13/12/12 All Good Things Come To An End
Today is
the 12.12.12. The end is near my friends!
The end
of this last session of the year, the last one before the Christmas break, and
for us the end of 12 or 8 or 4 weeks of life on base.
As we
are preparing ourselves to leave and move towards different horizons, and even
though we look forward to our next step, melancholy tends to creep on us while
we realize we’re enjoying certain things here for the last time, and realize
that we are going to miss it.
We’re
gonna miss waking up in the peace of our remote base, in a silence only
disturbed by some bird songs and our 6 o’clock alarms. We’re gonna miss the ritual
morning porridge.
We’re
gonna miss the exercise provided by the walk to Manta at low tide with a tank
on our back and another in our arms, our fins falling down midway. We’re gonna
miss the quiet time of being a boat hand in the sun, on our gently rocking boat
in the middle of the turquoise waters of BaieTernay.
We’re
gonna miss Marley, the baby eagle ray that welcomes us back in the Bay after
our dives. We’re gonna miss all our beautiful resident turtles that we we’ve
been lucky to encounter so many times. We’re gonna miss being stalked by
batfishes. We’re gonna miss the thousands of fish in BTC (BaieTernay Centre).
We’re so gonna miss diving in BTC!!
Maybe we
won’t miss the stuck SMB that prevents us from going deeper than 7m or the tape
that breaks in the middle of a belt in a fish survey, but we’re definitely going
to miss surveying and being a part of marine conservation in one of the most
beautiful places on Earth.
We’re
gonna miss the skipper’s briefing. We’re gonna miss the back rolls. We’re gonna
regret the fact that nobody ever gave a loud grunt before the back roll just to
see. We’re gonna miss plodging (yes it’s a real word, it means sitting in
shallow water chatting) when we’re too lazy to snorkel.
We’re
gonna miss being covered in staining black stuff every time we enter the
kitchen or look at the kitchen or just think about the kitchen. We’re gonna
miss the screams when the table turns upside down every time someone stands up.
We’re gonna miss beans. And butter beans. And kidney beans.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWoEQ1fVteQMf_Ye8aD3VxwaDRzW8tXc2IlK_bIix0-VS-0FNlyzQulLIPC1MlIib6F9xtDYW6jz-EewnWMZhGtVz3qg5drBNpwgWiEqY-9Az1cFJfGilgv2_fyRwvOxZ4Nzf3vcxaAY/s320/20121015_120039.jpg)
We’re
gonna miss Kate’s laughter and Joe’s curls, Emily’s threats that we’re gonna
die if we don’t put the dust caps on our first stages, Ro’s enthusiasm when she
sees a nudibranch (“best dive EVER!!”), Emily’s smile and talent for making the
bar tabs feel nicer, Sam’s funny skipper’s briefings, Lee’s immense knowledge
and admiration of the nature that surrounds us, and probably most of all, Chris’
fluffy purple hat.
And
there is so much more. There were good things, amazing things and maybe some less
good things here, but they were all part of life on base and even if we may
have been complaining, we’re gonna miss everything. Some time down the road
from now, we will remember the details of our daily routine here with a happy
sigh and a smile on our face, happy that we’ve been a part of it and that it’s
been a part of our lives.
A
special thought to Kate, who left early this week, to Emily S. who’s finishing
her scholarship and will be leaving with us, and of course to Ro, who is
leaving GVI Cap Ternay after 3 years to continue her studies. We wish you all the best,
and give way to the next generation of volunteers!
Thank
you GVI!
![Share/Save/Bookmark](http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png)
0 comments:
Post a Comment