…you should try doing it in real life…
Original post date: November 4, 2008
It’s 7 am at Frenchie´s dock, Caye Caulker, Belize, and we’re getting ready for the 6 am – (Island time) departure. I don´t mind waiting as I´m half asleep, yet still managing to polish off half a pineapple in my daze.
I´m heading out to dive the Blue Hole – 40 meter depth – advanced divers only.
Watching the sun rise, the water is calm. It´s going to be a great day.
1.5 hours later, we´re gearing up and Wilson is giving us the low down on the dive. `40 meters folks. That´s the lowest we go. You´ll see a ledge at 45 meters but none of you should be down that low… (I didn´t hear that part) Bottom time is 8 minutes. Stick with your dive buddy`
Backwards entry off the side of the boat, everyone´s cool and we start our descent.
Now I would like to explain, for the non divers, what Nitrogen Narcosis is, a.k.a getting Narc´ed. Deeper depths can cause an alteration in consciousness causing people to react in different ways. For some it has the same effect as intoxication, others may take their regulators (the sole source of oxygen) out of their mouths, and for others, varying degrees of dizziness or lightheadedness. Some experience nothing at all.
Guess which one I am…. <GRIN>
Here´s what happened to me…
I can tell the moment that it happens. A warmness washes over my body as if I am diving into liquid gold. Everything is shiny, happy, and nice. My brain feels like it does when the anesthesiologist tells me to start counting backwards from 10. It´s a feeling that can only be described as euphoria as I drift into La La land.
I dive deeper. I hug a few stalactites. My dive buddy is watching me do somersaults and whirly birds. A rather pissed off dive master had to swim down and pull me up from the ledge we weren’t supposed to go to.
Good times.
But let´s not forget the other highlight of this dive – fearing for your life as you swim with 15+ ginormous sharks with 5 layers of teeth, begging for a reason to eat you.
This is one Lone Shark you don´t want to mess with…