Tide Pool Tidings

It was the Saturday that Jackie was coming home from her week long trip.

I had already grown used to the solitude of living alone. I had my routine and it didn’t feel lonely, though a fishing pole I could have taken down to Rawai pier would have been clutch.

I cleaned the house: made her bed, swept all the rooms, cleaned the kitchen, scrubbed the bathroom (which gets disgusting fast), and swept the leaves out of our driveway.

To combat the occasional funky smells that sneak into the house from time to time I had been planning on picking up some incense. After a quick trip to a flower shop, which is really a place for buying things to “make merit,” such as candles, incense sticks, flowers, and fireworks I had my incense sticks, but no where to burn them without creating a mess.

I struck on the idea of filling one of the giant clam shells that I had been collecting with sand and sticking the incense sticks in the sand – it was something that I had seen on the online when I had been trying to figure out what to do with the shells ages ago. The shell, freshly filled with beach sand, now sits on a small shelf above the door to the bedroom. The shell had looked odd and out of place by itself, so I went ahead and used some of my favorite shells Jackie and I had found so far and made a little sea-shell shrine.

With the house in order and ready for Jackie’s arrival I went out to explore Yai Nui. Yai Nui is a small beach flanked by bare bedrock that slopes into the ocean. Dividing the beach is a tiny rock outcropping jutting out in to the ocean. Just off shore, within swimming distance is a small island – I think Jackie and I will make the swim out too it sooner or later.

(Awesome fishing lure I found . . . Now only if I had the money for a fishing pole)

(My very first starfish, despite having 56 dives under my belt)

With a camera in hand I explored the rocky slops surrounding the beach. I found a fishing lure that brought me back to my childhood, when I would walk the red clay lake front of the Fairfax beach peninsula searching for lost fishing gear. The lure I found is actually probably worth between 200-500 baht! It was quite a find. Also during my explorations I found my first starfish. It seems ridiculous to me that after 56 dives I’ve not seen one single legitimate starfish and here two feet offshore and three feet underwater was my fist starfish sighting. (Jackie on the other hand has seen all sorts of enormous star fish!)

The whole time I spent out exploring new areas I kept thinking about how much fun it would be to get to show the place to Jackie. I think I’m just set on getting to share things with people, it makes the whole experience more worthwhile.

(Crabs in general are camera-shy, but I was able to get a couple pictures before this one jumped)

Jackie and I returned to Yai Nui the next day! We failed the swim to the island, (I have been dealing with an ear infection and had to do a sidestroke to keep my bad ear out of the water) because something was stinging us. It wasn’t jelly fish, but whatever was sting or biting us wouldn’t let up so we turned around. We’ll give it a shot another time.

(Jackie holds up our find before releasing it back into the "wild.")

We did see both of our first blue starfish! It was a spectacular day at the tide pools and beach of Yai Nui for us!