The ocean has a way of teaching us all Mother Nature is really in charge, not us. We pitiful humans can have grandiose schemes of controlling and manipulating the oceans, but they always seems to win in the end. Note especially the painfully long and arduous process of trying to cap the leaking well in the Gulf (graphically portrayed and ‘splained by Daisyfae here).
On my recent adventure to Costa Rica, there were a couple dive experiences that reminded me of this as well.
On one dive, I got to dive on a wreck of a fishing boat. It wasn’t too deep…60 feet or so. And the boat had been down there long enough that the ocean (and likely treasure hunting or salvaging scuba divers) had devoured all but the shell of the boat. What struck me as ironic was that this boat, built and used for the sole purpose of dragging the fish from the sea, gasping, in order to feed the humans on shore…was now happily populated by schools of hundreds of fish. What once was the bane of the fish, was now respite and cover for whole herds* of them!
Now owning the Captain's wheel house...
The ocean is winning...
Home sweet boat
The second event was when my deputy, adjacent, assistant, auxiliary dive buddy got caught in a wave surge underwater while taking pictures. The surge drove her into the coral face where we were diving. Not too roughly, actually. But, unfortunately, right into a large sea urchin.
Looking something like this one...
She thought she’d been cut on the knee, as it hurt like a mother. But, an examination underwater of the site revealed no blood (thus preventing her from being chum for the local sharks). However, on return to the surface, when she removed her swim skin? Here’s what she found…
Ewww....
Each blackened mark had a little spike embedded in it. And it still hurt like the dickens (well, she said it did…I felt fine, thanks for asking [chortle]). The next day, it looked like this – – –
Tattooed for life?
Still looked nasty, but feeling much better. The following day, the black dots began to disappear. No permanent scarring.
Great fun, still. And will definitely be going again.
=-=-=-=-=
*Yes, I know it’s ‘schools’…I just enjoy mixing my metaphors, phrases, and stuff like that. You know, a penny saved is worth two in the bush.
The Wilds of Ohio 