Today was by far the best day of the trip. It started out just as the other mornings with the rooster and breakfast, and it only got better from there.
The first dive site was one of the greatest diving experiences I have ever had since certification. The site was a series of coral formed into downward sloping tunnels that led to a seemingly bottomless cliff, or a sea wall. Upon review of a topographical map of Grand Cayman, the site with the drop-off was less than 30 yards from the shore, and shot down 4,000 feet (the other side of the island has a wall that reaches 6,000 feet also). We first descended to about 60 feet where we could see the opening of the slanted tunnels. Excitement coursed through my veins As I fruitlessly attempted to envision what the wall would look like, after all, it was my first wall dive. After searching through the tunnels, I turned the final corner to see the end – a blue oval and nothing else. I proceeded.Before the dive, I had read online about what it was like to peer over the edge of the wall to see a four thousand foot drop. It was described as putting your head outside a sky scraper and looking down to see a never ending, vertical drop, and then jumping out of the window while floating in midair. This was exactly what happened. As I first made the climb out of the tunnel, I froze. I remember back to English class, talking about themes in books, more specifically, the fear of the unknown. That’s what I felt. It was fear. Not the kind that crumbled your insides, but the kind that makes you want to take that next step to go even further. The fear was exhilarating. It was after a solid minute of numbness that I realized my heavy breathing. I came back to my senses and checked my depth. I was too deep. No wonder I was sucking air so quickly. I turned and headed back with my buddy to the rest of the group, still glancing over my shoulder to see the drop-off.
I mentioned a few things in my experience above that need further explanation. First is how such a massive drop-off was formed. The wall is part of a continental shelf that formed during glacial periods when parts of a continent became submerged by water. The large drop off is so close to land because it used to be above water, but was overtaken by the sea as the glaciers melted. This left behind a huge cliff right off the coast. Second is why I looked out into the great blue unknowingly for a certain amount of time before refocusing and checking my breathing and depth gauge. To make a complicated explanation brief, more depth means more pressure on the body, which reduces the volume of air spaces in the body, meaning more amounts of oxygen and nitrogen in the blood. Though most of the oxygen is absorbed into tissues, the nitrogen remains. At greater depths, this can cause slow cognitive and motor function as a side effect to the build up of nitrogen in the blood stream. Nitrogen in the blood is carried into the brain, and if necessary precautions are not taken, this can be fatal. Sicknesses such as decompression sickness (aka “the bends”), arterial air embolism, and nitrogen narcosis can occur. Performing a safety stop is a necessary precaution taken by most all dive organizations. This process allows for the nitrogen buildup in the body to escape before returning above sea level.
Day four included one of the best experiences I have had as a diver, only proving that this trip keeps getting better, and the experiences are wonderful. Each day and expectation on mine has been blown away and I look forward to what tomorrow brings.
