USS Liberty

    

    Nicky and open water have never been friends. I would not say we are enemies, but we are certainly far from being allies. Water has never done anything wrong to my knowledge or memory, I have just always been terrified it. I am the person who avoids the clear, refreshing H2O at all costs. If swimming in a lake, I will bring my feet up to my chest as soon as I jump in. When wading in the Californian waves of the Pacific Ocean I rarely take myself past where my feet can't touch. Any snorkeling I had done before my travels was with my family and in the firm grasp of my Father's hand. Even the sight of underwater things on TV gives me the chills - whales and shipwrecks in particular. The root of this fear is unknown. Could simply be the fear of the unknown below me, the vast expanse of what I'm treading in, the inability to place my feet on the ground, a number of things. Now you get the idea of what this relationship is and always has been. That being said, after doing some snorkeling in Nusa Lembongan last weekend, and at some point deciding this trip is turning into one to face fears and push myself even further past my comfort zone, I (yes, me) mentioned the idea of going scuba diving. Two of my friends jumped on the idea and suddenly we were signed up, equipment prepared and ready to go diving before I had a moment to change my mind.

    Let me tell you, the two-hour car ride from Ubud to the northern coast of Bali had me silent, unable to speak or feel my fingers. My stomach was a giant mass of butterflies, and knots and I was coming up with different scenarios and excuses in my head that I could try to get me out of this experience. I tried one scenario and it worked! I didn't have to go diving, fear unfaced and I'm still happy as a clam. 

    Kidding, but wouldn't that be anti climactic.

Pool Training

    We arrived at the Ocean View Dive resort in Talembun and hopped out of the van to lay our stuff down, start our briefing and catch a glimpse of the crystal clear Bali Sea waters we were shortly headed for. Our 24-year old, Balinese instructor was incredible from start to finish. Very informative, clear in his instruction, attentive, friendly and most of all, understanding to the uneasy feeling I think all 3 of us had after we were briefed.

    Things started looking up when we were actually shown our equipment and started practicing our series of skills in the hotel pool. Breathing with the regulator was so strange at first but once we got the hang of it, and were under the water, it felt quite natural. Also, having been doing quite a bit of yoga here, where it's all about breathing in through your nose, it made for a very focused transition to breathing in and out through the mouth. We were also taught and had to practice until Dede thought it was perfect - losing our regs, finding them again, and placing them back in our mouths; getting water in our goggles and clearing them; getting the hang of inflating and deflating our lungs to demonstrate how it affects our bodies going up and down in the water.

    Finally, it was time to go into the ocean. The beach along the northern coast is black sand and very rocky, which made for very tricky entry and exit to and from the water. In our briefing, we had been given information on the dive site we'd be exploring - the famous, USS Liberty Shipwreck.

    Yes, stick a girl who's frightened of water into the sea with a 20-pound oxygen tank on her back, and then lead her to a SHIPWRECK of all terrifying things. Again, as I said, Dede was wonderful. He had myself and Mel grab hold of his arms for the first while until we felt comfortable enough to let go. As soon as we were completely submerged in the sea, had our breathing steady, and were starting to kick, I immediately felt very at ease. To say I loved diving would be an understatement. It was totally, completely, and utterly incredible. The first moment we started to see the wreck I felt anxious, but settled when I realized it didn't even really look like a ghost ship, but instead just beautiful coral. As long as I didn't let myself look into the distance, and just focus on what was right below me, I was a very happy camper. We did a perfect loop around the entire ship, going 12m down, seeing some very small and very big, very bland and very colorful fish. After 30 minutes, we came back up and I screamed in excitement. We did it! It was then time for a relaxing lunch break, before heading back in again for ship dive #2. As we were all more confident the second time around, Dede led us further in through the wreck as opposed to just floating over it. It was easy to make out a porthole or two, some railings and and the bow of the 120m ship.

Mel, Seraga, Me

    The USS Liberty sailed in the first and second World Wars until it was torpedoed by the Japanese in January of 1942, off the coast of Bali. She was towed into Tulamben to salvage cargo and items onboard and left beached on the northern coast. In 1963, the tremors caused by the volcanic eruption of Holy Mount Agung (the one I hiked 5 weeks ago) forced the ship to sink between 30 and 100 feet below the water. It is actually one of very few natural shipwrecks that exist around the world.

    On our way back to Ubud, we caught and pulled over to appreciate, a stunning view of the powerful volcano. I found it pretty amazing to think about having climbed to the top of Mount Agung, pushing aside my dislike for heights, and then to have found myself exploring and diving through the ship that had been wrecked due to the volcano's last eruption. I may even look at going diving again before I leave this island. Don't think I'm ready for sharks but a turtle sighting or two would be nice! Click here to be transported into an aquarium.

    Scuba diving being the breaking news for the week, other headlines include discovering new morning run destinations, attending a Sound Medicine performance at Yoga Barn, spending further quality time with Bre (visiting from Australia), and working on animals and writing our letters and numbers with my Bintangs (Stars). Time is flying by here and I can't believe I am leaving to get back on the backpacking train in a week!

    XOXO Nicky

Morning Run - Coffee shop planted in the middle of rice fields