The excitement we had gone to bed with quickly evaporated when I awoke to my alarm at 4 am to find the room hot and to hear heavy rain pelting the thatch roof.

We needed to leave for the dive shop around 5, so we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to get ready. But we woke to find that the power had gone off sometime during the night (with the flashing clock as proof) which had turned the air conditioner off and caused the water to shut off (thanks to the pumps losing power). We brushed our teeth with bottled water and Christian took our trash can to fill it with seawater for flushing the toilet. Of course at the front of our minds was the hour and a half boat ride out to dive at Turneffe (which we had already paid for and couldn’t cancel now). We called the dive shop to see if the dive was still on- yes it was. We had expected as much since the forecast called for periods of rain but not high winds. We grimly packed up our gear and just hoped for the best. We got a break in the rain as we headed for our golf cart and loaded up our bags. We drove through the sleeping town with very few people, and no other golf carts, in sight. We parked close to the alley that would carry us from Front Street to the beach near Amigos Del Mar dive shop. There were only a few people milling around at this hour as we tried on BCDs for the trip. They had two boats leaving early this morning, one to Turneffe and the other to the Blue Hole. We saw the large dive boat being prepared and I was relieved that we would at least have a completely covered area in which to weather the stormy ride. Fresh fruit, homemade cinnamon bread, and cheese was laid out with juice and coffee to accompany them. But I was too nervous (thinking about our bumpy ride to the Blue Hole last year, and wondering if today’s ride would be as bad) to eat anything. Just as I was convincing myself that it would not be a bad ride on the big boat, a divemaster came and told us we could go ahead and load our things on the Turneffe boat, which was the completely open 38 foot boat sitting just in front of the large boat going to the Blue Hole. Oh no!

The rain had started coming down heavily again and the divemaster advised us that we may want to go ahead and put on our wetsuits since we would be in the rain anyway. We reluctantly struggled into wetsuits while I weighed out in my head whether I was willing to lose the considerable fee of the trip by cancelling now. But in the end I decided that we had probably faced worse conditions than this on a dive, and I’d tough it out. When all 8 divers were ready to go Jaun, our divemaster for the day, gave us a quick briefing on what to expect. We’d do three dives with lunch provided between the second and third. We all made our way onto the boat and stuffed our backpacks into the dry compartment at the front. With wetsuits and rain jackets on (a strange combination) we settled in for the long, wet ride. The rain pelted us even harder in the speeding boat and we turned against it with our heads low to protect our faces (the only exposed part of our bodies). The rain continued for a while but we eventually outran it. The boat ride was not nearly as bumpy as I had thought it may be with the wide boat taking the waves easily. Of course we had not made it outside the reef yet. About halfway through the trip, a good distance south of Caye Caulker, we made our way through the reef into the rough seas beyond. The bone-jarring pounding of the boat after each wave along with periods of cold rain made the 45 minutes left seem like hours. As we approached the Turneffe Islands the water calmed tremendously and the rain stopped with tiny slivers of sunshine peeking intermittently through the clouds. We reached the spot for our first dive and we all quickly got ready. We rolled into the water one by one and descended into what can only be described as a real-life aquarium. Beautiful crystal clear water and coral of varying shapes, sizes, and colors surrounded by hundreds of colorful tropical fish. We moved slowly next to the wall of coral that descended out of sight below us. Lobsters hid in the crevices and under ledges and a few walked boldly across sandy expanses. Small coral-banded shrimp hid in coral tubes and green and spotted eels alike poked their heads out from their own hiding places. We watched in awe as a large, beautiful spotted eagle ray glided slowly and gracefully past us. Sea Turtles rested on boulders or swam effortlessly around us. Overhead we could see literally thousands of fish in large masses silhouetted against the backlit ocean surface above us. The 50 minute dive flew by and we soon surfaced to cloudy skies (no rain) and boarded the boat. The dive had been spectacular, and we all had stories to tell of our encounters with the marine life.

The hour long surface interval brought us another round of rain, but as soon as we went underwater at our second spot, I forgot about all that. The second dive was no less thrilling than the first. The landscape was slightly different here but with the same huge variety of marine life. Our next surface interval brought us near one of the small islands on which was perched a fishing shack and a pile of conch shells. We anchored near the beach and had a lunch of traditional stew chicken and rice and beans along with potato salad. We all hungrily dug into the food. After lunch Juan took all the leftover food to the fishermen on the island, while the boat captain, Alex, entertained us with stories of his wilder days of feeding eels with fish held between his teeth which stopped when he was bitten by one trying to get to the food (as he showed us the scars to back it up). We were finally ready for the third and final dive of the day. It had turned into a warm partly, cloudy day with only mild wind. The third dive was again similar to the first two and did not disappoint. We came back onboard and prepared for the return trip.

It had been on my mind all day, but now that we sat quietly during the bumpy ride back, I had time to dwell on the fact that today was the 5 year anniversary of my accident. Right about this time on that day I was also enduring a pretty rough ride, but instead of being in the stunning beauty of the Caribbean after fantastic dives, I was in the bumpy back of an ambulance with an armful of crushed bones and a morphine drip in my arm that I would soon find out I was allergic to. I had no idea in that moment what lie ahead of me. I had in mind I’d have one surgery to repair my arm and head home in a couple of days with little complication. But of course that’s not how it worked out. Looking back on that year I can see the blessing in the midst of the pain, but that day I could only see the pain. Even now I don’t actually know what life has in store for me, and I don’t really mean painful things (although I know there will be some), mostly I mean wonderful things. But what I know now is that I can face anything that comes my way. I felt God’s presence every step of the way then as I do everyday now. I’m now more courageous and more adventurous and I want to live life more fully. February 18th no longer brings tears to my eyes like it used to, it’s more of a melancholy feeling while remembering a painful time but rejoicing in how far I’ve come and how much I’ve changed as a result. I no longer am surprised when I have pain in my arm. It’s normal now. And that fact doesn’t upset me or make me question “why me”? Instead I see it as an inconvenient side effect of all the wonderful things God has done for me through something that seemed too horrible to ever be redeemed.

We returned to our hotel tired but happy after our 9 hour day on the water. We changed and went to dinner but talked of little else than the day we’d had. Realizing we have less than a week left of this incredible trip makes me want to take advantage of every moment. But after a rather arduous day today; tomorrows version of taking advantage of every moment may look a lot like resting.