3/26/2006 - A very interesting day

So this is my first post on here and my story for today is definitely a good one.....

today started off at 7am when we left the dive center for the 2 hour drive to Fujeirah. There was a guy who could not have been less than 40 who was there with his girlfriend or whatever who was no older than me (and very good looking... hmmmm golddigger? haha)and it was just VERY odd to have to watch them. On the way, there was an avalanche that had happened 2 nights before that was completely blocking the road. So we had to take a detour on a rock road which was about as uncomfortable as it gets..... Finally we get to the dive center and kit up (yea I know it sounds weird.. thats what they call it here, and its kinda stuck with me) and headed down to the boat. On the way out there the DM made me quite happy by asking if I wanted to dive my favorite wreck. Of course I said yes.

We dove the wreck and it was ok, but not a whole lot to see.... After 30 minutes on the wreck we headed to the sand to head to the rock wall about 75 yards away. While on the sand I first ran through an area where it felt like all my skin was on fire... I couldnt see anything so it was very strange. Then I was looking in some holes in the ground for jawfish, and the DM grabbed me and pulled me back (this is a recurring theme for those of you who know me) so I could look at the HUGE spotted ray in front of me. It was at LEAST 5 feet across..

So after having to switch tanks out cause of a bad valve we headed out to the second dive at a place called Sharm rock. We dropped down into what looked like green milk. the water was full of silt/particles, and the visibility was never more than 9 feet (even in the shallows). On the back side of the rock the guy (who had the girlfriend half his age) reached under a rock and yanked out a pretty large sea turtle.. I was LIVID. I grabbed his arm and tried as best I could to keep my composure, but he got the message that I wanted him to put it down, and that I was angry.... The other issue I had was that even though it was silty, the guy and his girlfriend were DRAGGING their feet along the bottom. Totally destroying everything in their path.. and the guy even kicked an eel in the head (on accident but still). That was the end of thd diving events.

On the way home my taxi driver hit a big van cause he decided he wanted to merge early. Talk about fun.... At least i got my fix for now.