Utila – Week 3, Day 7: Mapping Mayhem
UTILA
Week 3
Day 7: Mapping Mayhem
December 03, 2022
It had been quite the slow week at Underwater Vision. We barely had any customers, meaning all of us divemaster trainees (DMTs) were kinda struggling to find courses to assist on.
I still needed to assist on two Open Water courses and had a whole bunch of other skills and workshops to complete. At this pace, I was starting to doubt whether I’d actually manage to graduate in time. I only had two weeks left in Utila – a source of anxiety in and of itself, having grown to love the island and its residents so damn much. Every time that thought came to mind, I did my best to swat it away and just go about my business. I could hardly bring myself to think about leaving!
Seeing the dive schedule empty was a sad sight indeed. For the first time since I’d arrived, there weren’t gonna be any fun dives either. I spent the morning chilling – much to my annoyance. I wanted to dive and, more than anything, I wanted to get as much of my DMT programme over and done with.
I tried to be productive and sit myself down to write a bit, but I genuinely felt uninspired. I tried to read, but couldn’t focus. I only wanted to dive – but that wasn’t an option. The best compromise I could find was to grab a random instructor and complete the rest of my water skills: a 400-metre swim without any equipment (that had me cursing like a sailor, rueing the day I signed up for this), and a rescue scenario (which I was quite adept at by now). In less than an hour, I managed to tick off another section of my training and get more stuff checked off the scoreboard. Progress was slow, but there was definitely some momentum being gained!
Map Madness and Tablet Tantrums
Back on dry land, I found myself restless once again – not knowing what to do with myself given there’d be no diving. Still driven by the need to complete my training, I dragged Adah to the dive shop restaurant to finish off the final part of our mapping project.
Our map of Black Coral Wall, which we’d sketched during our dive the previous day, had to be redrawn in a presentable format before showing it to one of the instructors for approval. I decided I’d go all out – considering I had nothing else to do – and whipped out my tablet, ready to unleash my (very limited) Photoshop prowess. We sat down together, tried to make sense of the scribbles and squiggles, and then attempted to recreate the whole thing digitally.
Adah took the first crack at it. It was an hour of her drawing something, remembering something else, pressing the wrong button, then freaking out when everything went haywire. She kept forgetting what her faded scribbles meant, cursing in Hebrew and turning bright red. As frustrating as it was for her, it was equally hilarious to me. I honestly loved every second of it. After she gave up, I locked myself in my room, went over what she’d done and polished it a bit. Overall, we’d done a good job – something Anthony gleefully confirmed. In fact, when compared to an actual map of the dive site, I’d say it looked quite similar (especially if you squint hard enough).
Rewriting the Script (Again)
Feeling fulfilled after turning a boring day into a very productive one, I found myself chilling on a hammock with a Salva and my Kindle for the first time in weeks. As fate would have it, my moment of relaxation didn’t last too long.
With Tammy doing the rounds to see who’d show up for her extra-special Christmas party, I had to regretfully decline the invitation. Despite the whole toothpaste incident and how generally annoying I am, Amelia practically begged me to extend my stay by one more week so we could celebrate the holiday at Underwater Vision together – with the people we’d grown to love. Neither of us are really fans of Christmas, but, admittedly, it would be nice to spend the holiday with familiar faces instead of being on the road alone. To make that work, I’d need to rearrange my schedule. Staying one more week meant missing out on other places I’d planned to visit.
I scoured my itinerary and realised I could potentially afford to add more days here. By chipping off a day here and there, I ended up cutting my Costa Rica trip from two months to just about three weeks. Spending more time in Utila felt like a small compromise – and one I’d gladly make. The purpose of this trip was to see new places, true, but stumbling upon such happiness in one spot made me rethink everything. And so, I upended my entire itinerary once again – meaning I’d be staying in paradise for a few more days!
As I revelled in this dream-like state where everything seemed to be falling into place, Amelia and I were told that, much like my itinerary, our living arrangement had been upended too. Just like that, we had a new roommate – Andreas talked Matt into switching rooms, claiming we’d been old pals and wanted to stay in the same room.
It was just Andreas’ second day and I already felt like he was suffocating me – now I’d have to put up with him for two full weeks. Utila – my very own paradise – suddenly felt tainted. Grr.
Stay wild,
Marius
Post-Scriptum
This day marked four months since the start of my trip. It felt weird – like it had all just begun, yet at the same time as if I’d been away for years. It kinda felt like I’d moved on from everything back home… except for my job, which I missed more with every passing day.
I barely spoke to my family anymore (which, for me, was a huge plus), but I was still regularly in touch with my friends – and that seemed to fill the void. Plus, even from across the planet, I was still wrapped up in wedding arrangements – I’d be in my best friend’s bridal party, after all. You have no idea how hard it is to find a measuring tape on a tropical island!