THAT SINKING
FEELING
The sinking feeling is better than the exploding feeling any day.
Take a look at David sinking down to his calves in soft mud on
Difnein Island in the Red Sea. This picture doesn't
show the expensive video camera that he has in his hands as his
feet disappear beneath the mud - hopefully not quicksand.
You can just see the tip of the tripod at this top of this
picture, evidencing the fact that David and his camera are
foundering in the muck.
Sinking in the mud can be scary because you don't know how far
down you are going to sink. Fortunately, there were some
rocks nearby and David handed me the camera. That lightened
his load by about ten pounds and freed up his hands so he wouldn't
make a swan dive into the mud after losing his balance. The
suction from the muck almost claimed his Teva sandals, but
resourcefulness and perseverance made it possible to save David,
Tevas, and camera.
Unknown to us, several hundred yards to the east, there was a
minefield on Difnein Island. There weren't any sign posts
warning people about the land mines, and we strolled through the
minefield visiting a giant osprey nest, and we also followed the
tracks of sea turtles who laid their eggs high up on the beach.
We were fortunate to not get blown up during our Difnein Island
Adventure.
After we returned to our yacht, someone called us on VHF radio and
told us about the land mines. We went to another boat and
checked the Red Sea pilot, and sure enough, the map of the eastern
half of the island showed landmines.
Whoops. That was a close call.
There's no doubt about it. During that day on Difnein
Island, life was good.
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