What a title huh? Well it fits today and later on I’ll explain why but first I wanna give you a little idea of what life is like at night around here. After all it is when I prefer to sit down and write these little accounts of  the day.

So we’ll say it’s around 6:45pm here, and the sun is just starting to tuck itself away behind Taatoh Rock as you look out into the bay. Slowly one by one spotlights begin to pop up on fishing boats like fireflies. Every so often you’ll catch a green glow in the distance coming from inline fishing lights refracting through shallower depths where local fisherman are readying their equipment for a night of catching squid and cuddlefish. The technique capitalizes on the nocturnal nature of the animals as well as their attraction to illuminated objects. From what I have heard, this “jigging” is composed of moving the submerged lights around slowly, which ultimately allures these animals in so they can be caught in large nets. Along the beach tiny fires begin to burn just below the straw overhangs of a large majority of the beach watering holes while the beach is walked by couples and singles alike. Dogs are daring themselves to jump in and out of the water, or just running around from person to person wanting some love. Kristen and I normally plant ourselves in two bean bags at the end of the coffee-house platform in order to watch the sunset. She works on her dissertation and I, well I just sit back and take it all in. Thankful that I have a woman beside me that can balance the relaxing care free atmosphere with her ambition. Right behind us, people begin to place themselves at the tables or meet up with others. From what I have seen, the end results are a night of drinking at the local bars followed by what most likely will be a muay thai fight or the night wanes with their original seat either on the internet or from the looks on their faces thinking over and over, “now this is life and why have I not realized it before now”.  Not long ago I finished Aurelius’s Meditations for the second time and this particular thought brings a quote to mind.

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”    – Marcus Aurelius

It just fits what I can imagine is the conclusion of the day for most who visit this place. It certainly has proved to be mine.

Today’s lecture was quite a lesson in scientific nomenclature and taxonomy. We ventured into the world of sea slugs. The vast array of species and behaviors is overwhelming. To say I had no idea is no justice done. I have spent the last four years of my life trying to contemplate scale in both the micro and macro physics arenas and what I have been taught in just the last few days has stirred the same incredulity as I had the first time I realized what the math yielded for the mass of a neutron star. It stirs a very distinct form of reverence that can only be matched by something sharing that unique domain. I suppose some would say the above is a drastically romanticized description, the purpose, to endorse a certain political agenda or encourage a “hippy” way of thinking. I disagree. It is, in fact, nature.

nature – the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations.

You’ll notice I emphasized two words. I think the rest speaks for itself.

I would love to share all of the incredible behaviors and species with you but unfortunately I do not yet know even a small fraction of them which is what brought me here to begin with. The particular species of slug and marine life we were searching for today are generally found in what is called the muck. These dives take place at increased depth compared to coral reef dives. I would say somewhere around 60-70 feet from what we saw today. Think of the coral reef sites as large cities whereas muck dives are performed in more rural areas. Much of the scenery is nothing but a flat expanse of sand with the occasional bit of life. Most of this life being what we sought to observe. Unfortunately, this particular dive proved to be quite the mess, literally. The past two days, Koh Tao has experienced bouts of storms consisting of heavy wind and rain. This type of weather results in heavy chop on the water and a circulation that destroys visibility, especially in areas laden by material of a sandy consistency.

We began this dive with the initial plan of effectively taking six divers and forming a flying V over the muck bottom at around 50 – 70 ft, slowly working our way to shallower waters. When we reached the bottom, it became quite apparent that this was gonna be a problem. The goal was to keep the diver next to you in sight at ll times in  order to stay with the group. Well, at around five minutes into the dive, the V became a “i” with around three divers forming the main body of the letter and three being on top of one another for the point of the letter, haha. Needless to say the visibility was horrible. I would say it was no more than 2 to 3 feet. Shortly after this pile up I turned around to catch a glimpse of my dive buddy, Kristen. She was gone.

Now normally, when leading a dive, proper procedure dictates that at any time a diver is lost on their own, an immediate ascent is required with the proper surface marker (due to boat traffic) and safety stop if depth was substantial. This being said, it is not what took place on this dive. Upon the realization that she was gone, I immediately took a reciprocal compass heading and began a forty degree sweep and was joined by a fellow french diver. The rest of the group pressed on, probably due to failed communication during the confusion. I knew Kris would handle the situation as she always does, clear thinking and little to no panic. Although not a horrifying situation, at sixty feet in the ocean with little to no sight of the bottom and nothing but a glow of light coming through the murk, disorientation can approach as a likely predator and get the best of you if you let it. Ocean diving is amazing but the lack of boundaries and reference points can turn a relaxed calm dive into a bad situation quickly if you’re not careful. Needless to say, Kris is fine, she surfaced after a few moments of trying to find the group and was picked up by our dive boat, and my french friend and I surfaced after a good ten minute search. Sadly we did not find her. Bested yet again at the infamous Waldo search.

At the conclusion of the dive, we found that she was not the only Waldo in the bunch. Several others had in fact become detached from their group. The poor conditions just happened to get the better of the group today but well certainly be back again next week!

New pictures of the path we take to the input point, the ride to and from the dive shop, and the dive shop itself in the days photo link!  We will have the weekend off to explore so I will make every effort to keep you updated on the excursions. The diving will resume again on Monday.