Man on the Moon

"From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free."


In all probability, I may never walk on the moon or hula the rings of saturn. Yet living on an island surrounded by coral, a chance to come close exists. There is a reason that cosmonauts undertake extensive scuba training, in order to simulate the effects of outer space. Diving enables one to transcend the boundaries of space and experience altered gravity.


Due to budget constraints, it took Michelle 10 months to acquire her entire scuba arsenal. On Tutuila there is no local dive shop & the "de facto operator" from the National Park Service recently left the island for good. There is however a local dive scene, consisting of business owners, construction workers, engineers, and doctors. To fill your tank, take 5 bucks to Industrial Gases and return in the afternoon for pick-up. Previously, someone even delivered my tank to the hardware store near our house for free (that was until the tsunami leveled the store), which I reciprocated with chocolate cake.


The recent tsunami has decimated certain parts of the coral reef, leaving other sections virtually untouched. On an overcast Saturday afternoon, we headed over the pass to sleepy Fagasa Bay. The house next to where we usually launch our sea kayak and dive was decimated. A large crack split the foundation of the house in 2, all windows blown out, and our friend's things on the street. He recounted the day of the tsunami- frantically driving his family to higher ground when the first wave slammed their car into a concrete wall, water rushing over top of the vehicle. Luckily, they managed to emerge unscathed, he said "families are harder to repair than houses." He was sweeping up the rubbish that once was all his earthly belongings, said he "never saw anything like this before."


After such a melancholic story, we descended beneath the 1.37ft high tide. Fagasa reef is a land of enchantment, with coral spirals resembling Gothic architecture. The dive plan followed a northeast bearing, returning at 1500 psi or half-tank. Species encountered: Green turtle, Moorish idol, Surgeonfish, Giant clams, Sea slugs, Pipefish, Racoonfish, Clownfish, Trevally, among others. Dive log maximum depth 42 feet, 57 minutes, overcast. For you camera geeks, photography was shot with Olympus 740 stylus with Pt-035 waterproof case.


As a student in July/August of 2008, I recall thinking how great it would be to live in a place where you could scuba dive after work. With Faga'alu reef in front of the hospital and Utelei reef 5 minutes from the house, we can dive twice per week. The world seems to become larger when you dive, as you transcend into another medium. Also, the cardiovascular work-up keeps the arteries open.

Our brief diving history started in September 2008, becoming PADI certified after a 5 day course in Hilo, Hawaii. After much research, we embarked on a 3 month trip through the coral triangle- Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea. Home to the highest density of marine life/coral diversity in the world. Now living in the Samoan islands, we are slowly building a catalog of diving experience.


"A lot of people attack the sea, I make love to it."
Jacques Yves Cousteau