Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Hitchhiker: Part IV
Greg and I each had a camera on this dive. And when we do, our awareness is heightened. Our attention is divided--what's on the reef or in the deep blue; where our buddy is; where Pingo is; where everyone else is. Our eyes and other senses are taking in our surroundings and processing the information quickly.
We both noticed one diver who should have moved on with the swarm--but she didn't. She was VERY focused on poking around on the reef and using her flashlight to find stuff. Pingo, Bruce, and Greg had continued around the coral head, and now it was just the other diver and me. She glanced up and around and her eyes locked on mine. She pointed excitedly to something on the reef. I had no idea what it was but nodded and gave her the "OK" sign. Now, it REALLY was just her and I as Pingo, Bruce, Greg, and the swarm were no longer in sight. She headed around the coral head and I followed.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the coral head, Pingo, Bruce, and Greg had found a lionfish, taken the requisite number of pictures, and were now looking for me. They spotted the diver and I, and I gave them a "look what I found" gesture. The swarm was within sight, and Greg tried to tell her in diver sign language, "That's your swarm. Go find your dive buddy. Go on. Git!" But I don't think she understood. Instead, she began poking around the reef again, using her flashlight.
Ouy! We wanted to help her, REALLY! And we tried at least three different times to tell her we weren't her swarm--they're over there--to no avail. Finally, we just gave up. But I had to keep an eye on her--I couldn't just leave her out there by herself!
So we tried a new tactic--keep an eye on her but ignore her. It worked! As we followed Pingo through a swim through, I took a picture of Greg who was in front of me.
Greg took a picture of me...being followed by the Hitchhiker!
It's great that she was following us, but now what?
We both noticed one diver who should have moved on with the swarm--but she didn't. She was VERY focused on poking around on the reef and using her flashlight to find stuff. Pingo, Bruce, and Greg had continued around the coral head, and now it was just the other diver and me. She glanced up and around and her eyes locked on mine. She pointed excitedly to something on the reef. I had no idea what it was but nodded and gave her the "OK" sign. Now, it REALLY was just her and I as Pingo, Bruce, Greg, and the swarm were no longer in sight. She headed around the coral head and I followed.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the coral head, Pingo, Bruce, and Greg had found a lionfish, taken the requisite number of pictures, and were now looking for me. They spotted the diver and I, and I gave them a "look what I found" gesture. The swarm was within sight, and Greg tried to tell her in diver sign language, "That's your swarm. Go find your dive buddy. Go on. Git!" But I don't think she understood. Instead, she began poking around the reef again, using her flashlight.
Ouy! We wanted to help her, REALLY! And we tried at least three different times to tell her we weren't her swarm--they're over there--to no avail. Finally, we just gave up. But I had to keep an eye on her--I couldn't just leave her out there by herself!
So we tried a new tactic--keep an eye on her but ignore her. It worked! As we followed Pingo through a swim through, I took a picture of Greg who was in front of me.
Greg took a picture of me...being followed by the Hitchhiker! It's great that she was following us, but now what?// posted by Leenie @ 2:57 PM 
