Malapascua – Day 3: Stranded in the Storm
MALAPASCUA
Day 3: Stranded in the Storm
October 22, 2024
I woke up to dark grey skies and wind gusts that threatened to pull the doors of my hotel room off. My best guess was that there would, in fact, be no diving scheduled for the day. Spoiler alert: I was right.
The three-minute walk to the dive shop left me drenched to the bone, with palm tree branches and coconuts making for an obstacle course that had me feeling as if I were stuck in a Donkey Kong game. The look on Marvin’s face when I showed up at the shop was one of pure incredulity. No one in their right mind would have even considered diving in this weather. I didn’t either, to be fair. I just wanted to see if they thought it might be possible the following day, though his expression did not offer much hope.
Shared Despair
Somewhat defeated, I made my way back to the hotel to find Chris, a Brit on holiday who had arrived the previous day to dive with the thresher sharks, only to be told that there’d be no dives and no way to leave the island for the time being. He had checked out right after sunrise to see if he could bargain his way out, though no one even entertained the idea of sailing on such rough seas.
Over breakfast, we commiserated with each other, the both of us having taken such a long road to come to this paradise only to find out it was closer to a living hell. With his girlfriend having decided to visit another island for a more relaxing kind of holiday, he was now ruing the day he changed his plans to come diving. I, at the very least, had managed to enjoy a few dives, something I voluntarily omitted to spare him the grief of not having witnessed thresher sharks in the flesh. Poor guy.
A Forced Rest Day
Meanwhile, I’d have the day to myself, stuck in my hotel room and venturing outside only for dinner at a place that served green carbonara, as if that’s a thing.
As disappointed as I was to miss out on more adventures and dives, I could also see a silver lining: I could use this as a rest day. Having done so much over such a short period of time, I had already found myself exhausted from all the travelling. Finally, I’d get to just chill and stay in my room reading and writing, something I had barely had the chance to do as of yet. It felt just like when I was stuck inside my cabaña back in Placencia, Belize, during Hurricane Ian, minus the fancy tree lodge and the domestic-drama soundtrack, that is.
While going over my itinerary once again, I also realised that, had I visited Ross, the Dutch instructor I had met on the Sea Story liveaboard a few months back, I would have probably been diving near a sunny coast right about that time. Perhaps this was karma for having promised him I’d dive with him, only to come here instead. But I mean, come on. I did it for the threshers, and I got to see them!