Wednesday, June 18, 2008 I slept great last night and woke up bright and early to the sun and that damn rooster. Met up with Joe and Andy for our regular mornings’ breakfast but didn’t stay long since our morning pick up was at 7:45 am this time. I got back to the room and started organizing and packing a bit. I wanted to get a head start since I wasn’t sure how long we would be out kayaking and then what we were doing afterwards. The driver picked us up and all we had with us was our mask, fins and snorkel. Well cameras and dry stuff as well but that was the only gear we needed for today’s events.
We got to Sam’s and found out we were kayaking Tarzan Tour with guide TJ. Kelly joined us for that day since she has really enjoyed our company and we enjoyed her company as well. Another couple was also with us for the tour. We got on board a boat with all the kayaks loaded up and headed out to our starting point at the Natural Arch.
It was quite fun stepping off the boat into an unstable kayak but we all did it with ease and no one fell out. We kayaked around and through the arch, got some nice pictures and then headed along some of the Rock Islands into a beautiful lagoon area for our first snorkel of the day. The snorkeling was great and I got to see lots of enormous Crown of Thorns stars. Unfortunately I was not able to get as many nice pictures because I could not stay down long enough to get some good shots. I need to bring a weight belt with me next time to help me sink because I am very good at floating. After a bit of snorkeling we maneuvered ourselves back into our kayaks and paddled towards our next place where we had lunch and TJ gave us a short history lesson about the islands and the war. I listened but didn’t retain too much because I am just not into history that much…I wanted to get back into the water. After lunch we got back into the kayaks and paddled a long way through some nice current to another natural arch and snorkeled some more. This time I saw lots more Crown of Thorns stars, Linkia stars, tons of gorgeous Clams, lots of beautiful soft corals and huge Acropora corals. It was TJ’s favorite free-diving spot on Tarzan Tour. After a good 20 minutes we got back into the kayaks, this time with a little more experience and ease. Before we got too far, TJ took out some betel nut and Kelly and I decided to try it out. Betel Nut is actually a drupe which is the seed of a Betel Palm. The betel nut is chewed for their effects as a mildly euphoric stimulant. It increases the capacity to work and has a similar but milder effect as drinking a cup of coffee. Chewing it is an important and popular cultural activity in many Asian and Oceanic countries. The betel nut is bit in half and then sprinkled with lime (calcium hydroxide or ground up coral skeleton) then wrapped in a pepper leaf (betel leaf from the Piper betle plant). Some people also put chewing tobacco or tear a piece of a cigarette and chew it with the nut. As you chew, you spit out the fibrous residue which is a nice red color commonly seen on the streets of India and Pakistan, I know this because I lived in both countries for four years. If chewed with the tobacco you get the similar drug effect nicotine in cigarettes gives you. I did not chew it with the tobacco and kind of glad I didn’t since it tasted horrible enough without it. Kelly and I had some interesting faces when we first started chewing and continued to laugh at each other as we tried to spit out the red juices. We kept getting it all over our kayaks…gross. I have to say it was interesting to try and at least I know what it is and what it tastes like. I think we paddled our canoes twice as fast as everyone else after chewing it though…just kidding; we are just strong ladies.
We then paddled a shorter but still long distance through more Rock Islands to a cove where there was a boat wreck. It wasn’t a very big boat and it was on its side. Not much coral to see other than what was growing along the wreck but I had also noticed a faint stinging sensation every now and then. I thought it was probably just stuff floating in the water from the wreck. I was fine, no lasting stinging sensations after a while. From the wreck we paddled around the Rock Island to a cave leading into a beautiful shallow lagoon. It was a good thing it was low tide or we would have not been able to get in. Oh, by the way, I spit out the betel nut. We didn’t snorkel because jellyfish congregate in the lagoon because of the still waters so we paddled around for a short bit and checked out all the pretty soft corals and clams, and then headed out back through the cave. It was really neat and beautiful. From there we paddled back to the boat which was keeping up with us from way behind as to not get in the way. We got on board and TJ loaded up the kayaks to take us to our final snorkeling destination.
It started raining but we were all wet anyways. Joe, Andy and Kelly said they were going to sit out this last free-dive but after we got there TJ went over that it was going to be a snorkel through a small cave then we were going to climb up the rock island through the cave and come out higher up for a nice jump back into the ocean. Andy and Kelly found that pretty interesting and decided to come along. TJ was going to first jump in and make sure the tide didn’t come in too much to not be able to make it through the cave. He jumped in the water and within a few seconds hollered at us not to jump in behind him. He managed to make it into a small school of small jelly’s. We all decided to skip that tour and just head back. On our way back the rain was coming down so hard you couldn’t see 10 feet in front of you. Well at least our last day started out nice and allowed for some good kayaking. We all got a nice bit of sun too.
We got back to the dock and showered and dried off to sit around and watch the crazy rainstorm and have some drinks and a light dinner. Joe, Andy and I decided that it was time to head back to the hotel to pack and try and rest up for our pick up at 11:30 pm for our 1:45 am flight home.
No comments:
Post a Comment