Okay, I have to admit that while I have been lax in posting new entries on my blog as of late, I still have been writing, and adventuring. Internet access has not been what it was in Bangalore, and I’ve been on the move, so I apologize for those of you who have been waiting with baited breath after that cliffhanger I left you with regarding my Andaman Island experience…
So, as I was saying, diving has opened my eyes to a whole new world! I thought I would be so scared, but when you get under the water, there is so many new things to see and so much to be excited about that you’re not even thinking about all the things you were nervous about in the first place. On my second dive we were in a coral reef, and my instructor motioned for me to come over to one of the rocks and hold on to it to maintain my balance while we looked at the cleaner fish. He had told us earlier that if you float still enough, they will come over to you and clean your hand if you put it out, which is what we tried to do. But they spotted all the mosquito bites on my leg and swam right over and promptly began nibbling on my legs! It was so ticklish, and apparently I was just the variety they needed after a constant diet of fish-scum. They form symbiotic relationships with various species of fish and clean them constantly, which I can imagine would grow old after a while. Diving was a new way to experience the beauty of the ocean. I grew up going to the beach every summer, entire days spent in the sand and the water, and I’ve always loved it, but now I have an entirely new appreciation for the complex world that the ocean holds.
The Andaman Islands have a mystical, magical feel that one often finds in places that are largely untouched by humans…from the moment I arrived on the ferry, one look out the window showed me why people move here, fall in love with the islands, and never come home. The landscape is filled with rolling hills covered in palms, greens, mangrove trees and the long-rooted banyan trees as well, all covered by a mist that rises like steam from a bath on a cold winter night. The days here in August are filled with clouds, sunshine, mosquitos (fondly referred to as “mozzies”), and torrential rains. In May, however, it got so hot here that the water reached 31 degrees C – which I believe is about 90 degrees F! All the coral was killed and bleached by the extreme water temperatures. Some of it has already started to grow back, and when you spot the iridescent glow of live coral amid the algae-covered bleached coral it is so spectacular I can’t even imagine what it might be like to have the whole ocean floor look like that. But August is as close to perfect as I think might be possible. Almost every night and every early morning, you are lulled to sleep by the sound of the rains on the tin roofs of the huts and the soft whirr of the fans. The sun breaks through for a few hours in the morning before an afternoon shower or two and then the sun will come back out. I think that in contrast with crazy, busy, dirty, loud mainland India, these Islands seemed even more of a paradise to me. They were exactly what I needed after a full month in Bangalore. Of course, if too many people know how fabulous this place is, it will soon cease to be this amazing. So perhaps I should delete this entry and all others concerning the gorgeousness of the Andamans?
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