Day 13
Woke early with intent to run. I remembered Matt saying he would run every morning. Joining him was my goal. I had forgotten something he had told me yesterday: he would be on the mainland this morning renewing his daughter’s passport. So I waited for some time for him to come outside and when he didn’t I did a short workout. Sweated my memory into working. Remembered. Decided running was overrated, got back into bed.
Motorbiked into the risen sun and a search for breakfast foods. It can be hard to find reasonably priced Western breakfast in Thailand. Breakfast being one of the few Western things we sought, we sought it hard. Our halt occurred at a place called Thor’s, right off the beach. Standard fried eggs and toast are elevated to a level beyond the ordinary when in short supply. I went over SCUBA diving basics with Liz over breakfast. We dive tomorrow. I’m nervous to live up to my minor. Truth is, It’s been so long since I’ve been diving. The ease with which all the SCUBA basics returned to the front lines from their respite in the green zone that is the back of my mind gave me comfort. Tomorrow holds promises. Expectations. Liz motored back from Thor’s, our breakfast spot. It is much more fun to drive the bike rather than ride the back.
We took our time getting in the water to snorkel right off the beach from our bungalow. There’s no sign of anxiety but on the slightest breath of wind blowing in from the mainland. Such a relaxed atmosphere lends itself to slowness. It being a rocky beach it has great snorkeling and clear water. Suburbs of coral rest under the canopy of waving, tall ocean grasses. These rural suburbs supplant themselves close to shore a healthy distance from the otherwise barren sandy environment farther into the deep. A theme developed for our swims in the Gulf as we both got stung by jellyfish an hour into our snorkel. Books occupied our recovery. Five people came by to take out Matt’s kayaks. That was a lot. The majority of the kayakers were in it for the fishing. They had poles and vests and bait.
With all the restaurants being a motorbike away, we decided on beer for dinner tonight. We have a hard time motivating as far as finding food is concerned. Matt conversed with us about geology and adventure. Talked about how we were raised so as to seek adventure as endlessly as we do. Matt was interested in this point as he is raising a daughter, currently 14.
We put the day to bed with a lullaby in the form of the audiobook, The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. We’re almost finished!
thecereallife 