Open Waters

If you ever come to Bali and want to get Scuba Certified, you have to find Avandy Djunaidi: the man, the myth, the legend.  He owns BIDP (Bali International Dive Professionals) and has been diving since 1981.  He’s like underwater Yoda, calm but meticulous in his instruction.  He understands the technique, but also the intricate ecosystems and marine life.  And everywhere we went, he was recognized and adored.  We struck gold in having our first scuba experience with him.

We got open water certified at Tulamben, a WW2 wreck of the Liberty.  The story goes that it was a cargo ship, but inside sources revealed that it was actually loaded with guns and quickly cleared when hit by a Japanese submarine.  Now, it’s covered in amazing varieties of coral and sealife.  The clarity is exceptional and it’s surreal to 1. breath under water 2. explore the wreckage and how much life has grown around it.  As with the shipwreck on the beach near Single Fin, it’s a testament that life goes on and heals around all our scars.

Tanks at Tulamben shoreline

One of the hardest things about scuba diving is achieving buoyancy, essentially finding a state of suspension at any depth, almost like an astronaut in the water.  The goal is to use your lungs and air intake to monitor your level, exhaling to go deeper and being able to relax, suspended, without finning in any direction.  As you can imagine, this takes a lot of patience and a lot of practice to learn your body and air intake needs.  I am not a very patient person, and my first dive was incredibly frustrating.  Jay naturally mastered it, no surprise to anyone who knows his natural athletic ability, but it finally clicked for me on the second dive.

There’s a lag time- when you inhale deeply, it takes a second or two for your body to rise.  A few deep exhales, and some patience, and your body will drop.  Underwater, time is magnified and, at first, I didn’t trust those few seconds or give my body time to adjust- I went straight for the quick fix solution, my BC inflatable vest, to get me where I wanted to be.

The metaphor was glaring: life takes time to settle and instant gratification changes may be the norm in our society, but they don’t push us to understand ourselves and grow our own resourcefulness and resiliency. So often, we make a choice in life and watch expectantly for life to quickly make the adjustment (hopefully in our favor) but we have no patience for the lag time.  We have no patience for the long-term plan.  

It’s another lesson in being present.  Breathing in and breathing out, but also taking in what’s around us.  Seeing that remarkable polka dot fish to our right, the brain coral to our left, and not worrying about much else beyond that moment.  We are learning to settle into life, and take it just as it is: with all of its beauty and all of its shipwrecks.

Open Water Certified!

The Art of Living

Although we have general plans for things we want to do and see (scuba certification begins tomorrow!), we are generally facing an open itinerary.  We are free to schedule or not schedule- to explore or to be- to sleep when we’re tired and eat when we’re hungry.  This sounds simple, and maybe even silly, but it’s an odd phenomenon to live without confines.  

So many choices in our traditional lives are made for us, and even on trips the time restrictions of vacations generally create a schedule and a pacing.

So what do you do when you can do absolutely anything you want?

You have to be present.  You get the challenge and the gift of being present.  Food is a wonder and an art; fresh juices nourish and add pops of color to the day.  Walking is scenic, rather than mundane.  Smells and sounds are more acute.  Conversation is everything.

It’s an art of exploring the people as much as the places.  It’s a dance of miscommunicating with locals and realizing things taken for granted without a language and cultural barrier.  It’s a deep look at your own culture and norms: What generally drives your life and dictates your time? 

Suarga Padang Padang, Uluwatu