Close Encounters with Sea Lice, Sea Turtles, and Shy Manta Rays

We had a good experience with diving in Fiji.  Thankfully, none of us experienced motion sickness.   However,  several advanced divers were sick from the choppy water of Beqa Passage (on our last dive). Gabe eagerly sought out  the chance be the designated photographer with our new underwater camera. The camera worked well, even at depths of 15 m. that exceeded the recommended depths of usage.



More fish from the The Golden Reef and House Reef (both near Sigatoka).  On these beginning open water dives, we swam to depths of 12 m (36 ft.), 18 m. (44 ft.) and 16 m.(48 ft.) with our Danish instructor, Morten.. On one dive as we ascended, we had a stinging sensation of  pin pricks on our skin.   Emily was worried that she had nitrogen bubbles but it was easily explained by the ship captain.  We had unexpectedly encountered "sea lice".   Since we had worn shortie wetsuits, our exposed skin on our legs and arms had contacted the lice.  We dabbed the itchy skin with cotton balls of diluted vinegar to ease the discomfort.  These little sea creatures looked like little thin strings suspended in the water near the top 4 meters.  There was a mild skin irritation from contact with the lice as a reminder for several hours.



Getting our underwater diving legs as Mo and Al get comfortable with scuba diving.  It was a dream for Al and I  but we had the typical excuses as to why we never did it back in the States. We decided to make the jump and do it after talking with several Kiwis about diving at a party,   It was lucky for us as we did  the open water dives in warm Fijian water rather than the turbulent cold Tasman Sea  (shh-don't tell our  instructor from  Taranaki Dive Shop).  




Gabe got the lucky job as our cameraman.  It was a tricky assignment.   One had to be aware of the coral so as to not bump it but close enough to capture the beauty.  It would  have been difficult to retrieve it from the bottom of the ocean if one accidentally dropped it.  Also,  Emily would have been displeased.   She had graciously shared her new Christmas present with the family for our trip.  Unfortunately, the big ones got away.  We did not get the pictures of the seat turtle (about the size of Emily), a large lion fish in the waters near the resort, or the 2 mantra rays swimming by the ocean bottom..  Maybe next time, as we are planning some upcoming dives, possiblys at the Great Barrier Reef.

According to Alec, this camera was a popular item for fellow Semester at Sea classmates.  Even our dive instructor in New Plymouth and Tran, the local adventure guide had this camera model.  Other divers in Fiji  hauled around big camera rigs in large plastic waterproof cases.  However, our little digital underwater camera did the job and we never lost it during our travels (so far).  It was good  advice from Alec.  The camera proved to be light weight, shock proof, waterproof, packable, and indestructible.  Best of all, we captured many happy moments for lasting memories of our underwater adventures.