Friday, August 28

DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!

8:00AM. I'd say on the dot, but I mean on the dock. The dock is really a beach. I love working at the shop. Around 6:30AM I got a text letting me know I'd be on the Hey Now. Woohoo!

Aboard the Hey Now, we shuttled off to two beautiful reefs, nestled in crystal clear blue waters. First, we pulled into Congo Cay. I love diving at Congo. We dropped down, swam along the sand, crossed over some low profile reef, and then swam around the end of the cay. Of course, I helped my divers see as much underwater scenery as possible, including arrowhead crab, some beautiful file fish, parrot fish, and conch, peeking all the way out of their shells. Dropping over the crest of a reef, swimming past a pinnacle reaching to the surface, then swimming farther along the reef, it's heaven. At one point, I looked towards the surface and thought for a moment I must be just a few inches from the surface, but after thinking for a second, I realized it was a school of small fish, undulating with the surf, switching directions rapidly enough, or letting the sunlight reflect on their scales loudly enough, it made the impression of looking just like the surface. Beautiful. I swam on, leading a group of four divers through an underwater paradise.

It's a good day at the office when you can poke your head into ledges and holes and find neat things to point out to your divers. I let a few divers hold an arrowhead crab and the sand dollar. Fortunately, it wasn't alive any longer, otherwise I would have let it stay on the bottom. During the second dive, at Stephen's Cay, I've realized that ledge reefs lend themselves to inflicting a higher level of danger upon my person than any other type of reef. I managed to brush against fire coral, either directly on the reef or some that was floating through the water. Ouch! Along the second dive I came across reef squid, six-keyhold sand dollars, isopod on a squirrelfish, plenty of flamingo tongue, and jawfish popping out of their holes along the sandy bottom.

Back at the shop and after wrapping up the day I picked up a few new t-shirts from Low Key Watersports! I love the feel of super soft fabric for a shirt. After work, with a little bit of the tips I just earned, I indulged in a delicious cheeseburger at Woody's Seafood Saloon. Wow. I don't know if it is because I was so hungry or if it was just pure culinary genius, that was a great tasting cheeseburger. If you are in town and can stop at Woody's, try the Mahi sandwich AND the cheeseburger. That's at least two stops. Also, I keep hearing stories about the mythical food at Shela's. She has some dishes there that are crowd-drawing. I haven't had real mac n' cheese for a while... not unless you're counting something that came out of a box... so I'm interested to try hers, soon. I'm aiming for sometime on Tuesday or maybe when Mom is here, to try out her massive portions of spoon-filling awesomeness. I think if Mom and I just get one order, we'll both be more than full when we're done clearing the plate. I also keep hearing and have on my radar to get a smoothie, soon, from the smoothie place right in the middle of downtown Cruz Bay. The yellow walled building makes the freshest smoothies with only fresh fruits, no extra weirdo additives. There are still so many places on the island to explore before I must leave. I'm anxious to try the smoothies, Shela's, Candy's, and more Pate, since I won't get the chance to have any for a while.

Since at least yesterday evening, I have been thinking I would be enjoying something along the lines of a Lime & Coconut by noontime today. I've been craving one lately, almost the way someone might crave a Frosty to go with their cheeseburger. I love lime, and I love key lime pie...and this drink, it tastes almost like a blended Key Lime Pie. The bushwhackers are pretty decent as well. Thus, not long after finishing the day, I headed off to AquaBistro to enjoy one such libation- a bushwhacker. It's not a bad thing when the bartender makes a little too much and hands you two glasses instead of one. It catches up to you quick, though. As with most drinks, each bar does it their way. Here at the Aquabistro, they blend it up with light rum, dark rum, vodka, Baileys, Kahlua, amaretto, crème di cooca, and ice. It's then thrown into a cup lined with chocolate sauce, finished with a cherry or two, and sometimes, if you're lucky, whipped cream.

The night wore on and the fun seemed to be in full supply. The bartender joined us after his shift was over for a few shots of liquid cocaine, which really amounts to a 50/50 mix of Jagermeister and Peppermint Schnapps. It's a table-slapping kind of drink, for me, since I don't really enjoy anything flavored like licorice. However, I was thankful for the gesture of kindness from the bar.