I must admit the places I like to be the most, are where I can feel myself as only a small element of the mother nature.
The same goes to the seas and oceans. I like where I can encounter with the native species. The best luxury to me is to visit to their habitat wherever it may be. The big living sea creatures are among my favorites. To record what I saw, I started filming and shooting with my Sony Handycam in a housing and the all-time popular NICONOS V. They were heavy and bulky, I did not need any weight belt to dive those days due to these heavy equipment.
昔愛用していたNIKONOS V。一度水没したので、2台目。
Ok, I admit that I did not think of the global warning those days. Never heard of it, never occurred to me. I wanted to go further and further to realize my dream. However, the further I go, the cultural richness also proportionally increased. I realized I really like to be out and away!
Love to dive the world of oceans!
I was motivated to even travel alone and dive even I was a college student. I was subscribing the Scuba Diver and US Divers magazine for off-line information. Since I was based in California that time, Mexico was always my first choice followed by other Central American countries. Another yet important reason was the unlimited drinking (!) was made possible in those paradises as in California I had to be 21 years of age.
Yes, Michelada, the photo is in Costa Rica. I tried plenty, enough that I don't remember how much I enjoyed...
5 personal gains via scuba diving
Number 5：Become friends with the world!
Fueled by beers and common interests, the after dive communication is pure fun. Where to go next, what equipment to buy... I intentionally avoided the Japanese-owner dive shops overseas as I knew the well-travelled international divers don't come to those shops. I was right.
Western Australia, Exmouth, famous for the whale shark diving (March, 1998)
Number 4：Aquarium-phobia
Once you know the real nature ocean, you get to fathom the beauty of biodiversity is governed by the depth, current, salinity, topography, etc. To me I discovered enjoying the native species. The queen angelfish in the Caribbean, the Japanese wrought butterfly fish, Chaetodon daedalma, etc. I love them.
I was really disappointed at an aquarium where they were displaying a tank titled 'tropical ocean'. I was able to tell some fish were never meant to be together, ones from the Indian Ocean and ones from the Pacific Ocean. And for the welfare reason, I don't favor to go to any zoos.
My favorite Queen Angelfish shot in Cozumel, Mexico. 35mm film.
Numver 3： We are NOT the top of the food chain!
The gentle giants like the whale sharks and manta rays always make me smile, but what I like to see is with a chill. The 5 meter tiger sharks in Australia, white tips in the Bahamas though they were fed, blue sharks along a deep cliff in Palau, and hammerheads in Okinawa, they always fascinate me.
A juvenile whale shark in Exmouth. The 2 meter pectoral fin can cause us a complex bone fracture if collided in the water, a chill. 35mm film.
The manta scramble point in Yap island of Micronesia. The manta gills actually scraped my head in a night dive off Kona Coast in Hawaii, another chill. 35mm film.
Yonaguni Island, Okinawa. Waited keeping a neutral buoyancy in the cold water and here they were! A school of them. Very much accidentally, somehow I triggered a auto strobe of my camera which is of course a taboo. The moment it flashed, one hammerhead zipped and came right at my face! ( very much the bone chilling experience) My dive master told me later, 'I thought you were bitten.' Yes, I was that close.. 35mmフィルム。
Number 2：Great to be alive
Visiting to a different living condition where we cannot breathe and feel like flying. I hear the ocean water is like our blood in the contents. Maybe that is why I feel good. I can also get a free thalasso-therapeutic treatment. I think I have a smooth skin, haha.
The moment I get face-to-face with these wonderful creatures. I feel enlightened. I just thank the very rare moment blessing. I am also feeling we should never pollute their environment.
Ginnie Springs, Florida - the cold water snorkeling, but worth the moment together, etched forever in my life. 35mm film.
Number 1：Cultural exchange
It is not limited to dive trips, but any travels - the essence is to experience a different culture. The food, culture, religion, the people's values, etc. so many to learn. I was also asked often about Japan, this revealed how much I did not know about our own culture. The experiential tours got me interested during these days. I determined to explore the turf as well as the surf since then.
The friendly green iguanas in Honduras loved my weed! I had a chance to sample one of them on a grilled skewer in Costa Rica later. I don't think I can try those adorable creatures again.
The next episode will be on the turf! The national parks in the US did a good job on influencing my life, and how people enjoy them on the recreational vehicles.
I gained a set of different and unique values by traveling. See you next time!