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Wadi by moonlight

Well
what can be said about the desert
it instills some kind of solace that is hidden from other environments.
We travelled about an hour south in a an old jeep with some
fellow searchers of all ages and sizes(8 of us.)
along the red sea till we moved inland slicing through the rock
and passing through shafts of basalt on our journey back inward.
It's remarkable to think how old this area of the desert is.
So many sandstone outcrops riven up by the geomorphic battle that has been
raging underneath here for millions of years.
Luckily for us it's created a most amazing location that
we can view for our brief scratch on this surface.

Arriving at the wadi you can see the time and the age
written all over the rock. I guess in many ways
we are just such temporary fools visiting the
area and sharing in it's ancient silence.

As the moonlight came up over the peak
and lit the valley we all gasped and felt humbled in it's
uniqueness. So far away from the madness that is
the western existence. No light pollution
just the sky, stars and father moon giving us some
light to help us glimpse a bit of the wild.

We watched as our guides made us food on a fire
and Lotta my free diving friend and her husband
entertained us under a rock face lit by 30 or so
wonderful candles. magic.

I wandered away to find some quiet and enjoy the wadi
how many millenia had this been here: Hidden, timeless
and at peace?

I made my small mark in the sand.....

we wandered back to the light the noise and the
sounds of habitation...

the desert is there for you

both inside and out

Bo

Denistry white

Well it has been sometime since i re-blogged.
Forgive me as i have been out enjoying my final days
picking folk up from the airport and really just mellowing out over here
before the great return to the greyness of the motherland. Urghhh

SO thought I would get my teeth cleaned as it's been a moon or so
and its much cheaper over here.

As you can imagine I checked everything before hand as
I know w wee bit about sanitation having a degree in biology.
It was comforting in the dentist as the first thing i saw was an autoclave which
is an absolute for cleaning their instruments.

I have the worlds most sensitive teeth so i
explained all this to the PHD man that was dealing with my teeth.
He smiled back at me with those million dollar crowns that
always make you feel happy and yet hopeless as your teeth
look like something from the nightmare on elm street.

Anyway the place was small and very clean,
Which is more than can be said for the bathroom
which had last years faeces in it. Dr Adel had a wonderful reputation
and all the ex pats gave him glowing reviews.

The strange thing was he had a tv screen right there in front of
where he worked. Not for me but for him to watch his
arabic tv soaps and 1970s movies.It seems to be a must in Arabia for folk to
sit and watch the teeth whether they are cleaning teeth, meat , or chicken.
I mentioned that i didn't understand Arabic so the volume went down a Little anyway.
Before i knew it he was in and doing his thing with what looked like very
clean 6" nail. Arghh yes they are my teeth. Fuckers hurt when i take a pee so
it's always a chore going to the dentist. I must say he was rather good. no real pain
other than what i experience when i eat glass. He took so much care and did a very thorough scan.
Then halfway through I heard Kermit the frog.
Kermit the fucking frog?
Was I tripping yet again. Good god Imagine what i would be like if i actually took
any drugs. Nope it was his telephone singing the Muppet song. It seems that all Arabians
find it necessary to have the most ridiculous ring tones. Regardless of intelligence and
position. So he answered it spitting vowels everywhere like they do in Arabia and get back
to the job in hand.

Needless to say my mouth fits my looks now very
charming for a beater.

more from the edge...

Bo

p.s. is anybody out there ?

Blue (freediving)

down
slow
easy
motion
into the void
surface gone
just me now
deeper
faster
stop finning
start smiling
alone
bottom
...
..
.

no surface
no divers
solace
silence

just being

the ascent
slow
controlled
vermiform movement
lungs burning
time ....
sunlight
shimmer

new realm

surface


bo

death

sadly a young Korean diver died at the
blue hole here out in Egypt. I've dived it may times
and can empathise with what it must have been like.
She was diving out of our camp so the mood was somewhat
somber and realistic. It's always a chance to grasp meaning
and insight...

Also one of the silent masters passed.

Maurice Graham, who began hitching rides on trains as a
teenager and was known as the "King of the Hobos," died Saturday
at a nursing home in Napoleon, Ohio, his family said.
He was 89 and had recently suffered a stroke.

AS my lovely mother says

'Get busy living or get busy dying!'

Bo

The furry cup

It's been three years since i have been diving
which is a little odd for me
at my lowest times I would always meditate
back to the deeper blue and it rarely disappointed me.

Today was just a check dive so I had some fun at 6 m
just doing all the skills that I had become a little rusty on.
Masking, fin pivots etc...

It felt like i had hardly been out of the water
I'm lucky in that I find diving like most sports
pretty easy and very enjoyable.

I can honestly say that it was a a pleasure
to just pay under the blue for a while.
There's always something remarkable in the water
and it's very liberating.

I spent the whole day on Wednesday web designing
whatever you do don't tell folk that you're a web designer
or you may get roped into helping them do there biz site.

http://www.oxygene.se/Index.asp?Action=ShowArticle&ArticleID=320&FolderID=0&UnitID=65

it was fun though even if i didn't have any of
my equipment here.

I have been rather lazy of late
just chilling out ....


much more soon

Bo

deep blue

Hello

today could be called a very chilled day with some rather odd
occurences. As I am turning into a bit of a lardy bastard I thought I
would swim across the bay. So I turned up and walked over to an area
At the left of the bay and kit up ready foir the 600 metre swim.
It's easier with fins on but still a bit of a trek.
Across the bay in the middle there's just you and the jellyfish.
When I was younger it was full of dolphins and sharks, but now
they have all gone away to saudi for some peace. Anyway,
it's the thrill of doing it alone out in the blue abyss. Meditationg as you fin out
away from folk man and madness. (Leaving the music behind and the touts and
restaurants is quite liberating as theya re constantl trying to get you in.)

Then to stop in the middle and just drift with the slight current and look
down into my favourite blue wonder. nothing but shimmering blue and light
rays going away to the depth. Nothing like it really.
Questions running around my head are drowned out by marvel and joy.

On a lighter note later on I went to a little sandwich bar and was trying to
relax after my bay swim with a few sarnies ( with a few taiwanese chaps)
when what can only be classed as a very young camel decided to try and grab the food.
From behind my shoulder he came round and tried grabbing the fries and the left over
bread from our sandwiches.
Interesting to see an animal over 6 ft tall thats almost newborn trying to muscle
our food away. It was actually quite cute but a bit unsettling.
After a few flicks to try and get him away the owner came out
and spent a minute giving him grief and pushing him away.

After a few mins of laughter we were all
settled and watched him fart off round the street corner.

The realities of arabia

you shall have to come and see it all for yourself

Bo