Reef Madness

Dearest Rachel –

It took a good half hour (at least) to get from the fifth deck to the second, where the catamaran was waiting for us.  It was more like the ferries shuttling us between the ship and shore at Shute Harbor; for a brief moment, I had rather expected something along the lines of the craft that I rode in Pape‘etē, ignoring the fact that, given the crowds going on this particular excursion, we would need a flotilla of such craft to accommodate everyone.

Since I got caught in the middle of the exodus, having made one last washroom stop beforehand (and having had to return to my seat in the lounge, where I’d left my hat), I wound up near the back of the line in terms of boarding – I’m sure you would have been able to relate to my plight.  Since I had a ticket and a number tag, I could safely assume I wouldn’t be left behind, but it did mean I was pretty much shut out of the ideal seats aboard the ferry – which in this case meant the first and second decks, all and most, respectively, of which were indoors and air conditioned.  Even the shaded outdoor portion of the second deck was virtually full.  So I was left with the upper “sun deck” for the beginning of the trip out.

Another nuisance of the beginning of the ferry ride was that, after the crew finished with the obligatory safety information (location and donning of life vests, signaling for man overboard or abandon ship, that sort of thing), they then proceeded to spend the next twenty minutes going on about the optional experiences available to us on the platform. Hey, I understand that this is a money-making venture, but as commercials go, it went on far too long for my tastes.  Then again, I wasn’t expecting to go into the water all that much, so most of what they were offering was irrelevant to me.

Considering that the trip was to be a full seven hours (two to get out there, two to get back, and three hours spent on or around the platform), they served us a buffet-style lunch. I heard a few people complaining about the quality of the fare, but considering that by now, everyone’s used to cruise ship level food (and Royal Caribbean is, I understand, among the best in the business), I’d like to hope that the folks hosting us wouldn’t take it too personally. After all, they’re marine biologists, not culinary masters.

For my part, I actually rather enjoyed the curry they served; it reminded me of home, to be honest. Although I only had one prawn, and that went about as well as you might expect.

Given the chaos of all these people on the platform, I decided to ask a crew member if scattering ashes was permissible, and where I could do so; it’s not like there was a place one could be by oneself on here.  You would be amused at the fact that she had to check in with her skipper about the former; you and I would have snickered and quoted the line from Animaniacs at each other: “Uhh… I  gotta ask my manager.”  Although, of course, if you were here, the question wouldn’t have been posed to begin with.

Indeed, it would seem that it has never been posed at all; this is a request that has never been asked of them, hence the confusion. She actually had to go back onto the ferry to check with her, and I never get to see the skipper at all, but when the staffer returned from checking, she informed me that there was no problem: I could just scatter you anywhere off either the ferry or the pontoon.

Which I was glad for, but I wasn’t quite so blasé about the question of “where” as the captain and crew were about this.  I really didn’t want to get into anyone’s way, and, truth be told, I’d have preferred no one be in my way, either.  However, there weren’t that many places for me to dip my toes into the water that weren’t crowded with scuba divers, snorkelers, or one vessel or another.  I eventually climbed halfway down the ladder into the snorkeling section to set you free.  It would probably be what you would be doing, if you were here, anyway.

I also asked around about when we need to be back on the ferry in order to return to the ship, as I was under the impression that, if it took two hours to get back, we’d have to leave by around three or so. However, I discovered I was quite mistaken; we would be there until a quarter to five.  Not only that, but there was a semi-submersible that was departing from the pontoon at around three, and I was advised to check it out.

To be sure, what sea turtles we encountered showed up on the opposite side of the boat, so I missed getting pictures of them, but I did manage to get a lot more footage than I’d expected, and that was good enough for me. So much so that, even though there was still an hour before we were to head back, I was ready to get back on the ferry.  If nothing else, he gave me a chance to get a seat on one of the lower decks in (relatively) air-conditioned comfort.  I say “relatively” because I’d situated myself right by the gangway – and also right by the bar and ice cream counter.  Which means that yes, I broke down and got myself some ice cream – I still had to burn through some more of that cash, after all.  

In lieu of having filmed myself eating (I’d already done that once for the day), let me see if I can’t just describe it. The macadamia nut was creamy and buttery, and while I just had some in Kailua Kona, I’d no idea whether or when I might again, so I’d best grab the opportunity when it comes to me.  Meanwhile, while I could just as easily have ordered chocolate for my other scoop, several others were raving about the English toffee flavor, so I went with that instead.  I may yet prefer chocolate – or even a Golden Gaytime, for that matter – but it, too, was rich and creamy, and not in any way disappointing.

It occurred to me at very nearly the last minute that I’d filmed myself in front of a map of the reef, but I’d forgotten what it looked like.  I darted out to find the map and take a picture of it, only for a staffer to point out that they would be doing a headcount before heading out, and would I be so kind as to return to the ship?  Sheepishly, I did so, but at least another staffer is kind enough to let me know we’re over Moore’s Reef, for what that’s worth.

And that was about it for me. They did have some of their cultural experts, demonstrating aboriginal music and dance (and I didn’t realize that the word ‘didgeridoo’ wasn’t from any aboriginal language, but rather an onomatopoeia of the sound it supposedly makes; which sounds strange to me, as the sound it makes doesn’t sound anything like “didjeridu”), but the demonstration wasn’t taking place on the same level of the ship as I was, so I rather missed out on it.

I was also starting to feel a little ill. I don’t know whether it was me being sunsick from too much exposure, or if I’m actually coming down with a cold from going back-and-forth between hot and humid outside temperatures and slightly overcranked indoor air conditioning (you remember this sort of thing from our honeymoon). So while I didn’t actually fall asleep on the way home, I was a little too “out of it” to real paying attention to much that was going on. Which means, of course, that I can’t write much about it.

Honestly, honey, I’m wrapping this up the morning after, and I’m still not a hundred percent. At least we have a few sea days, so if I’m actually dealing with something I need to recover from, this is the ideal time to do so.

But for now, all I can do is to ask for you to keep an eye on me, and wish me luck; I’m going to need it.