Late afternoon we pulled into our beautiful beach resort. What a way to end a trip! This place had it all. During the day we would spend hours in the ocean or chilling out in the hammocks by the beach bar. Everyone would congregate at 4pm for happy hour (of course) and the DJ would play chill-out music, creating such an incredible vibe that lasted right into the evening. At night the beach bonfires would be lit and and the dance floor would start to heat up. Andrea described it as a summer camp for adults. It really was!
One of the days, Laura, a friend we had made, and I went scuba diving. The morning started out optimistically. I was slightly nauseaus due to the excitement... okay heck, I'll be perfectly candid here. My stomach had been pretty sensitive since Kili and I was trying to deny the obvious fact that I'd acquired a mild case of Africa belly (you don't want to know). Not the best way to feel before a scuba, but I'm a trooper! I conquered Kili for goodness sakes! A little scuba is no match for me now!
We put on our wetsuits, which if you've ever worn, you know makes you feel fully spring-loaded from head to toe. I'm not even sure how I managed to sit down in the boat as I kept fighting the urge to spring back up into standing position. As the crew loaded the boat, Laura and I sat whimpering, while we watched one of the crew members bail out GALLONS of water from a hole that lead to a cavity under the boat. It was not reassuring. We decided this could very well be our last voyage ever. I took out my camera and snapped about a dozen photos of the process. To them, I'm sure I was just another annoying tourist taking photos of them while they tried to work. To us, it was evidence! Although how anyone would find the camera if we sunk, I'm not sure. I admit, we hadn't completely thought it through.
For the next two hours we admired the beautiful view - the aqua ocean, the dolphins swimming along beside us, Tom, our bronzed, muscly dive-master.... sigh.... oh, sorry. Ahem... It was smooth sailing....until it wasn't. Without warning, gigantic waves started to pitch our tiny vessel to and fro! Actually the waves were about a foot and a half high, and I'm embarrassed to admit that that is all it took to involuntarily reenact my Kili summit experience. I marked the highest summit in Africa with vomit, why not carry on the tradition to another monumental moment to the depths of Africa's waters as well. I'm not sure I would totally recommend going from 5895 feet above sea level to 35 below within a week as I spent the majority of my time on the boat trying to not look green, and my time underwater, trying to talk my head out of exploding.... We saw some turtles though!
We put on our wetsuits, which if you've ever worn, you know makes you feel fully spring-loaded from head to toe. I'm not even sure how I managed to sit down in the boat as I kept fighting the urge to spring back up into standing position. As the crew loaded the boat, Laura and I sat whimpering, while we watched one of the crew members bail out GALLONS of water from a hole that lead to a cavity under the boat. It was not reassuring. We decided this could very well be our last voyage ever. I took out my camera and snapped about a dozen photos of the process. To them, I'm sure I was just another annoying tourist taking photos of them while they tried to work. To us, it was evidence! Although how anyone would find the camera if we sunk, I'm not sure. I admit, we hadn't completely thought it through.
For the next two hours we admired the beautiful view - the aqua ocean, the dolphins swimming along beside us, Tom, our bronzed, muscly dive-master.... sigh.... oh, sorry. Ahem... It was smooth sailing....until it wasn't. Without warning, gigantic waves started to pitch our tiny vessel to and fro! Actually the waves were about a foot and a half high, and I'm embarrassed to admit that that is all it took to involuntarily reenact my Kili summit experience. I marked the highest summit in Africa with vomit, why not carry on the tradition to another monumental moment to the depths of Africa's waters as well. I'm not sure I would totally recommend going from 5895 feet above sea level to 35 below within a week as I spent the majority of my time on the boat trying to not look green, and my time underwater, trying to talk my head out of exploding.... We saw some turtles though!
We spent our last morning on the beach, getting henna done on our hands and most memorably, a Swedish massages under a canopy for a whopping $10. Did I mention we could not have ended a trip any better way?
From the highest mountain, to the vastest plains, to the depths of the ocean, could this trip have covered anything else at all? This was truly a trip of a lifetime and I am already counting the seconds until I am back in this beautiful country!
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