The Woods

Song of the day: Lothlorien - Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)

Why hello there, my dear humanlings. No, I haven't mutated into a hybrid life form yet, my wounds are healing at a reasonable pace. In fact, my right foot is almost completely healed. The left one, though, will still take a couple of days, but today it's definitely less painful than yesterday - when I would be at the threshold of sobbing with every step I'd take.

Sadly (and boringly) I haven't been able to do much for the past three days. No diving, of course, and as walking is still inconvenient and there aren't great attractions around here, I haven't been exploring. I've spent my days migrating from the internet cafe to any of the restaurants at the sea front, back to the hotel lobby, and all around once again.

Because of this, I find myself in a difficult situation. I intend to make this an enjoyable blog, one you can read and relax and let your imagination fly. But how can I do so, if I have no adventurous tales to tell you?

There is a way. Should I dare?
I'll give it a try. But, dear readers, please consider one thing: this is absolutely spontaneous. If you are to continue reading, make sure you can afford a few minutes of dreaming, for the journey doesn't end where the writing halts.

He instinctively brought his hand to his sword's pommel. He had developed this healthy habit through his numerous travels crossing the woods - every cracking leaf could reveal a mortal threat. Ninthalas stopped, watching the dark forest around him. Rather than fearful, he felt vexed. He couldn't afford any more distractions, after the incident at the Inn of the Drunken Bard. His quest required him to be swift as the elusive white bucks of the Eastern Lands. Though staying alert, he began to stride over the tangling roots. 

Soon after the minstrel convoy arrived at the settlement, he was summoned by the Town Watch's foreman.  He had only been given a sealed envelope and a safe-conduct to traverse the Bear's Pass, and from the uneasy tone of the foreman it was clear that this was a mission of the utmost importance. The promised reward didn't meet his general standards, but Harth lied upon his route anyways, and he intended to earn a reputation around those lands, so he accepted the task.

It consisted only on bringing the intact, sealed envelope to the frontier town, but Foreman Thrandur insisted on the necessity of haste. He refused to give any explanation.

A Hero's Wounds

Song of the day: You're Gonna Go Far Kid - The Offspring (Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace)

The day started in a very usual manner. Woke up, had my chicken roti and tea Madras (I've stopped going to the place I had banana roti and ice Milo, they never smile at you and it was getting to my nerves), then went to help loading the tanks on the boats. Damn, those things really are heavy, and there's lots of them.


Anyways, once in the dive shop, there was a bit of a chaos in the management. After being told I was going to three different islands performing two different jobs, I ended up being sent to Mataking one more time. What's the news, then?

Well, I was the Supreme Authority on the boat.

Thou shall bow before me!

No instructor came on the boat: it was just me leading, and Sara, with less experience than me, under my command. Hence I did all the briefings (and the customers loved me!), though for the first dive we went in two separate groups, that eventually came together in the water. The first thing I saw upon descent were two lionfish under a coral shelf:

Never touch one of these: their venom could kill you in minute

 

 

Yup, that's a fish. A crocodile fish. Ain't it cool? 

Yeah, I saw several of those crocodile fish, also known as flatheads. They blend in with the rubble in the bottom, but a well trained eye can easily spot them.

Unfortunately I am still not fully recovered from the cold and I couldn't equalize my sinuses (little spaces of air behind your eyebrows) when coming back up. Equalizing means adding or removing air from air spaces in your body to match the external pressure - PV = nRT, for those physicists out there. So it hurts like a motherfocker, because there's no way to remove air intentionally - normally it just happens naturally, but with every airway blocked it's much harder. After a while at the surface the pain decreased as the air would slowly find its way out. However, I wasn't feeling very well by then, so I decided to skip the second dive, and I took a pill to be able to go on the third dive.

But then, Fate happened.

Mataking Island.

We had left a couple of Chinese non-divers on the beach you can see in the distance on the above photograph, but by the time we came to pick them up the tide was too low and the boat could to get to the beach, because the water was too shallow where there were corals. Not a real problem, you barely have to swim four or five metres to reach average standing level.

But the lady couldn't swim.


Obviously I couldn't let her alone, so I jumped off the boat to give her a life vest, with the bad fortune of miscalculating the depth (these clear waters are tricky) and hitting a coral with my right foot. It only hurt a little and for a moment, and I didn't find any wound, so that was fine. I swam towards the sand and gave her the vest with a comforting smile on my face.

But then, as I was swimming and dragging her to the boat, I kicked a coral I couldn't see - that one did hurt. I've awfully scratched the area where my toes join my foot. And later on, I found a cut and another scratch on the other foot, from the jump.

Apart from huge pain, what worries me about these wounds is the risk of infection in this filthy town. Of course I've washed them and bandaged them, and I am now wearing socks and shoes. And I can't go diving for a couple of days, until they are reasonable healed.

But I got these wounds from being a hero. Or something like that. What if there had been a tiger trying to reach the lady? Then I'd have saved her from certain death. So there. I'm a hero.


The bards will sing my tales.

Somebody help me out, I've lost count of the episodes. BUT I'M BACK ON THE TRACK!!

Technically I should share several songs to make up for the lost days, but in an effort to save you from going through such tedium I'll only share one. For now.

Song of the day: Watch Over You - Alter Bridge (Blackbird)

Why hello there, my dear readers. Once again, please accept my apologies for having this blog abandoned for some time. As you should already know, my dearly beloved MacBook crashed with a broken motherboard. I still haven't been able to fix it - after having it sent to a nearby city and receiving the diagnostic, I contacted the only authorized Apple Reseller in Borneo to have them fix it, but they still haven't replied to my email, and I probably don't have enough time anyways: I'm leaving in two and a half weeks. Instead, my always helpful parents are sending me a small PC that will at least provide me with the basic uses of a computer, essentially Skyping and writing documents.


Many things have happened since I last posted on Dark Water & Stars. Let's start from the rightful beginning.

My biryani was not that good. In fact, that was no biryani. Not at all like the one in blessed Bangladesh - you guys do know how to make it good. My new life goal is to become a jury in biryani cooking competitions.

'Nyways. The same night my computer crashed, a new Divemaster student arrived, Steve. We had dinner together and all, he's an alright guy. Canadian, 29, and a ladies' man. Next morning we met another Divemaster student, Andrew, with whom I've developed a nice friendship. He's from Oregon and only 19 years old, and a very cool dude.

So that day we went diving at Mantabuan, and on the very first dive, Steve descended too fast and, forcing his ears, got a perforated eardrum. Which means he can't dive for three months. So he's not doing his course, obviously, but has stayed around Semporna like a wandering soul for the past few days - I don't know if he has left yet.

Apart from not founding much of a friendship with Steve, there's another Divemaster Trainee: Sara, from the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. She's cool, and the three of us together (including Andrew) have started our Divemaster Training doing several skills both underwater and on the surface.

A couple of days ago I was given the opportunity to go to Sipadan island, covering for a customer who hadn't come. I only had to sign with his Russian name on arrival, and I was immediately diving in one of the best spots in the world! Visibility was not the best, but on the first dive I could spot several sharks and turtles:

White-tip Reef Shark

Green turtle in front of a school of jackfish

The following dives were even better, with more sharks, more turtles, and a couple breath-taking additions:

Each single one of these bumphead parrotifsh measures over one and a half armlengths (of mine) in length, and although they feed in coral, the sight of their faces is in extreme macabre.

 

 

 

 

 

Swimming amongst a school of jackfish becomes an irreal, fairy-tale experience, when they surround you and block the sun rays from entering the water.

Special training is required to enter the 200 meter long cavern known as Turtle Tomb, named after the many skeletons found from turtles who drowned while trying to find an exit.

I really do not want to leave this place without paying a visit to the inside of the cave. We only visited the entrance, but an irrational impulse, the willingness to explore the unexplored, kept dragging my attention to the interior corridors where turtle bones lay. Similarly, every time I dive along a wall I feel the urge of diving deeper and deeper. From these feelings I've concluded that I must sometime take the Technical Diver and Cave Diver courses.


More about me will be coming in the next posts. Until then, get delighted with those pictures!

Song of the day #2: Professor Satchafunkilus - Joe Satriani (Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock)

BrrZZZhhhhKKSHSSSHHHHHHHH [Sound of Static]

BHJJJSHSJFFFFGGGG .... Someone .... BSSHHHJGGGJJJJ ... send a technician!... BHGHHHHHHHHHDJSSAASSSHSHSGSGSGS

Ladies and gentlemen,

My computer... has died. Despite the First Aid and CPR I performed on it, I have not been able to bring it back from the other side.

Now I really am finding myself alone.

You'd say, "Well, at least you have your eBook". And I'd reply, "Well, you see, the issue is that... I CAN ONLY CHARGE IT THROUGH MY COMPUTER."

Dave has offered to charge it from his, but that means I'll have to give it to him for the evening every now and then, which leaves me without anything to do.

I'm getting a bit scared now.

Furthermore, I haven't had electricity in my room for 4 days now.

On another note, I'm now a certified Rescue Diver (YAY), and today being Friday, Insha'Allah, I'll be having biryani and chai for dinner.

I gotta go now. Mostly because I'm getting tired of standing here in front of this awful computer typing in this terrible keyboard. 

Wish me luck, and, if you are religious, dedicate a couple prayers to my computer.

I won't be able to update the blog much unless I find a solution to my technological problems. Apologies for that.

Farewell, my people.

Layla - Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton (Live at Lincoln Center)

Episode X - The Rescuer

Canción del día: Contigo - Joaquín Sabina (Yo, Mi, Me, Contigo)

With all due honesty, I'm only writing this post as an excuse to share the previous song. I could very comfortably wait until tomorrow to be able to provide a more complete and interesting story, but I'll do what I can.

Actually, I barely have anything to tell. But let's get it done.


In spite of the cold I've been suffering from, I decided to take the risk and get on the boat. I knew anyways that today I was going to practice rescuing skills, which occur mostly on the surface. Indeed, I have learned how to surface, provide rescue breaths and carry an unresponsive diver out of the water, following all the right steps. It's just a bit tricky, but after a couple scenarios I could perform it without a mistake.

We needed to descend at least three meters for some skills, and so Dave taught me an interesting technique to clear out my ear and sine conducts: snorting salt water. It works wonders, and it burns pleasantly.

So now I'm almost out of that cold. We did another exploration dive, this time going West from The Shire. While geographically inaccurate, in my inside I named the new site Rohan, for its sandy plains and golden coral hills. There was even a forest of acropora, which deliciously corresponds to Fangorn.

A forest of acropora.

And so, this is what today's dive was all about. Sadly, I didn't find any new marine life worth mentioning, but hopefully tomorrow there'll be more.

Back in Semporna, we (the instructors and I) had dinner together - probably the tastiest burger I've ever had. Or perhaps it's just that I haven't eaten any beef in the past two weeks. But, let me say, it was great. 

AND I GOT 38 MOVIES!

All coming from Dave's hard drive - I'm glad I'll have some entertainment, because I've already finished four books in a week and a half, which is a bit of an unsustainable rate.

Otra canción para vuestras mercedes: 19 Días y 500 Noches - Joaquín Sabina (19 Días y 500 Noches)

You all should already know about my nostalgia for my country, so please forgive these short episodes of Spanish music. Soon I'll be back with more international music, but meanwhile, if you really wish to know my soul, give a listen to this, and perhaps try to find a translation for the lyrics. Sabina, more than a musician, is a poet, and a very cunning one. He has found the formula to distill the spirit of my España and shape it into music.

Ave, sailors of life. That's all from me. Keep your homes in your hearts and your aims in your sight.

Episode IX - El capitán resfriado

Canción del día: A mis Cuarenta y Diez - Joaquín Sabina (19 Días y 500 Noches)

Although I am desperately tempted to write this post using my beloved Spanish language, I shall abide the rules of political correctness and employ Shakespeare's speech. 

This young man, captain of no army, has no great news. Suffering of a mild cold, I could not afford to spend this day diving, so I have stayed and reviewed all the theory for my Rescue Diver Course. Needless to say it is a tiresome quarrel, and extensively tedious, but it concerns important knowledge. Now you are safe to come diving with me: nobody will drown on my watch. 

A sun cycle ago we went diving at Sibuan island again. This time was definitely the best. 

As good Christians, on Sunday morning we went to Church Reef. Dave brought a bag of crisps with us, to show the effect of pressure at 25 meters depth. Interestingly, the air becomes totally compressed, and the bag wrinkly. Then we opened it and tried eating them chips, but they were buoyant and would float up very quickly - I wasted half of my air tank struggling to catch some while laughing my ass off. Apart from that, we found some nice creatures both there and around Frogfish Corner - just another dive site.

There were four of these together.
One of them gave a few runs around my hand!

Very adequately, this one's named
Orangutan Crab.

It's not a squid! It's a cuttlefish  

Yes, that is a fish. Two frogfish, actually.

The one in the video is a juvenile harlequin sweetlips. They are born with natural buoyancy, so they have to swim frantically to avoid shooting up to the surface!

Our next dive would be a new challenge: we ventured into the sea, and dropped at an unexplored spot. As we finned through the reef's valleys and hills, admiring its virginal beauty, I though of a name to give it. Later, when I presented it to the rest of the group, it was unanimously decided: we'd call this dive site The Shire.

But unfortunately, there is no Eastfarthing Pipe Weed around these parts to alleviate my sickness, so I've had to give up diving for today, as you already know. And the rest is history.

May your dreams be placid and warm. I shall go and get lost in an oneiric world of guitars, fish and sunny islands.

PS: My most sincere congratulations to a very brave woman who, after six long years of fighting and struggling, is now enjoying a new-found freedom!

PSS: ¡Y una ferviente felicitación a todos mis compatriotas españoles, por habernos librado de una de las arpías más insolentes de nuestro decadente Gobierno!

Episode VIII - The Healer

Song of the day: Saturday Night Blues - Kenny Burrell (Midnight Blue)

My dearest ladies and gentlemen, let me present before you my deepest apologies. For not adding the usual hyperlink to today's song, which is due to the absolute impossibility of accessing YouTube with this @#$%& connection; and for not having updated this blog for three days, which has occurred for three reasons: nothing worth mentioning happened on the first day of the loss of communication lines, the second night was Friday, Holy Day in this Muslim Semporna and time for "partying" (more on that later), and tonight's late time update can be attributed to the Internet access. 

For reasons that may be familiar to you, I won't be posting any images on this entry - I'm afraid I shall be obliged to transmit my story with my writing only.

Three days back on this foul adventure ---- actually, not foul at all ---- I earned, with sweat and blood, the first title that certifies me as a Field Medic, nowadays referred to as a First Aider. Such licence is a requirement for the forthcoming Rescue Diver Certification, on which I am working at the moment. As a reminder of the awesomeness of my instructor I shall introduce you with the last test he imposed on me. 

It is happening. Some call it Armageddon, few Ragnarok, many Apocalypse, but mostly, the Rise of the Zombies. 

On an unexpected turn of events, my companion, Annie, falls victim of an unknown succession of acts. All I'm aware of is that, as I cautiously walked into the living room of our headquarters, she is laying on the floor, flat on her back, with a butcher knife in her hand and a blood-spurting wound on her chest. It is my duty, as a Resistance Army Field Medic and companion, to ensure Annie's survival until heavily equipped doctors arrive.

And so my abilities and skills on cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillator and oxygen supply provision were tested, paired with serious bleeding management and, of course, personal survival from the army of zombies rapidly approaching from a breach in our walls.

I should write a book.

Gift song: Sexy Sadie - The Beatles (The White Album)

Yesterday I was again destined to Sibuan Island as a Divemaster, as I have been today - to Mataking Island though. The diving is, well, just as it always is. Beautiful. Countless turtles (seriously, 10+ in 45 minutes), and many other beings I shall introduce when I get access to images.

In the evening I met with two awesomely chill German guitar players, a hippie Australian and a Spanish Physics/Engineering student, being my compatriot the only female. Had dinner and beer at Arthur Bar, our Coral Monitoring Team chilling spot - the friendly sir serving his amazing seafood barbecue is still there several nights a week. As a Friday night, there should have been live music in Scuba Junkie, but they were on Mabul Island and will be playing here tomorrow instead. I'll come and introduce myself - hopefully they'll welcome another guitar player, even if just for some jamming. 

Today's pack consisted on four Malaysian young women in appearance, teenagers in spirit. God knows they wouldn't shut their mouths until forced to breath from the regulator or drowned in the Sea of the Celebes. Despite the exhaustion of dealing with them - a bunch of chickens atop a boat - they were friendly and lively, injecting some of their good mood into the rest of us, our semblants shaded by the cold, cloudy weather. One of them was trying too hard to get my attention - a hopeless enterprise I must say. Still, she made more than one smile arise on that boat. She still reminds me of one of the lovely people I met through my travels - Sunheira Fuad, native of Dhaka, capital of the beautiful Bangladesh.

Now I'm, once again, sitting as a hermit on this open air lounge. In less than a week I have finished three and a half books. Tomorrow Dave shall bring his computer and provide me with games, TV shows and movies. Entertainment is crucial to withstand this lonely existence. 

May your hearts be delighted with this, the last song I offer on this day. 

Pride (In The Name Of Love) - Soweto Gospel Choir (In The Name Of Love: Africa Celebrates U2)

May the Stars shine your way, and the Winds blow from your back.