Bali, Baby! Part Two!

What?!?!  Posting two days in a row??  Yes!  it's true, and I'm quite proud of myself.  So there.  

So, on Wednesday, we woke up very early ( 6:30) to be ready for our pickup to go to the Bali Hai beach cruise.  They take you, by boat to a beach club, and let you hang out, scuba, parasail, ride banana boats, swim, play volley ball, and in general, just enjoy a day at the beach. Unfortunately,  it rained.  A lot.  But the tour wasn't canceled, so we decided to make the best of it, and go anyway.  We happily loaded up on the boat, which was very nice.  We sipped coffee, and had pastries as we waited to pull away from the dock.  The mood was light, everyone was excited, and had the vacation vibe going on.  They had a dive company on the boat that takes you scuba diving, and Larry and I decided to do it.  Larry has his scuba license, but I don't.  I was still able to go, I just had to have a guide with me the whole time ( fine by me!).    About 15 minutes into the ride, I was looking out the window, at the rolling sea, the rainy sky, and Larry asked me a question about the dive, then how I was doing with the boat ride ( my motion sickness is already legendary, in our short time together...remember the plane trip from hell to Vegas?)  I calmly ( at least in my head it was calm) said I think I needed a motion sickness bag.  Quick as a flash, he was gone, and came back with a stack of them, and a worried smile.  I wasted no time using one, then two, then three.  By the fourth, it was just dry heaves, but my gallant husband calmly rubbed my back, wiped the cold sweat from my neck and brow, and tried really hard not to laugh.  I dimly remember asking when this torture would end, a sea-sick version of the childhood whine " are we there yet?"  And for the record, I wasn't the only one that got sick, and there were a few tense moments when the boat was very far to the left, and people screamed.  I don't remember getting off the boat, and onto the dive platform, but once I was on it, I felt a little better.  Larry kept asking me with a worried smile if I was gonna make it, and the dive team looked at me warily, but sweetly.  Not one to miss this kinda fun, I sucked it up, and sucked it in to get into my wet suit.  I sorta remember the dive guides instructions for the hand signals, how to clear my mask, and get my ears to pressurize.  Larry is an old hand at it, and I could feel his excitement.  I love watching him do things that he likes, the little kid joy ekes out, even when he's trying to be cool (sorry babes, it's true).  My dive buddy kept a steady and firm grip on my arm as I walked to get into the water, I guess I was listing to the right pretty strongly.  We hopped in, got our masks on, ran through more instructions, and a few checks to make sure we had the hand signals down, then we were off.

Ok, seriously,   SCUBA DIVING IS THE COOLEST THING, EVER!!!!!

As a kid, we always watched Jacques Cousteau specials on pbs, and my mom immersed (ha, get it?) us in all things underwater.  She loved it, so we watched stuff about it, read books, went to cool aquariums, etc.  It was a big part of my childhood.  Whales were my Mom's favorite, and to this day I can still rattle of facts and figures about them.  Anyway, I have always wanted to Scuba.  I went snorkeling once, while on  cruise in the bahamas, and I was literally the last one on the boat, with the boat captain impatiently tapping his foot.  I pretty much had to be dragged back on, kicking and screaming.  So to finally be able to do this, something I have always wanted was just the best Christmas gift I could have gotten.  Sometimes, my husband is pretty nifty.  I like him. 

So, we went all around, checking out coral, and fish, and just generally getting a feel for it.  We went down about 20 meters (I think) which is all I could do without my license.  The water on the surface was still super choppy and rough, but once we got down, it was calm, and beautiful.  The fish were all very active, and sooo fun to watch.  We brought the underwater camera, and after taking a few shots, I handed it over to the Snapper.  I think he was in his own little nirvana.  He took lots of great shots, and the dive team shot a dvd for us.  I won't make you suffer through watching it, but if anyone is interested, let us know!  The dive was about 30 mins, and I could have gone longer, it was such a blast!  I had a little more trouble on the assent, and for some reason swallowed a little water.  I couldn't remember the hand signal for 'trouble' so I just shot to the top, and threw up some more.  Lovely.  Thankfully, I was close enough to the surface that I didn't damage my ears ( what? huh?) and once again, the wonderful dive team handled me with kindness, got my orca butt out of the water, and over to a chair.  I vaguely remember them taking off my fins and wet suit, and giving me tea.  Nice guys, for sure.  Larry didn't know what had happened to me, so he was worried until he came over and checked me out for himself.  We both laughed later, thinking about the tiny balinese men, trying to get our large, american bodies out of the water.  Next time you see us, ask for the impression of them, we have it perfected, and it's a hoot.  Or at least we think so.

After the dive, we were taken by smaller boat to the beach club.  By this time it was a nice, steady rain.  They had a nice buffet lunch of grilled fish, more noodle type stuff, salads, fruit, bread and rice.  After fighting our way into a table of  ill mannered and crabby tourists from China, Larry went to get himself some lunch.  I stayed back to save our spots from being taken by before mentioned table mates.  Larry came back with a nice lunch, and a coke for me, to settle my still upset stomach.  Feeling so much better, I went and got a small amount of plain rice, a little bread, and a banana ( the BRAT diet, for all you moms out there).  As we sat, and ate our lunch, looking at the now torrential rain storm, we were both really glad we had gone diving.  It was the hi-light of the day, in an otherwise bummer of a beach day.  That, and watching in amazement as the table mates let their little boy pee into a bottle.  Fantastic.  The weather was so bad, and all the activities had to be cancelled, so the boat captain came around and said that he was going back early.  We all loaded back on the boat, and prepared for the hour long ride back.  I had upped my dramamine dosage, and hoped for the best.  I wasn't taking chances though, and grabbed about 20 motion sickness bags.  Good thing, about 10  ins into the ride, I was at it again.  Thankfully I hadn't eaten much, and the dramamine knocked me out.  I was cold, wet, and zoned out, so Larry had to spend the hour with his hand on my back, watching his ipod.

We got back to hotel, showered, warmed up, and passed out (me).  We ended up going to dinner, because I woke up starving, and ready party (ok, not really).  It was an early night, with me promising Larry I wouldn't be such a wimp tomorrow.

And the story continues....tomorrow....maybe.