Fiji Adventure Part I (pretend your reading a novel and this is chapter one, ok?)

Fiji 2008

“I’m not him, really, my name is Reuben.”

“Right, REUBEN… so what’s it like being a movie star?”….

Ok, I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s start at the beginning of the trip. I had Maria drop me off at the airport at 6pm, she thought I was crazy, since my flight wasn’t until 11pm and a 5 hour check in made no sense to her, but she humored me, and with a hug, a kiss, and an “I’ll see you soon!” She was off, leaving me to sit on the floor with my bags, waiting for the Air Pacific window to open, which I had just been told that would happen about 8:30…..great.

Luckily it opened at 6:30 and I was checked in and ready to go. I watched my dive gear and my camera housing go through the x-ray, with guys who reminded me of the jokers that hung out behind the school gym in high school and were constantly stoned…did I mention it was a very expensive housing? The bags disappeared behind the door and I swear I could hear metal crunching and glass breaking, but I walked off in search of of my gate.

We landed around 5am and as I stepped out of the plane, I was met by a blast of hot, humid air…it was only 5am! But, I was in Fiji and I took it in stride. Again, security was a breeze “What’s in your bag?” “Um…dive gear?” “Ok, enjoy your dives! Vinaka!” and I was through. I found my driver, waited for the other guests, and we were off, another two hours to the hotel, on what I’ve heard is a very frightening highway, The Queen’s Highway, a tropical island version of Mexico’s deadly roads apparently, one of the things the British Crown left behind. Hey, if you can’t beat them, at least make sure they have a lot of traffic accidents! I can’t verify that, because as we drove out of the airport and through the outskirts of Nadi the Tylenol PM’s kicked in and I fell asleep.

I woke up as we pulled into the resort, head thrown back, drool running down my chin, and I’m sure I had been snoring…great! The check in was quick and painless, got shown to my Bure, which was a freestanding room, sparse, but beautiful. A bed, two chairs, a little table, and an incredible view! I unpacked, stretched out a bit, looked around and then realized there was no TV! Damn, I love watching TV when I travel. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I’m in a foreign country, I’m in Fiji, I should relax, I should experience the culture, the views…yadayadayada…. but I like to watch the news, I need to know what’s going on in the world, plus it was the week the champ was to be picked for “So you think you can dance?” and I was going to miss it. I mean…um… my wife likes it, and I watch it just so that we can talk about it and strengthen our marriage… plus have you seen the girls on the show?!? Amazing..um…dancers!

After a few minutes I decided that since I wasn’t diving, and it was 10am, I was heading down to the pool. Threw on my trunks, grabbed my book and my iPod (I’m kind of anti-social sometimes) and walked down to he pool, where I joined a group of Australians sitting around the pool and were are already in the middle of drinking. Did I mention it was only 10am? Of course, I was envious that they could drink and not make asses of themselves…or at least not care if they did, but I threw on my headphones, popped open the book and tried to read, except I noticed the group kept looking over at me…a lot. “What, why do they keep looking over? Did I forget my trunks?” I looked down, nope they were on and nothing was sticking out. “Have I got bird shit on my head?”, I casually wiped my head and then inconspicuously sniffed my hand. Nope. I got back to trying to read my book, but they were still stealing furtive looks and whispering. I put the book down, took off the earphones and plunged into the pool for a swim. I came up in the deep end and caught them all staring. I swam across the surface and saw them following my movements and whispering some more. Ok, I was a bit creeped out and out of there. I went back to my room, showered, and tried to read, but crashed again. I didn’t wake up until 6pm, dinner time, and I was starving!

I went to the restaurant, grabbed a seat, turned down the offer for wine and order a soda water, getting the stare “This guy doesn’t drink? What’s wrong with him?” and took a look at the menu. So I was in Fiji and excited about eating some Fijian food, so I looked at the menu “..um… burger, ok not very Fijian, though it must be there for people that aren’t too adventurous…what’s next…steak…Caesar Salad…Spaghetti…Samosa, ok Indian…” I ordered the steak. It was actually a really good steak, I mean a REALLY good steak, and it only cost $12 Fijian which was about $8.40 American. I finished the steak, took my book (yep, I read at dinner when I’m alone, I hate sitting there and staring at couples and groups, trying not to look like some lonely peeping tom) and went over to the bar, where I ordered another soda water (yep, same look) and settled down into a big rattan chair.

I saw the Australians partying over on the deck, and as they looked over I gave a smile and a little wave, figured I might as well be friendly. More furtive stares, more whispering and small waves back. 5 minutes later, one of them, a BIG one of them cruised by, as if heading to the bathroom, he was trying not to look at me, but as he passed, he stopped, turned awkwardly and then, pointing to the book asked, “Good book? I mean, you were reading it earlier,…they call me Big Stu… and you’re still reading it now, so I figure it’s a good book, right?” I smiled and nodded, “Yeah, it’s pretty good, it’s about diving…” He sat down, “Oh, diving?!? You’re also a diver, hey?” Also? “So you’re really into EXTREME sports (the emphasize was his) are you?!?” “Yeah, kind of…I guess.” He then leaned forward and looked at me as if we were sharing a secret, “Can I ask you something?” I cautiously nodded, ready to bolt if Big Stu asked me to join him in the bathroom, “Sure, ask away” Big Stu looked around a bit and then, “When you came down to the pool my mates and I saw you there and I turned to one of the girls, the blonde one, the busty one, and went “Hey, do you reckon he looks like…” But she stopped me and went “I’m already on top of that, I think he is!”, and so, sorry if we were staring, we were arguing about it…but, well… um…are you Vin Diesel?”

Big Stu was staring at me with a big smile on his face,sure he had just met Vin “XXX” Diesel. “Haha, no, sorry, I’m not him!” I could tell he didn’t believe me. “My name is Reuben, please to meet you Big Stu.” He shook my hand, still with that “I’m meeting a celebrity!!” look on his face, “Right, right…REUBEN. Pleased to meet you REUBEN.” he gave me a little wink as he shook my hand. “So you’re out here diving, huh? For a movie?” I smiled again, “No seriously, my name is Reuben”, he nodded quickly and continued to smile as I continued to clear things up, “I’m here to shoot some video, hopefully in order to sell something to the Travel Channel, but also…”
“Whoa, you shoot documentaries too?!? Besides acting? Wow!” He looked over at his friends, who seemed to be trying to figure out what “Vin Diesel” might be saying to their mate, Big Stu. I leaned forward, “Seriously, I’m not him, my name is Reuben, I’m just a diver.” Stu stood up, still smiling, “Right, sorry forgot, Reuben, sorry just thought you were him, it’s been good talking to you, Reuben. Gotta head back to my friends, they’re probably dying to hear what we talked about.” He reached out to shake my hand. I shook it, I actually liked Big Stu, he’s a good guy, just a typical, good natured, loves to party, Aussie…just wished he would believe me…maybe when he sobers up in the morning, I thought. He started walking away, and then spun around and walked back “One more question, Reuben?” I looked up at him and smiled. He leaned in, “My friend wants to know if you’re single?” He hooked his thumb over to the blonde. I held up my left hand to flash my wedding band, “Tell her sorry, happily married for a year on the 25th of this month!” He then stood up, looked over at her and shook his head. Then he turned back, patted me on the shoulder and said “Wow, must be hard…”, he truly looked concerned and I was going to tell him that, it actually wasn’t so bad, I liked being married, I had a great wife and even though things could be hard at times, we were able to make it through the rough bits, no worries, “…I mean, I’m sure it’s tough being married and being a big Hollywood star.” He walked away shaking his head, and as he joined his friends they surrounded him, probably asking if I was just like I was in “XXX”. I finished my soda water, grabbed my book, and sauntered out of the bar, making sure I paused at the door, looked back and gave my best Vin Diesel wave back to Big Stu and his friends. Hey, might as well work it, right?

Next: First day of diving:No current no fun! or, “…OH…MY…GOD…I’M GOING TO DIE DOWN HERE!!!! I’VE NEVER BEEN IN A CURRENT THIS STRONG!!!! Oh, look a Clown Fish.”

Leaving on a jet plane

I leave to Fiji tonight, scheduled to arrive on Monday… it’s the whole “International Time Line” thing i.e. you leave here on a Monday, cross the line and you get to your destination on Wednesday of last week… or something like that!

I’m packed and ready to go…finally. Had a repacking session last night due to many travelers warning me about Air Pacific’s stringent weight rules. Apparently you’re only allowed an 11lb carry-on, which is basically my camera, a book, my tickets and the bag. So I went through everything and culled, culled, culled. I won’t be diving with my Oceanic mask, don’t really want to pack it in my checked luggage and risk having it “get lost”, kind of bummed, but no big deal, it would be worse if I couldn’t take my housing and camera because, well because its the whole purpose of this trip, to shoot as much as possible and build up my stock collection as well as put together something for the Travel Channel.

Alright, going to go and have another look at my gear, see if I can leave anything else behind. Big question: Should I take my BC or not? I’m used to my back-plate setup, but if it’s going to be an issue I’d rather rent out there. hmmmmm, I don’t know? Maybe I’ll decide at the check in counter.

Keep coming back this week, I’ll try to post while I’m out there!

Sea Lions? Not Seals, but SEA LIONS!?!

Alright, so time for one more post! As those of you that know me, besides being obsessed with the Ocean, I’m also obsessed with Sea Lions… those that don’t know me will soon learn about this obsession as you get to know me! Here’s a video I did for my cinema class last year. If you don’t know the difference between a Seal and a Sea Lion, you will after this video. Got it? Good! Enjoy!

Oceanic Datamask Review

Eye to eye with your dive computer...

So I’ve been diving with the new Oceanic Datamask since May now, and I have to say, I love this thing, especially as an underwater shooter. Not having to take your hands off your camera to check your stats just rocks and makes diving, and working much easier and enjoyable.

The mask itself is one of the best fitting masks I’ve had, though due to my “laugh lines” (or wrinkles, as my wife likes to call them) it still leaks a bit, but nothing a bit of mask clearing can’t fix. The readout is is easy to see and easy to read, the only downer is if you don’t add a bit of defogger to the readout’s glass, then you have to deal with some fogging. You can adjust it’s brightenness to suit you and it works really well, except when you hit the surface…then you need to put a hand over the right eye in order to be able to read the computer. No big deal, right?

What’s my biggest concern? Um…losing it! Considering I’ve lost a number of masks through the years, it’s my one real worry, so wearing it through heavy surf on beach dives might not happen. I figure I can always go back to a standard mask for those dives, I wear an analog pressure gauge as a back up, and still carry my Sunntto Vytec in my dive bag, just in case. Just don’t know how I would explain to my wife that “..well, I got tumbled in the surf..and, well, the mask got stripped off by a wave and we weren’t able to find it…um, yeah, it did cost $1500…” Think I might be living in my truck if that were to happen!

Overall, if you’ve got some cash burning a hole in your pocket, you love new toys, and you’ve been thinking of buying a dive computer, I would say; take a look at the Oceanic Datamask, you won’t be sorry.

JG8D69D

Zack and Jennifer swim with the sea lions

My friends, Zack and Jennifer, get to experience sea lions for the very first time in this video. Enjoy!

The lure of the deep

“Like many others, I do not feel in perfect harmony with our age and the solitude of diving lulls and stays a deep-rooted dissatisfaction. Down below, where dreams and action move silently forward through the dense waters, side by side, man feels for a moment in tune with life.” -Philippe Diolé- from “Prelude: The Undersea Adventure”

Just about everyone knows who Jacques Coustreau is, the father of undersea exploration, one of the first to use a “Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus” aka SCUBA, the man who introduced thousands of us to the world under the waves and stoked that flame and passion that has taken us into her watery arms. How many of us know who Philippe Diolé was? He was Cousteau’s colleague and dive buddy. He wrote “The Undersea Adventure”, a book full of underwater philosophy, a “literary” journey under the waves. He also co-wrote a lot of books with Cousteau, but “The Undersea Adventure” is no scientific logbook, it is an exploration of what going underwater means to us, and I found myself nodding at almost every paragraph, I knew exactly what he was describing, having felt the same feelings and emotions he describes. If you’re a diver, then you know what he meant when he wrote:

“Once he has broken the surface, the diver who is properly ballasted has no more weight, no more resistance: an aerial softness transports him where he wills. Here the world is sweetness. There is no place in his body, from head to foot, which is not relaxed. It is a pleasure to stretch out, to lie on one’s back and feel the perfect fluency of one’s muscles. Dreams float very slowly up from the sea. Walled in silence and completely alone, the diver begins an interior monologue in the cell of his undreamed-of content.”

How many of us have seen our dreams “…float slowly up from the sea…” while underwater? How many of us meditate and center ourselves underwater? Floating effortlessly, your lungs keeping you weightless, not in the Ocean, but a citizen of the Ocean, not a visitor, but a family member. I don’t know about you, but I always feel like I’m back home when I’m underwater, I’m where I belong, where I feel whole and I’m always a bit bummed when I see my air is low and I’ll have to go back to land, back to the cities, the noise, the people… hmmmm, just call me an underwater hermit. It’s where I belong, and at the end of my run, it’s where I’ll return, back into the sea.