of the beach, got breakfast, and settled in for a nice, relaxing day watching the beach, the water, and trying to get pictures of the mina birds.

Breakfast was great, but getting pictures of the mina birds proved to be an exercise in futility.  Every time they came up close, they left the second I took out my camera.  Mina birds are exceptionally common and are simply everywhere in Nadi, Fiji.  You'll notice, however, that there are no mina birds in any of my pictures.  Not even in this one, where the bird ducked behind the leaves just as I snapped the shot!

After digesting breakfast, I got that massage.  The massage room was set up behind the front desk and beside the concierge desk.  I was expecting a sheet or something to be drawn, but nope.  For a massage, you stripped down in front of everybody.  Not being shy and needing a massage, I was game.  Nobody seemed to notice, and the massage was heavenly.  Once it was over, she brought a towel to me to wipe off the oils, and I got dressed again.  Still, nobody noticed.  Sometimes, it's nice to be in an environment where the human body isn't a threat!

Soon after the massage, it was time to go to the airport.  After an uneventful flight, I landed in Sydney, hit the ATM, and caught a cab to the hostel I had booked for the night.  It was late, so I had to use the phone by the side door for the desk clerk to let me in.  When I asked for the advertised and promised shuttle to the airport, the driver was no longer answering his phone, so they gave me his card and told me to call him if he didn't show up because the desk wouldn't be open by the time I wanted to leave.  I didn't bother to tell them that I didn't have an Australian SIM card, wasn't spending international calling prices on a cheap shuttle, or if he didn't show up, I would be calling into the apartment where that side door phone rings.  But, the shuttle showed up on time and got me to the airport with time to spare.  I had a Hungry Jack's (Burger King) sausage and biscuit for breakfast, and boarded the plane for Cairns.

The northern coastline is beautiful from the air! The picture doesn't do it justice, but it was the best I could do.

When we landed, I got my bags and grabbed the shuttle to the hostel - the Calypso Mad Monkey.  Initially, I had intended to check out some of the town, but when they agreed to store my big suitcase the night I was on the reef, I decided to take that time to continue resting and rearrange my things so I didn't have to carry all that on the boat.  The company that booked the shuttle to the boat told me the shuttle didn't stop at the Mad Monkey, so I had to walk around the corner to a different hostel.  I didn't want to lug that suitcase all the way around the block, either.  So, I consolidated everything I needed on the boat into my purse (which is pretty sizable), and my backpack (which was packed full of the electronics).  I carried my snorkel mask in its own bag, with one of my bathing suits stuffed in with it.

I had a burger from the grill in the hostel and sat at a table watching the kids (young adults) play beer pong around the pool and listened to some fun tunes.  At one point, they played The Hokey Pokey an German and a few guys really got into the dance!  Then somebody put on Crazy Train, and the kids apparently still love it.  I told a couple of them that the song came out when I was in high school.  Wasn't sure whether they asked if the song was that old or if I was that old.  Either way, we're both pretty old for being at a youth hostel!  I love it, though.  Even though I'm past playing beer pong and such, being around the kids enjoying life helps energize me.  And thankfully, these days, hostels tend to have a few private rooms because I'm over the dorms, at this point!  I did take some time to soak my feet in the pool after most of the kids left and went out for the night.

After soaking my feet and taking a shower, I tucked in early for the night so I could be well rested for the Great Barrier Reef.

Spelunking With the Family of Cannibals

I like caves and recently, I seem to be into the macabre, so a cannibal cave tour seemed to fit the bill perfectly.  It was a little pricey, but what the hey.  The airfare was cheap.  So, I booked it before falling asleep the night before.  I was up, bright and bushy tailed in time to meet my shuttle.  The shuttle driver, Josh, and his uncle, Josh, apparently run this tour in conjunction with the chief of the village where the cave is.  During the first part of the journey, I asked nephew Josh if any of the old religions or customs aside from the Kava ceremony are followed any longer on the Fijian islands.  He told me the story of the Methodist Reverend Thomas Baker from Sydney, who made it his mission to eradicate cannibalism in the islands of the South Pacific.  It cost him his life, but it is believed his death was the last act of cannibalism in Fiji.  In the coastal areas and larger towns, there are few if any remnants of traditional tribal beliefs.  Methodist and Catholic are the predominant religions in the island nation, but there are Buddhist and Hindu Temples and Muslim Mosques being built more and more frequently.  In the highlands, the tribes people practice their prior rituals (sans eating people) mainly to appease Thomas Baker's God and lift the curse they believe was placed upon them when they killed and ate Reverend Baker during his last trek into the interior.  Josh told me how the tribe that ate Reverend Baker had abandoned their lands, erected a shrine to him, and had been performing rituals to try to lift the curse ever since it happened.  They believe the curse was lifted about 5 to 10 years ago.  While many of the tribes are no longer practicing cannibalism or many of their prior rituals out of fear of reprisal, they still are not all converted.  There was a Methodist missionary group from New Zealand who were staying at my hostel, too, and some of them told me some of the challenges they face in converting the inner tribes to Christianity, though they are without a real belief system now, since the killing of Reverend Baker.

When Nephew Josh got us to the town of Sigatoka, Uncle Josh took over.  There was another kava ceremony, and we looked at carved artifact reproductions.

Then the chief of a remote village came to pick us up in Sigatoka and take us deep into the interior to the village of Koronihagana.  Nephew Josh typed the name in my phone, and I copied it down.  I can't find it on a map, though.  Couldn't find it in a Google search, either.  I didn't see many cattle, but those I did see were staked out on the side of the road like in much of South America.

When we got to Koronihagana, after about 30 to 45 minutes on a dirt road, there was a sign marking the existence of the Nai Hehe cave.

The village was small with only a few huts made of either block or corrugated tin.  They said there are about 100 people in the village, and everything is done communally.  There are massive fields growing various types of vegetables and cash crops, such as tobacco.  The homes had no doors, and people are expected to just walk in whenever they need something.

Once there, we were handed off to our guide, Vanu.  She was barefoot.  And she led us down this steep drop and through the fields

to the river, where we took off our shoes and boarded a bilibili, or bamboo raft, which she pulled to the other side.

Once we crossed the river, we got off the bilibili and walked some more, crossing several streams, so we were still barefoot.  I was not prepared for this and left my water shoes in the hostel.  I suggest wearing water shoes with thick soles if you take this tour in the future.  After a while, the streams got shallower, and though Vanu indicated we should leave our shoes off, I stopped the group so I could put mine back on.  This was actually after I fell for the first time since my shoulder surgery.  I fell directly onto that shoulder.  Initially, I laid there, feeling my left shoulder with my right hand, seeing if everything felt okay.  While everybody was staring at me, asking if I was okay, and feeling nothing out of place with my right hand, I tried wiggling my fingers and moving my hand, which worked pretty well.  So I rolled onto my back and tried raising my arm.  Success.  The titanium (or whatever the surgeon used) held.  It helped that I fell on soft ground, I'm sure.  I decided I was putting my shoes back on, though, because I didn't want that to happen again!  We finally got to the cave entrance where I had to remove my shoes again.  The stream going into the cave was about mid-calf deep at the entrance and not the easiest of entrances to navigate!

Ya' know how in most tourist caves, there are some lighting mounted in the cave and maybe some foot paths carved out?  Yeah, that didn't happen here.  This is just the way it was back in the day, except the torches are no longer mounted on the cave walls.  Instead, we carried flashlights so we could see.

In the antechamber, you could see all of the bats who nest in this part of the cave.  They weren't concerned about us at all.

As we kept following the stream, there were crystals along the walls and some beginnings of stalactite formations, such as drapes, though not well formed.  Perhaps because this was a "working cave" until just over a hundred years ago, and people are still commonly touching the lower walls, which would stunt the growth of these formations.

There were even a couple of plants growing where no natural light penetrates.  Most of them were white, but this one looked to have a little green in it, though I don't see how it photosynthesis could possibly happen.  This was the first time I had ever heard of rooted plants growing without light.

That was the last decent shot I got of the cave.  The next major hurdle was to get past a "gateway" portion.  Legend has it that pregnant women were not allowed into the ceremonial chambers of the cave, and they had to remain in the area where the crystals and plants were found.  This portion of the cave was supposedly nature's way of preventing pregnant women from entering the ceremonial chamber.  I had to crawl on my hands and feet, with my head barely out of the water and my back scraping the top of the cave to get past it, but I did make it.  Once past that, we were in a huge chamber with a high ledge on one side, looking like a stage.  That stage is where the ceremonial rituals were conducted, such as sacrifices, mostly burned, but not all.  Beyond the ceremonial room was the "kitchen".  This was a curved portion of the cave which ended in a dead end.  When the residents of the cave were hunting, they would chase the enemy into the cave.  A contingent of the tribe would be hiding just beyond this curve.  When the enemy got to the dead end, the tribesmen who were hiding in the cave would set the enemy on fire, cooking them to death, at which time, they would be the feast. 

I tried taking pictures, but there was so little light in the interior of the cave, that all I got was blackness with white dots were the flashlights were on.  Even the flashlights didn't penetrate well enough to get good pictures.  I've been in some caves when they turn the lights out to let you get a good feeling for the darkness, but none of them compared to the absolute disorienting darkness that was in this cave.

I put my shoes back on upon leaving the cave, through the same obstacles we had to clear coming in.  I was pretty proud of making it through, though you can see in my face that I'm straining a bit.  Left shoulder still works, too!

Then came the trek back to the river, the ride across the river, and the walk back through the fields and to the village.  I was definitely not physically prepared for this tour, but I did make it.  We did make a handful of stops to rest and breathe.  Vanu insisted on carrying my water and "stuff" bag.  I only had to call for my inhaler once, though, and that was just before ascending that last steep hill from the very beginning.

We were supposed to have a traditional meal in the village after getting back from the cave.  While the fruit and sandwiches were good, I hardly think they were traditional, except the fruit and corn.  The ladies that prepared the meal did tell us that they don't have flour in the village and never have, so they could never make flour bread.  Their traditional bread they make is a variant of yucca bread.  We didn't get that.  They do grow cassava, which is either just another name for yucca or closely related to it, depending on what source you are reading and who you're talking to.  They also told us that they were only two generations removed from living in that cave and eating their enemies, which indicates they may have been practicing cannibalism on the sly even after the Reverend Thomas was eaten.

When I got back to the hostel, I got directly into the shower.  I was a muddy, filthy mess.  I had intended on having a massage and then dinner, but I laid down on the bed and fell asleep before I could even put clothes on.  Luckily, I did get in the shower before sitting or laying on the bed, so at least I was clean.