A Sarong and a Camera

Got up early this morning and went to the ocean.  Finding it cold, I didn’t go all the way in; I just got myself wet.  There was so much stuff I wanted to do, but I didn’t know how to make it happen.  I had no resources that I thought I needed, so I went outside and took some pictures of a lizard.  They’re kinda flighty, so I sat still for a while, hoping it would come to me.  I was playing my “be one with the object” game  -- in this case, the object was a lizard – and as I did, I stopped long enough to realize the presence of God in nature.  Being still for the lizard reminded me that when we still ourselves for long enough, we can encounter God.  And then I began to wonder about all the busy-ness that occurs in my life and the lives of others who say we’re serving God….

So I had fun with the lizards, and I had fun at breakfast with our CME group. I decided to stay behind to try to get to Dolphin Cove.  The hotel charged $1.00 per minute to use the phone to call, but I did, and found there was a reservation available at 3:15. The next step was to wait for the bus driver, Gary, to see if he could get someone to take me for less than the extortionary price the hotel wanted to charg me.  Gary showed up, and he got a friend who was willing to take me to the Dolphin Encounter.  Since I’d used a coupon to book it, the total cost of a driver plus the actual dolphin encounter turned out to be less than what the hotel wanted to charge me for just the driver.

So I came back to my room, changed into a swimsuit, shorts and tee, carrying a bag with a sarong and a camera.  I headed to the beach for a minute, and then went back upstairs to wait on the driver.  All is well.

Gary’s friend Errol had agreed to take me.  Errol was supposed to meet me at 10, 10:30 for the three hour trip to Ocho Rios.  Waiting for him was such great training for me – I couldn’t be too upset since I hadn’t bothered to get his phone number and didn’t turn on my service for here.  I was completely powerless over the situation, and had to be comfortable in that powerlessness.  That was good for me.  I learned that lizards appear to be enchanted when you sing to them.  They stop and pose for pictures. 

When Errol hadn’t shown up  by noon, I decided to head back to the room and maybe brave the ocean again.  I went and took a panoramic picture, then got my laptop to try and Skype a member of the group to see if they saw Gary.  Just as I came up to the main hotel lobby area with my laptop, Gary appeared.  It turns out there had been an accident and Errol was delayed. Gary had been in worship with the phone off, and so had not gotten Errol’s earlier messages.  When he finally did get the message and understood the situation, Gary borrowed Rev. Grant’s car rather than use the van, and took me somewhere to meet Errol.  This would help us to make up some time, plus Errol was going to avoid the main highway and take some back roads.  The goal was to get me to the dolphin encounter by 3.

Except it didn’t work out that way.  He did take the back roads, but he’d confused Dolphin Cove with another tourist place that was closer. We called Dolphin Cove and they told me that no, they didn’t have any later appointments.  Errol and I decided we’d go for it anyway.  That brother DROVE!  I am a bit of a speed demon and take calculated risks.  I could probably give any NYC taxi driver a run for their money.  Errol is a Jamaican taxi driver and the brother gets ALL props from me.

We arrived at the dolphin encounter at 3:40 for a 3:15 appointment I’d told him was at 3:00.  They ushered me right into the 4:00 dolphin encounter.  It seems that package I’d bought entitled me to see the stingrays and sharks and all sorts of stuff, but since the package made the total cost less than what they’d originally quoted for the dolphin encounter, and since everything closed at 5, I opted to just swim with the dolphins and miss everything else.

WHAT AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE!!!! I did a dolphin swim in Bermuda nearly 15 years ago; this one far surpassed it.  We had to swim maybe 40 or 50 yards to the dock, then our dolphin (Misty, a 15-dolphin-years old half Mexican half Cuban dolphin) kissed us, and took us for rides on her belly (we hung onto her fins and she swam backwards), danced with us, sang to us, and did jumps and tricks for us.  Oh, and she swam back and forth in front of us so we could pet her.  THIS WAS SO WORTH ALL THE TIME, EFFORT AND ENERGY IT TOOK TO GET THERE.

So I bought the CD and DVD.  I’ll post a link to the video, probably when I get back home.  As I was leaving, I realized there’s a bit of a park on the premises.  This woman was winding down and asked me if I’d seen the parrots.  I explained that I just came for the dolphin encounter.  She had me come over and let me hold the parrots.  She put one on my shoulder, one on my head, and one in my hand, and then had some guy take a picture.  Here it is:

On the way back home, Errol stopped and let me get some Jamaican coffee.  It was in the same bag (not quite sure it’s the same brand and size) as I saw in the Dolphin Encounter gift shop (where they make you go to pick up your CD, and a different one to pick up your DVD).  It was $31.00 in the gift shop.  It was $7.50 in the little bodega we stopped at.

After I paid Errol, his lights started to go bad.  He’d previously had electrical issues and thought they’d been resolved.  So it took us four hours to get home, with him driving quite aggressively through the twisting and winding tracks they call highways (the state of the roads, apparently is an ongoing issue, so much so that many tourists use helicopters or air taxis from St. Elizabeth to Oche Rios, and tourism in general has subsided in the area.  This clearly does not sit well with the local residents, especially not with those who drive for a living).  He did all that with lights that were probably about as bright as parking lights.  Again, mad props to Errol.

Today’s lesson had to do with recognizing my powerlessness and learning to resist some of that need to be in control.  Sometimes, a sarong and a camera are all you need – you can cover yourself, and you can record what happens, but you can’t control events.  A sarong and a camera are good reminders that the only things I can control are my attitudes and my behaviors.

And because I can't resist, here are just a couple of pictures from the dolphin swim:

 

 

You can see the day's pictures here for the dolphin swim, and you can look here for pics taken on the trip to and from Ocho Rios. 

 

The dolphin swim video is here with video, but you can't see it on a mobile device.  If you're on a mobile device, use this link, but it won't play the music.