Conformity hits bottom

Having been out of full time work for a couple of months and just ticking over, I am finally back to full time work in pump engineering. Which is just what I thought I wanted, until today. It happened when I was contemplating the last year of my life. From being in a position of somewhat power on water construction sights and contracts management, then to the Caribbean for 4months living a life of utter leasure. Becoming a scuba diving instructor and diving in the deep blue Caribbean sea everyday and drinking beer whilst watching the sunset every evening was a dream. Then to return to the Uk and spend another 3months on the road touring every music festival going and leading dozens of people and once more living a drunken carefree lifestyle is a dream for some people. But now back in the rat race I have come to the conclusion that the rat race and conformity SUCK. I am just not capable of taking orders from people. No I don’t want to become a dosser who does nothing because I love money too much and enjoy the finer things in life. However I need to find my own destiny once more. Having been in the Caribbean, the time there has refueled my travelling bug and if not one thing reminded me that money is not happiness. To scuba dive in a beautiful deep blue ocean everyday with a hot sun beating down on you, then finishing off the day in the bar surrounded by pretty people drinking beer watching the sunset, well, that is really happiness to be honest. Fast cars and big televisions are nice but certainly not important in reality. Wear a suit for work? Give me board shorts and sun glasses any day.
So Im torn between trying to make a million quid here or just buggar off somewhere hot and forget the world?... Well, I plan to do both somehow. If the money and business plans don’t see fruition this year, I will just simply buggar off!.. Watch this space.

Honduras Earthquake. May 2009

A few days before I was due to leave the Bay Islands, The Hondurus area was struck by an Earthquake. Something which the locals had never experienced before, neither had I for that matter. It measured a very powerful 7.3 on the Richter scale. . The epicenter was reported to be only 20 miles away from the Island of Roatan, which is frightening close to Utila. (the next Island), originated 10km below the surface.
At approximately 02.24 local am I was awoke rather suddenly with the thought that somebody had broken into my room and was shaking my bed. My sleepy subconscious mind told me to wake up as I was being attacked by an intruder! I opened my eyes and saw all the furniture shaking backwards and fourth, an unearthly rocking to and throw that I had only witness previously on television. A few seconds later when my body was vibrated off the bed I realized I was in the midst of an Earthquake. I struggled to stand and didn’t really know how to act. The sound of the locals outside screaming and the sounds of glass being thrown everywhere was only dulled out by the deafening rumble that filled the air. The furniture in my room was really being slammed into the walls as I struggled to stand up. Just as my thought process was slowly coming to the realization that I really should get out of this building before it collapses the whole thing suddenly stopped. Like a Hollywood movie there were ornaments mysteriously swinging backward and fourth whilst making that eerie creaking sounds. I could hear the Island was in a state of panic. I could hear the shouting all the way from the sea front. I immediately went out on to the balcony of the `Monkey Tail Inn` Where I was staying for my last dew nights. A couple who were staying came rushing out of their room with all their backpacks on looking rather urgent. They said we should all go to high ground immediately as there would be a Tsunami. With that they run off. The reality of the situation suddenly dawned on me and realized that this tiny Island was not a great deal higher than sea level and that a Tsunami would be bad news indeed.
Just as I was about to pounce into action this hysterical woman ran up the stairs asking if I had any water she could have. She was obviously terrified. I said sorry no. At witch point she asked if she could take other peoples. I refused. Angrily, she rushed past me into our communal kitchen and proceeded to help herself to other peoples water and supplies out of our refrigerator. This enraged me instantly as I thought of remaining house mates who hadn’t come out of their rooms. To be quite honest I had no idea what was going to potentially happen and was feeling a little scared. I grabbed the water out of her hands and rather rudely asked her to leave. How dare she steal water from people that were still their beds or would possibly get left behind. I guess people act differently when in moments of panic. Self preservation kicks in. I just couldn’t allow it to happen I’m afraid. You know who you are lady. Shame on you.
I rushed to my room to grab my shoes and a bag to put some water in and suddenly remembered my 2 fellow instructor graduates were sleeping away in a drunken slombre and had miraculously slept through the whole thing! Unbelievable.
I had to make a rapid decision. (bearing in mind that there may have been a large Tsunami imminent) do I try and wake my friends and risk leaving it to late? Or do I run to safety and leave them? I knew that if I left them and they died it would haunt me forever. So I banged and shouted on their doors so hard I almost broke them in. Once they knew what was happening I rapidly left. My conscience was clear. The decision of their fate was theirs again. Interestingly, I wonder how many people have been killed in natural disasters because they were to intoxicated to wake up?.. hmm.
I joined a group of people and we sought the highest ground we could. The rest of the Island went to Pyramid Hill, which is the highest point on the Island. But we didn’t have time to make it that far. We found the highest spot and stayed there for about 6hours. A local with a laptop and internet dongle kindly let us check the web for information. Although we were still feeling constant after shocks the Tsunami warning had been lifted much earlier. We decided to go back.
I remembered that I was due to go diving in a couple of hours and made my way to the dive centre to cross my name off the list and to see if anyone needed help. I just didn’t like the idea of scuba diving near the epicenter of an earth quake when there were recent Tsunami warnings in place. The sea was a little choppy and quite frankly, I just wasn’t that desperate to dive. The dive centre was ok apart from all the tanks that lie everywhere and a few things casually fallen on the decking. Amazingly, the dive centre staff were going round gathering people to go diving. I guess nothing stops business… I would say it was 50/50 the amount of people that continued to dive that day. It was fascinating listening to people describe the sensations they experienced when after shocks were happening on the dive. I told myself it really wasn’t worth the risk. However I did feel a slight sense of envy at having such a thrilling diving tale to tell…
The actual main Quake only lasts for 30 seconds, the after shocks continued well into the next night. But it is incredible what can happen in those 30 seconds. It is incredible how human beings can change. Not always for the better. I feel a sense of warmth though in my own believe that I acted accordingly.
I find it truly amazing that only one building fell down on the whole Island. There was indeed a Tsunami according to the scientists. However it went the direction of open sea instead of to land. I wonder what would have happened if it did come our way? The terrible Earthquake that destroyed Asia in 2004 was a 9.0 and ours was a 7.3. So it was up there with the big boys. Thankfully we all lived to dive another day.

Apoligies for not posting for such a long time. Admitedly the blog died abit of a death whilst in Utila. The main reason for this, quite simply, is that I was having too much fun! Then since returning to the UK I was thrust out to work again and didnt have computer access for months. So over the next couple of days I will post a few items to really summerise and conclude the whole expirience. Another reason for this is that I want to keep the blog running. I have several scuba diving trips in mind this year and also a potential business opportunity may arrise, so hopefully the blog will grow and serve a few different purposes.
Stay tuned.

Weather

Being as I came from a dull and cold England I have found the weather here to be scorching hot!
The other day out on the dive boat all of our dive computers were claiming 33°C in the shade! Super hot day. Infact for the first few weeks it just seemed to get hotter and hotter and apparently, it will keep getting hotter over the next couple of months. That’s damn hot let me tell you. We had a sudden rain blast the other day, but only for one day. There is a big storm of the Gulf of Mexico somewhere so we are in the path of some strong winds this week, and the sea is quite choppy. From my apartment its great as there is a constant cool breeze sweeping through the room. You cant notice the wind at the dive centre though and it just feels hot as normal. This week we are seeing some overcast mornings here, but the sun is soon beating the clouds away. I can see the ocean from my apartment and the sea does look quite choppy today indeed but it is not stopping anyone from diving.
After weeks of blistering sun the cool breeze is quite welcome as far as I concerned. As long as it doesn’t last too long!

Ear infection

Ive never had an ear infection before, but I have now found my self with one, infact I have never seen so many people with ear infections! Everybody has them. They say its quite natural here, after all, I have been diving everyday in warm water for a month so it is bound to happen.
It has given me a chance to stay out of the water and study and catch up on some theory.
So word to the wise, bring some things for your ears. Although you can get medication here easily enough.

PADI Dive Master

I am also a DMT. (Dive Master in Training) Actually I have around a week to go until I become Dive Master. What does Dive Master in Training mean on an internship? Well, it basically means you go back to the bottom of the social ladder! The DMT’s load all the boats, clear the docks, look after the boats, book in and out all the scuba gear, give boats briefings and are basically responsible for everything that is wrong with the dive centre! Even if you are not there on the day, it is still your fault. All niceness stops and you are now dog droppings on the bottom of the instructors shoes. Some people say its hard work and don’t like it, but I don’t think it is really, it doesn’t take that long to load a boat and its good experience for the real scuba world. After all, loading a boat with scuba gear and having a laugh with people whilst scuba diving in 33°C heat is hardly my idea of hard ship!
Knowledge wise, the most testing course so far, with lectures to attend and more exams than any other course so far. Which is understandable as once you are a Dive Master you have achieved a professional rating. Learning to tie decent rope knots, decompression theory, Role modelling its all there.
Us DMT`s are a closely tied bunch, and we stick together. We work hard and party hard…. God do we party hard… Until the final exam, which is the ancient tradition of… “The Snorkel Test”.
We have also just had a DMT fun dive. (Which was really an early graduation dive purely for DMT’s)
There was a professional film guy there who recorded the whole thing. This guy has now left the Island for the job of his (and everyone else dreams) So we were privileged to be the last DMT video ever made here. The contents of this DVD are highly secretive and can only be watched an elite few.
So if you see me in the street, whisper in my ear and maybe, just maybe….
Cheers Dan!

PADI Rescue course

I have been here a while a now and haven’t managed to post as often as I would like too. So I thought I better mention a bit about the courses them selves. I am currently a Master Scuba Diver after having completed the Rescue course. (Which was a right hoot let me tell you.)
The Rescue course was fantastic, and one of the most valuable courses in terms of knowledge you can do in my opinion. For example, I had to retrieve a non-responsive diver from the sea bed, get him to the surface, remove all his gear whilst giving rescue breaths and get him out of the boat all by myself. I though it was a revelation! And he was a big guy. A great skill to know. The final day of examinations was nothing short of a global disaster. As you can imagine, the busiest dive centre on the Island first thing in the morning is a very busy place. People loading boats, tanks everywhere. It was mayhem! People were falling over every 5minutes, tanks falling on them, people jumping in and drowning!
And we hadn’t even got on the boat yet. Once we were on open water it didn’t get much better. People drinking beer on the boat (Pretend beer) Falling in, drowning, then other people jumping in to save them. By the end of the day I was exhausted. We had saved a lot of people.
The Rescue course is a must for every diver in my opinion. The knowledge it gives you is confidence inspiring and could one save your life or some one else’s.