Day three of Swimmer's Itch. Never knew what exactly it was before.....now I do! Essentially it is water borne tapeworm larvae that enter your skin. Human bodies are not a carrier for this particular kind of tape worm, so the larva die in the skin and the carcass' cause inflammation as your body tries to expel the foreign minuscule objects. The visible sign of Swimmer's Itch is raises inflamed itchy spots almost like chicken-pox except without the fluid filled bubble on each spot.
So far Zander and I have found that drinking peppermint tea and rubbing coconut oil on the spots help to reduce the extreme desire to scratch.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Horne Lake
Missed seeing Uncle Shawn off to work AGAIN! Oh well.
Watched August Rush with the little kids and Aunty Lisa then after lunch Zander and I went for a bike ride. Planned on going to Spider Lake then to Gray's, but at the intersection it got changed to Horne Lake. Visibility was amazing, water was colder than Spider but nice and refreshing especially as it was 1500hrs and we had just been biking. Stayed for a while till the sun started looking a little low so figured it was time to head on to the Gray's for supper and a ride home with the folks.
Started reading Saint while hanging out there. First few chapters are amazing. Can't wait to read more of it.
Watched August Rush with the little kids and Aunty Lisa then after lunch Zander and I went for a bike ride. Planned on going to Spider Lake then to Gray's, but at the intersection it got changed to Horne Lake. Visibility was amazing, water was colder than Spider but nice and refreshing especially as it was 1500hrs and we had just been biking. Stayed for a while till the sun started looking a little low so figured it was time to head on to the Gray's for supper and a ride home with the folks.
Started reading Saint while hanging out there. First few chapters are amazing. Can't wait to read more of it.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Qualms
The day is only half way done, but can't wait for evening to come. With a big trip only two weeks away, the crunch is on to organize flights, buses, charters and possible hitch hiking routes. Or....I could just rearrange my life and live different adventures while putting more planning and organizing into this goal.
In past experience, adventures are never quite as much fun in the moment or after the fact if done by myself. Having someone to share the experience with always brings more joy, goofiness, and multiple chances to reminisce at later dates. Also ups the level of risk, adrenaline and self confidence.
So is this trip important enough to me at this moment to warrant doing alone this summer? Am I too bull headed to call it off, swallow my pride, and live smaller adventures until a later time when it might be more conducive to make a grueling multi month hike?
These are all questions running around in my head, among other things. Until a decision is made though, I will take this opportunity to look forward with excitement to tonight when I will be getting together with some experienced divers and going for a boat/wreck dive as my first excursion as a certified open water scuba diver. NO, I do not have any close personal friends going with me, but I choose to have fun nonetheless
In past experience, adventures are never quite as much fun in the moment or after the fact if done by myself. Having someone to share the experience with always brings more joy, goofiness, and multiple chances to reminisce at later dates. Also ups the level of risk, adrenaline and self confidence.
So is this trip important enough to me at this moment to warrant doing alone this summer? Am I too bull headed to call it off, swallow my pride, and live smaller adventures until a later time when it might be more conducive to make a grueling multi month hike?
These are all questions running around in my head, among other things. Until a decision is made though, I will take this opportunity to look forward with excitement to tonight when I will be getting together with some experienced divers and going for a boat/wreck dive as my first excursion as a certified open water scuba diver. NO, I do not have any close personal friends going with me, but I choose to have fun nonetheless
Rivtow Lion
Met up with Sean Manta at the dive shop, loaded my gear into the van then followed him down to the harbor where we met up with a number of other divers. A fellow by the name of Ken owns a wet dive boat and built a skiff for easy transportation of gear.
We all loaded up and headed out, while setting gear together and bantering back and forth. A half dozen guys with lots of experience went down first as the boat is pretty crowded if everyone tries to splash at the same time. Then the rest of us newbies along with Gerald(my course instructor) suited up and jumped in.
Dropped down the Rivtow Lion's stern line and made a half decent stop at the end. Only barely touched the deck which is 60' down! Everything was dark, green and rust coloured, but visibility was darn good. We could see at least 30'! We leisurely made our way down the port side to the bow, found a number of lingcod about 3 feet long, then made our way back down the starboard side then up the stern line again making a safety stop at 20 feet.
Back at the boat I found out just how amazing the skipper is. All you have to do when you get to the ladder is hold on and lift your feet out while he pulls them off for you! Then he went ahead and made a nice big pot of hot chocolate and served it up with dark and white chocolate cookies. YUMMMY!
We all loaded up and headed out, while setting gear together and bantering back and forth. A half dozen guys with lots of experience went down first as the boat is pretty crowded if everyone tries to splash at the same time. Then the rest of us newbies along with Gerald(my course instructor) suited up and jumped in.
Dropped down the Rivtow Lion's stern line and made a half decent stop at the end. Only barely touched the deck which is 60' down! Everything was dark, green and rust coloured, but visibility was darn good. We could see at least 30'! We leisurely made our way down the port side to the bow, found a number of lingcod about 3 feet long, then made our way back down the starboard side then up the stern line again making a safety stop at 20 feet.
Back at the boat I found out just how amazing the skipper is. All you have to do when you get to the ladder is hold on and lift your feet out while he pulls them off for you! Then he went ahead and made a nice big pot of hot chocolate and served it up with dark and white chocolate cookies. YUMMMY!
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