Thursday February 22, 2007 Yesterday was exhausting and at the same time exhilarating. I am taking an Advanced Diver Course off the eastern coast of Malaysia and have truly been enjoying my time. Yesterday I dove off the south point of Sipidan Island on the famed island for sealife. The "Turtle Cave" surprised me. It goes under the entire island. That's right, you can swim under an entire island! Saw lots of Baracuda and sharks. I could not find the energy to write in my journal yesterday. When you go to 38 meters and stay down there for a while you get a lot of nitrogen in your system and it makes you hungry and tired. After diving nothing can beat a big bowl of rice noodles followed by an ice cream. I have this insatiable need for junk food right now. On my trip so far I have logged 15 dives and I am beginning to really feel the impact of this on my body. You can't tell, but it gradually eats your energy and immunity. Last night I went out for a night dive, making the total for that day a full 4 dives (each one hour). each dive in the course has pushed me further, deeper, longer, and in more strange environments and conditions. I have noticed that the more I dive the hared it is to keep my core body temperature up. Most dive instructors start with a t-shirt, and through the course of their instruction (diving 4-5 times everyday), they require more clothing and protection. The master diver who has been leading our course is in a semi-dry suit - the equivalent of something I would use in Maine! We are in equatorial low-shelf, crystal clear Malaysian waters! Nevertheless it makes him comfortable. he was able to show us three wrecks today and a variety of wild an interesting species: Moorish idols, Scoripionfish, Stonefish, Lionfish, Ramorey eels, Green turtles (were in such numbers you had to push them out of the way), Wrasse, and dozens more that I am still learning about! I am diving with a motley crew of people plankton. "Plankton" is latin for "wanderer," and is an apt description for the types of people who show up in East Borneo for diving in mid-February. Though it should be known, "not all who wander are lost."
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