Quel malheur!!!

It’s been a while – my apologies!

Thank you for your kind and welcome feedback so far, it is nice to know how cold and miserable you all indeed are! You have my warmest sympathy... ;-)

So – what’s been going on over the past week? Well, not too much on the one side, on the other side a heck of a lot, which you will find out shortly.

First things first: My course is going well, I am learning so much, with the bonus of a speedy approach of summer, best weather and a beautiful ocean! I am slowly getting to know all the dive spots, further to of course all the guests and my colleagues. I am reluctant to say that I could do this for the rest of my life – but for the moment it is the best experience and so much fun!

Boss Wolfgang has by now really and literally thrown me into the deep water, as I have been leading dives for pretty much every day of the last week! That does not really represent my level of qualification and certification (yet) but it certainly is a good experience – though very responsibility-laden and sometimes nerve wrecking! The fact that someone trusts me with his or her life in 30m depth under surface is something I’d rather not think about too long...but on the other hand I do learn a lot on the go.

The other day I did my first night dive as a guide. Doing the briefing on board, checking on everyone and everything – and then descending into total darkness, hoping that no one will panic, lose their torch, bang their head, abandon the group, run out of air, shoot to the surface etc ...what a scary thought in hindsight! But it all worked out like a treat, everyone enjoyed themselves and we all returned safely.

The base is getting crowded slowly, with many new guests and divers arriving daily! We are leaving port three times daily now, which means that I am totally knackered in the evening, being outside in the sun or underwater all day. But – who’s complaining!? Some dear friends have departed to their homes in Europe (big love to Anja and Riccardo from Munich, to Einar from Norway, and to Heidrun and Christian from Austria, and to Daniel, Alice and Elli from the UK!), and who are dearly missed by Silvia and myself. Amazing how quickly we have made friends out here, so many nice people from all over the world!

My theory studies are not going too well, as they are suffering badly from me being constantly diving. I really need to sit down and start studying seriously...but all those laws about physics and chemistry are just not as tempting as spending an hour deep down in this beautiful ocean...

Silvia amazes me, I must admit. I was so, so worried that she just would not take to diving, that she might find it uncomfortable, scary or uninteresting. But au contraire – she loves it! She just sailed through her Open Water course, eagerly awaiting every next opportunity to dive! So proud, baby – so proud! She is very calm underwater, very concentrated – really a natural. And now also succeeded in her Nitrox course, she will now most likely start her Advanced Open Water course. She’ll overtake me in no time, I am sure!

Plus she is of course her normal self, chatting to everyone, lending an open ear to the concerned, scared or sad – and helping with the daily work at the dive base, what a gem!

Speaking of Silvia...my poor darling had to make a rather unpleasant experience when we moved to stage two in regards to our accommodation two days ago. Basically, after three weeks in our lovely studio here in Pereybere we moved as scheduled to our next stop on the list, to Kuxville in Cap Malheureux, about 5km away from Pereybere. Upon arrival at this complex of beach bungalows, studios and apartments we were introduced to our new flat, and to our new, though ancient maid / housekeeper/ chef / servant lady who was going to be responsible for our wellbeing over the next fortnight.

The flat was rather rustique, any updating and upgrading having been discontinued a good forty years ago. The kitchen was rotting away, slowly dissolving through mould and grime. The bathroom was outside, across the terrace (admittedly with lovely sea views!), and tiny, old and dirty. My precious was not impressed with my choice, and did let me feel it through her tears – especially once she discovered the cockroaches...Until 3am we stayed up, listing anxiously to geckos, roaches, bugs, and probably rats slowly repossessing their territory, turning every loo trip into a nightmare for Silvia, and disallowing any sleep for both of us. Eventually we did pass out, overwhelmed by the daunting thought of living in this hellhole for two weeks – and paying out of our...ears for this too! Silvia put her foot down – not one single night more at Kuxville.

In the morning I went to work to see the first boat off. After that I went back to Kuxville, where Silvia had already packed our suitcases and bags – ready to seek asylum anywhere else but there. We sat down with the ancient German owner of Kuxville to discuss how we can resolve this issue, without having to pay too much of the originally agreed € 1,700...The lady showed us two more studios and flats in the complex, but Silvia really had made up her mind that she just could not face another night in this place at all.

So, we asked for some time to discuss our options, and following Silvia’s intuition went back to Blue Bird, where we had lived for the previous three weeks. Petra, the landlady there, had told me at the booking stage many moons ago that she was fully booked and hence we could only rent here for the initial three weeks. Upon seeing the traces of last night on our faces, and the horror and desperation in Silvia’s eyes Petra quickly came up with a plan how we can stay in some of her studios by moving a few times within the complex, and eventually move into one, whose rental luckily got cancelled at short notice, on a more permanent basis. We are saved!!! Silvia gave our saviour the biggest hug, and we quickly raced back to Cap Malheureux to fight our battle. Fortunately the old Mrs Kux was very reasonable, and agreed that we would not have stay at her place any longer – and released us out of our contract. My deposit of €340 is of course gone, but moving back to where we were will save us a great deal more, as it costs less than half to rent.

And – my little Silvia can sleep at night! I am not too sensitive when it comes to crawly things – but the level of hygiene was just not acceptable, especially at a high price.

But – all good, as we are back in our beloved and clean little studio, with internet, no bugs whatsoever, in walking distance to the dive school, and with our two little dachshund friends...

I have rented a scooter, and immediately swopped it with one of my work colleagues, so that we now have access to a car! Car is a flexible term...it is an old, tiny, beaten up, rusty but ever so charming convertible 4x4 (photos to follow) in which we now bang around in true surfer style!!! So much fun!

Summer really is approaching fast now, it is above 30 degrees every day, with blue skies and merciless sun, and the water temperature was 27 degrees today – heaven! My skin tone is currently undecided between a deep Germanic red and a muddy touch of brown tan – we are getting there!

So, your eyes must be hurting – I do apologize for the lengthy elaboration...

All good here at the Indian Ocean front – lots of love, warmth and happiness from here to you!