The Azure World

Roatan Islands, Honduras.  Everything about the name of this destination screams “NOT FOR ME”… not for the girl who loves mountains instead of seas, who loves crisp cold over oppressive heat.  Regardless of where I travel during my wanderlust, this has always (and will always) be my personal truth.  But that doesn’t mean that, on a very rare occasion, I can’t find myself enthralled by the antithesis of my heart’s desires, right? 

One of the photos I took at Lam'anai ruins.

I visited Roatan after having already made stops in Cozumel and Belize.  Belize will always have a soft spot for the anthropological archaeologist in me… but aside from their spectacular Mayan ruins, I think they are just like every other third world country.  I’ve heard my brother and dad rave about the scuba in Belize, but I don’t scuba (nor will I take my limited time there for snorkeling when I have so many ruins to explore!).  So, the morning I walked out on the deck and my eyes experienced Roatan, I have to admit I was shocked immediately by the splendor of the rugged and lush hills.  The water between myself and the island was that specific shade of blue that only the Caribe waters seems to create.  If you haven’t seen the Caribbean, I always use the word “azure” to describe it. While “azure” may simply mean "blue" in Spanish… it’s beyond that.  The sultry yet somehow lazy feel of the word on my tongue (Ahz-zhuer) somehow express the devastating yet comfortable shade that I only seem to find here.  Roatan was surrounded by azure waters accented by the crisper, lighter shades indicative of reefs.  Considering I usually went into ports with a sense of “ugh, how ugly” and “welp, at least it’s just a few hours here then back on the boat!”, this was a dramatic change… I was anxious to get off the boat, don snorkeling gear and get in that water.

We (a group of 20 or so) hopped on the deluxe catamaran known as the Jolly Roger and motored a few miles up the coast to a specific stretch of reef.  Experienced snorkelers (or those who were either great swimmers or arrogantly confident that they had no need of a life vest) were allowed to don our gear and hop into the water with a guide to show us to some pretty cool areas of the reef.  I bet you’ve already guessed, but I’m one of those cocky, arrogantly confident types that didn’t want to feel hindered by a life vest.  I have been snorkeling once or twice and I admit that, while I have a wretched fear of the ocean (ok,… of sharks)… I’m also one natural helluva swimmer…. so screw the PFD! (Err… that’s ‘personal floatation device’… a way cooler way of saying life vest.) 

Stoplight Parrotfish c/o RyanPhotographic.com

I hopped in the water and adjusted the bikini, meandering out of the way as I waited on M to jump in.  After he did, he pretty much told me to go on ahead as he adjusted and did his thing.  After a quick 10 yard swim, the reef life below me burst into view flaunting vivid colors of reefs and fishes in varied shapes and sizes.  I made sure I stayed in front of my group (never fun to take a fin to the head!) but kept an eye on where our guide went.  Purple giant ‘leaves’ waved lazily  from the sea floor, rainbows of fishes danced in and out of the reef.  I’d take a deep breath and dive down, going 10… 15… 20 feet down to swim between isles of reef.  I held a starfish who managed to both slither and clamber at the same time as it moved over my hands.  I chased a stoplight parrotfish as we played hide-and-seek from reef to reef.  I gawked in awe at the depth and darkness of the bluff that plunged down at the end of the reef.  I didn’t know it until I got back to the Jolly Roger, but at some point I dove so deep that I managed to give myself a bloody nose and quite painful ear pop which didn’t subside even after I equalized.  When the trip was over,  and no sooner had I been out of the water (blood washed off my face) than I wanted to go back in.  The places I’ve snorkeled were never so wild and free as this… and never in 5’ swells, either (which added to my fun!). 

I fell in love with the island, with the people I met from the island, and with the splendor of snorkeling on their amazing reefs.  While Belize may have equally impressive reefs, I won’t ever find that out (cuz they have SO MANY amazing RUINS!).

Sanctuary

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Melancholy and the art of Distraction

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Please Lose Me in a Hidden World of Enchantment

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"They call it a 'Tripod' because..."

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Where does the onus belong...?

Personal responsibility and accountability…. terms used in so many contexts and catch phrases today.  I suppose you can Google the definitions of those just as well as I; because I won’t provide them for you this time.  I gripe often about our lack of personal accountability (“our” meaning people in general including myself).  Usually, I'm on a total rant-fest about the whole topic... but I’m thinking of aspects of my responsibility and accountability in a different context this time. 

...specifically, surrounding the (my) average blog. 

I have never relied on anyone for validation of what I may or may not post

Nicotye

because my blogging is merely my perception of my world and written more for a sense of “me” than as 100% rock solid fact.  So when someone proposes that I have misrepresented a specific populace by using too general a term… my immediate first thought is “it’s not my job to teach Joe and Jane Q. Public on the specific nuance of said population.”  The comment didn’t make me angry… but it did spur me to think seriously on if it is or is “not my job to teach or specify…”

I think if I’m going to talk about a population that does have "a few shades" within a general term, maybe it is my responsibility to provide a higher level of specificity rather than simply stating "this generalized population". 

I’m arguing with myself.  Is it my responsibility?  I don’t know.  I mean, I can see where it could be… but on the same side of the token, isn’t the onus to understand the context of something broad up to the reader? 

Regardless,… it is well-meaning and good advice… so if I give it logical consideration (which I take pride in doing before conceding to a decision)… I admit a need to keep it in mind for future posts.  So, on that note, I will make an effort to improve and am sorry if I have misrepresented facts based on generalizations.

Global Warming, Carbon Emissions, Fossil Fuel Use, and Ingenuity?

I had a very windy (i.e. relatively heated) debate with Funkdubie over things learned in my Global Change and Climatology Earth Sciences/Geology course when when we were asked to compile everything we had learned, filtering it into answering the simple question of "should we limit carbon emissions?”  

The majority of the debate with Funkdubie was over the science involved, the lack of long-term (think geologic timescales) data, and (to paraphrase myself) the 'grandiose thinking of humans that we know everything, can fix everything, and are the cause of everything'.  I admit, I may actually have something there.  Maybe we are grandiose?  Regardless, that's a different blog!  

When I look at all of the data that I've discovered during this class (800k years of ice core data analysis, the literal climatic history of Earth, etc) and we look at the options for "global warming" and the underlying questions surrounding global warming... being asked if we should force carbon emission and fossil fuel use limitations now is really quite a loaded question.  All of the data doesn’t give some epiphany of an answer; rather, it just prompts me to sit back and ponder even more questions.  In the end, and I’d never admit this to Funkdubie, he had a valid point that we must consider a more socioeconomic motive – no matter what the science says – which always seems to outweigh other things.  His words that actual ring true are: 

“An artificial regulation of resources doesn’t spur ingenuity like an actual shortage of those same resources.” 

While we are working towards a start to fix the carbon footprint of humanity, the pressure to do so is neither readily economically feasible nor are the means that we have “tinkered with” an end-all resolution/solution.  While I commend that we are beginning the eventual proverbial race for alternatives, our current efforts are likely more of a ‘stretching the muscles’ in preparation for the race that is forthcoming.  While we should continue to encourage carbon-emission-fossil-fuel-use-limits, the sad truth is that until we have no options (due to limited resources making fossil fuel use economically arduous), the true meaning behind “necessity is the mother of invention” will likely not transpire.