January, 2007

One of the great attractions of freediving and hunting is that regardless of how long you have enjoyed the sport, every day is full of “First Times”. New places, new conditions, new game, new challenges - the variables are so endless that the magic of new experiences is continually being offered to us. Every dive trip, every dive day and even every single dive, hold a “first time” for us if we look. Immersed in nature there is always something new, something that wows, frightens, surprises, stimulates, inspires us, and lifts us out of the routine and the mundane that is so easy to fall victim to. It is this expectation and the thrill and surprise of something new for the “first time” that keeps us energized and enthusiastic, and makes us more alive than those that are “asleep at the wheel”. So what if it is cold, early, uncomfortable, inconvenient, or dangerours --- we know that the next moment may bring the magic of another special “First Time” experience.

A trip to Coiba would be a first time for Michelle, so with a 4 AM wake up call, we left by truck for the town of Tigre of San Lorenzo, where we would rent a panga to go to the island. Coiba was a prison island for many years but now is a national park and closed to spearfishing. I am all for “No Take” areas but banning spearfishing and allowing “subsistance” commercial fishing, had the expected effect — Nothing was protected and the fish population has been decimated. The only place to stay on the island is a run down camp in a beautiful setting that years ago was a private fishing resort. We knew that we would have to leave the guns in the boat while in the park, but just out of the park, going and coming, sometimes there are fish. The wahoo season was over but we still saw a few small, spooky wahoo and I scored on two. For the first time we had a big bull shark come up out of the depths toward us. With Michelle climbing up on my back I had trouble diving toward the fish as I prefer to do, but when I charged the shark, spear extended, he spooked and went back down. It might have been a different story had he come when I had a wahoo thrashing around on the end of my spear. The last day of the year the conditons were spectacular and we had the entire ocean to ourselves with no boats, nobody fishing, no patrols to hassle us, but also no big fish. The only big fish we saw were out of the park. Three big pargo of 50 lbs. plus and some huge blue jacks cruised around at 60-70 feet, but too deep for us. Returning to the park at night to sleep, we would be totally exhausted but starving from the exercise. You know you are hungry when you can’t wait to jump on a cold can of pork and beans. It is amazing how real hunger impoves the flavor the most food.

New Year’s Day 2007 was another awesome First Time. We were headed back, frustrated by the lack of fish, when we encountered flat seas, blue, warm water, no snakes, and a big floating log. We could see the sun glinting off the blue green dorado before we jumped in the water. This was a first time in that I had never seen such perfect conditions for one of my favorite forms of spearfishing - hunting dorado. Everything was right-- for the first time. On the first fish, Michelle failed to raise the back of the gun to eye level, before firing. She shot high and just clipped the back of the fish. Hanging under the logs and waiting for these colorful, majestic fish to cruise by is really fun. It was a first time for Michelle to see these bigger dorado which make much better targets. The second shot Michelle got dialed in, and had a great battle with a bull dorado that jumped and twisted and swam circles around her. In her excitement she got tangled in the line but managed to free herself. Before all the fish moved on, she managed to celebrate the start of the the New Year 2007 with two more nice fish. It was an intoxicating first time New Years with no hangovers, and the visions of this day with clear, blue, warm waters and the voracious, colorful dorado will live on in our dreams.

Between dive trips we invited Elsy, a relative of Michelle’s, to leave the interior where she lives and come to Panama City for the first time. She had to get up at 3:30 AM and walk, accompanied, for three hours thru the hills to get to the first road. The she rode in the back of a pickup over a very bad road for ½ hour until she got to the first real road and the first bus. From there it is about 8 more hours to Panama. Where Elsy lives there is no power, no showers, no roads, no lights and this was her first time in Panama. During the weeks with us, everything that we take for granted was a “First Time” for her. Michelle and I enjoyed tripping her out because she was energized, curious and open to trying everything. Almost every food was a first time for her, including apples, grapes, hamburgers, fish, pizza, malts, nuts, cereal etc. In two days she was good on a bicycle. On her second day in a pool, in her life, we had her swimming under water with mask and fins. No one had ever taken her shopping for pretty stuff so we all got to play “Dress up Barbie Live”. A fun first time. The movies were another first time. Another great first time was turning her on to the first hot shower of her life. Imagine that at her age. Of course I had to be there to instruct her in the complicated task of turning on the hot water- but only for her own protection, and to avoid serious injury. We also got to hear about life in her world and her belief in spells, witches, superstitions and about the frontier law. Recently, one of her neighbors suspected his wife of infidelity and told her he was going away, then hid nearby and watched the house. Her boyfriend showed up and when they were involved, the husband ran into the house and rolled the guys head with his machete. Then he threw the head at his wife as she wisely vacated the area. Snake bites and machete fights are hazards of living in the interior and a lot of people bite the dust. Michelle’s father, a bad guy, took a couple of bullets years ago and never had them removed. Now he is about to check out, from lead poisioning. Elsy also told us about another girl Michelle knows that started drinking coffee at 6 but breast fed until she was twelve. She would stand in front of her mother and breast feed and drink coffee while her mother was standing talking to the neighbor. Her reports and stories were interesting first times for me.

Elsy had a super visit in the city and all the newness was thrilling and stimulating for her but the constant first times would occasionally be more than she could digest. With some hard work and physical activity, which she is used to and familiar with, we helped keep her grounded and reminded her that these first times are all gifts to be enjoyed.

Since Elsy was not yet ready for a dive trip and was enjoying the city comforts, Michelle and I left her to watch the house while we did another live aboard panga trip to the Perlas. We would have had more fun staying home and playing with Elsy, but the adventure called. We know that the North wind blows during January but we thought we could make the 65-70 mile trip down and back during the lulls in the weather. The trip South, going with the wind, worked fine, at medium speed, as long as I cut power running down the swell so I did not nose into the trough in front of me. Three of four hours of driving to get to the bottom of the Perlas and I was ready for a siesta. We found a quiet, protected little cove and crashed out thinking the wind would subside and we could go dive. Wrong! Another first time! The wind blew for the next four days and nights, without stopping. We could not go anywhere or get to our special spots and the water temp had fallen to 77 degrees and was dirty. We could only dive in the sheltered areas close to shore and there were no fish. It seems we arrived during the change of seasons when the wind has started but the bait had not yet arrived bringing the big fish. Because we had to adjust to the howling wind we did enjoy some new first times of exploring new beaches, looking for fresh water, building huge driftwood fires and shooting targets on the beaches. We tried diving one of our places again and I shot one small bohala but we could not stay on the high spot and Michelle could not control the boat. By the third day of wind, and no good diving, we were ready to go back but we were stuck. We tried going north at 4 AM in the dark and almost lost the boat in the first quarter mile because you can’t see the waves in the dark. At 7 AM we tried again and we hugged the shore at six miles an hour and traveled north for 2 hours to the next island that had protection. The ocean was solid white caps as far as you could see and we still had 48 miles to go across open ocean in our little panga. We anchored in the protected cove and swam in to the deserted beach that had water, shade and tons of driftwood. We needed to recover and decide what to do next since we also had no more food. As Michelle stood on a beached log the calm of the small bay belied the raging wind just around the corner. At 1 PM the wind looked the best we had seen it in four days, so we started North knowing it would be an endless trip. It was! We counted off each mile and for hours we could see no boats and no land in either direction. I was at the wheel for six hours pounding into the waves with the spray coming over the bow constantly. This was another first time, but I hope that it is one that never, ever repeats. The lit up Canal was a welcome sight and as the wind increased for the next three days we were very glad to have escaped the Perlas when we did.

The trip was a disaster, but there were many instructive first times that will make the next trip better. We were a little early, but the agony is forgotten and we are already planning a return trip in February with my brother. Why? All because of the enchantment of the First Time. We want to experience the Perlas when the bait have arrived and the big fish have come to feed. We want to see a big mero materialize out of the murky, cold water at 25 feet and stare at us for the first time. We want to see a fish the size of Michelle that has come up from the depths to feed briefly in the shallow water we can reach breathold freediving for the first time. We are enchanted by the vision of the first time we get to line up on a monster mero and know that it is ours. Will these fantasy first times materialize? I don’t know, but I do know that these dreams are what keep us marching forward to experience more unlimited, magical first times in Mother Ocean. In my daydreams, I can almost sense the big fish around me and I can already visualize the moment when that big Mero turns broadside and gives me the perfect shot-----BAM. “FIRST TIME”

Dix Roper
     January, 2007
     dixroper@earthlink.net