Mardinian: Come dive a wreck with me!

Once upon a time, a 3222 ton steamer named SS Mardinian - built in 1913 in Middlesbrough by Harkess & Son Ltd - departed from Calcutta with a cargo of hemp, bound for her home port of Liverpool. She was 313 feet long (95.4m), with a 42 foot beam (12.8m wide) and 21 feet deep (6.4m). She had a triple expansion steam engine which could propel her to a speed of up to 10.5 knots. Little did Captain G. Port know that on the 19th of May 1917 a German U-34 submarine would intercept them off the coast of Santa Pola in the Province of Alicante, Spain, and order the crew to abandon ship before sending the Mardinian to the bottom of the Mediterranean, 4 miles SW of the island of Tabarca, by means of a well-aimed torpedo. And there she remains to this day, to the delight of scuba divers who come from near and far to admire this steel skeleton, now home to a myriad of marine critters.

Last month I was looking for a somewhat "different" from my usual dives to celebrate my birthday, so I contacted one of the dive clubs I sometimes go out with and Carlos, the owner, advanced his scheduled wreck by one day so I could join in! I was a bit worried about going down so deep, the deck is at 44m depth (144ft) which is deeper than recreational divers "usually" go. Plus that was the minimum depth as the ship's hull was resting at 57m (187ft) on a bed of sand. My dive log tells me my max was 47.7m (the deepest I've ever been). Because of this depth, those of us going down with regular tanks (as opposed to the two technical divers going down with "trimix"), would have to do a series of decompression stops (to eliminate residual nitrogen in the body). Between that and the fact that at greater depth you use up more air, we had to each take along an extra tank for safety!

Yeah, I know. Looks awkward, doesn't it? Even more so rolling back over the side of the boat and holding it steady so it wouldn't hit me in the face! :p

Once in the water it was simply a mater of following the buoy line down, down, down. With the unpleasant surprise of discovering a piece of fishing line with a hook had twisted itself around the rope and was still actively fishing! :o(

DON'T abandon your fishing gear people!!! >:(

A fishy taste of things to come...

I don't know how long it will take me to prepare the post (takes a while to edit the photos and video footage)... but I wanted to give you guys an aperçu of something special I'm putting together for you! ;o)

Thing is... I have another dive post I wanted to do first (and should have already done! the photos are finally all edited), so I don't know whether to have this skip ahead or do things in order! One of them is about a WWI wreck off the coast of Alicante... I'll let you guys decide! 

Wreck first?

 or night-time first? ;o)

Olympic fragments and aquatic delights

Woah! I'm still feeling a bit of an Olympic hangover... can't quite let go of those crazy intense two weeks! I saw waaay more TV than was good for me (including watching both Opening and Closing Ceremonies until their ends in the wee hours of the morning). At times I even had two events going on simultaneously (usually when tennis was involved): one on the TV and one streaming live on the computer! :p

Googlympics

Did anyone notice the changing "Doodles" each day during the Olympics over at Google.com? Two weeks of Olympic Sports in Doodles! And some of them were actually games you got to play with your arrows and space bar... old school fun! :p

I thought they were quite fun and saved all the images (had to be a bit creative to get the interactive ones) and here they are! Just click on the first one and then the arrows to go on to the next to get them in a larger view than here below.

Olympic Excitement

THEY'RE FINALLY HERE!!! 

By "they" I mean the Olympics, and by "here" I mean London... well, and on our TV/computer screens! ;o)

Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE the Olympics? No? Well I do! Since as far back as I can remember. The Opening Ceremonies are always thrilling (my clearest early memory is the lighting of the torch in Barcelona'92... with a flaming arrow! And then watching Spain win Gold in football). I'm constantly amazed when I watch the gymnasts -how do they do that?!?!?!-, thrilled with the divers, mesmerized by the synchronised swimming, excited by the team sports, my adrenaline starts pumping with the speed of the swimming and running and I'm simply moved in each medal ceremony I watch (no matter whose anthem is playing). I love having the chance to see sports that are never given any air time. And I particularly enjoy them when I'm living in a time zone that allows me to enjoy as much of the events as possible! This year it's more special because thanks to a wonderful blogger I'm able to see some of the goings-on backstage, through the eyes of one of the volunteers! ;o)

The Olympic Fever is a widespread phenomenon I think... Some of the kids who live in my complex have been playing at "synchronised swimming" in the pool! Not too bad either!

Movie Madness: The Dark Knight Rises

Holy flying batmobile batman! (sorry, I just had to do that! :p )

O! M! G!

And any other variant on that exclamation. In various languages. That was me during the movie! Woah! Holy shhhh... Oh no they didn't! AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! no no no no NOOOO!!! La vache!!! Pu***n!!! Jod**r!!! WOAH!!!

Damn. I was so glued to me seat I couldn't get myself out of it until the credits finished rolling (I blame the music). Just in case there was one. final. scene. (there isn't)

I can't quite believe he did it. Nolan actually crafted a trilogy in which each film was better than the previous one! Each one independent, and yet part of a greater whole. I loved how in this one there were flashbacks to crucial character moments from the first and second films, a reminder of certain key moments for those who'd seen them, or a useful bit of information if by some strange circumstance one was watching this one without having seen the others (like a friend who went with me). Let these be a lesson to those who think they can get away by just rehashing their previous material.

If you know nothing about this movie (aside from what you saw in the previous two films) then STAY AWAY from spoilers! I had heard something about one of the characters and it sadly ruined one surprise for me.

The Dark Knight Rises takes place 8 years after The Dark Knight ends. Commissioner Gordon's and Batman's plan (to have Batman take the fall for the crimes of a deranged Dent) worked. The city passed some stricter anti-crime laws and organised crime seems to now be a thing of the past, and no one has seen or heard from Batman since that fateful night. Of course we know this state of affairs isn't going to last (otherwise we wouldn't be here watching!). They did a great job in showing how this major lie has weighed on the two men who carry all that responsibility on their shoulders: Gordon and Bruce Wayne. Well, actually Bruce Wayne is still living in the past, hasn't gotten path that other death at the end of Dark Knight... *sigh* 

Great introduction to Selina Kyle a.k.a. Batwoman! And although Anne Hathaway may not have quite the same sex appeal of a Michelle Pfeiffer, she's leagues above Halle Berry's work in the role! And she did great with the action scenes and showing both strength and vulnerability in her character! I thought she was fantastic! :o) 

Also loved our new cop friend whose name I can't remember right now (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) because he gave a different name later and that was a WOAH! moment for me so that's the one that stuck!  (but him figuring out what he figures out seemed a bit far-fetched to me, even if it was "recognising the look on his own face") And he is a key character in this film, he kind of gets the ball rolling and in a way we see most of it through is eyes.

Bane was very impressive, and although the voice is a bit annoying, you get used to it. Loved the way they used him to make the rest of the characters learn and grow... and get beaten to a pulp! And boy does he have a good story! :p

Could have used more scenes with Alfred, but enjoyed seeing Commissioner Gordon again! Count me in for any future Gary Oldman movies! :o)

And Christian Bale. Wow. His performance was just perfect as both Batman (they improved his funky voice a bit) and Bruce Wayne! A broken man who needs to be broken even more before he can rise again...

In case it isn't obvious: I LOVED IT!!! 

Loved the way they started things up again. Loved that they were consisted with the consequences of the second film. Loved Bruce's wake-up call and Alfred's loyalty. Loved the twists and turns. And LOVED the endings! Little tid-bits that wrap things up nicely and yet leave room for us to imagine oh so much more! :o)

(finally a movie I've gotten excited about this dreary summer!)

Cherry on top? I got to see it in ENGLISH!!! No dubbing! YAY! :D

For a more thorough review, may I recommend visiting Billie Doux? (I really enjoy their reviews of genre movies and TV shows) And don't worry, no spoilers! ;o)

In the Inky Darkness

I wish I had the words, a talent for poetry, then perhaps I could find a way to convey the exquisite delight of this evening's outing...

It involved me being out on a moonless night.
Under about 15m (50ft) of nice warm water (27ºC ~ 80ºF).
The only light, that which shone from our torches.
8 beams of light illuminating a swath of seagrasses, then darkness.
Shining under a rock, looking for life, and finding it!
An octopus halfway out of its den, can't quite decide whether to venture forward to hunt, or retreat from the intrusive lights.
The filament arms of a Bonellia inch across a rockface, searching for food.
The vast armies of sea cucumbers slowly make their way across the seabed, or a rockface, filtering their supper.
A brittlestar lets itself fall to the ground from a rock, then starts climbing up another.
A few fish can be spotted here and there under the overhanging rocks, trying to sleep.
Others do so by resting on top of the rocks.
Squeal of delight upon seeing a squishy, blotchy purple Aplysia, a sea hare! Rhinophores aimed forward, moving around as if searching. And next to it two others! More cross the paths of our lights over the next 40 minutes, about a dozen in total. 2-3 the size of my hand, the others up to 30cm (1ft)! Two caught in a compromising position (they're lucky I don't have the equipment for nighttime photography!). One elegantly swimming in the water column. A couple more moving slowly along over the rocks, grazing on the seaweed.
And then finally another little octopus, but this one out wandering on the top of a huge boulder. Tentacles spreading forward, then contracting to bring the body closer in. Shying away from the light, but there's no place to hide.
And then it's time to head back up to the surface, slowly yet surely.
A safety stop at 5m, holding on the anchor line, with the itty-bitty zooplankton flicking by in the water column, so dense it's as if your hand were in a mini-shrimpy soup!
We clear the water's calm surface, and the stars fill the heavens above.
Divine!

And now it's time for bed.

Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology!

Cue John Williams soundtrack for the Indiana Jones movies (you know, ta-ta-taaaaaa ta-ta-taaaaa ta-ta-taaaaaaaa ta-ta-ta-taa...)

Football Fever hits a HIGH in Spain!

During the month of June temperatures were slowly increasing throughout Spain, and I don't just mean the ones measured by an atmospheric thermometer (although I'm glad that particular heat wave finally cracked!). There has been a wave of RED spreading across the country... It started out on June 10th with an immediate impact on all segments of the population, including its youngest members:

The intensity increased over the next couple of weeks, invading our supermarkets...

and even taking over the streets at times during the Hogueras:

The climax hit us last night, on July 1st, as we prepared for the possibility of entering the history books...

'tis the season...

...to burn things down!!! 

Well, at least it is in Alicante! Yup, it's time for the HOGUERAS DE SAN JUAN! When the city goes nuts (more than usual), streets get cut off, and people set up huge sculptures made of paper, wood, cardboard... anything that burns really. And then BURN it all down! :p

Monday afternoon I wandered down to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento to see if they had started with the "Plantà", a.k.a. setting up the "official" hoguera (the one representing the city, which doesn't compete with the others)... and boy had they! 

Oceanic Blog-A-Thon 2012

Welcome, welcome, welcome! 

It's time for our World Oceans Day annual get-together of bloggers who care about our seas and oceans and want to help protect them and increase awareness about how important they are, whether on a personal level or an environmental or scientific one. It's time for the 4th annual

OCEANIC BLOG-A-THON!

 

4th edition already?! How time flies! Seems like just yesterday I learnt about World Oceans Day and was wondering what I could do to honour it... and so many wonderful people joined in the fun for the past three editions with some fabulous posts, I can't wait to see what you guys have prepared this year! My post probably won't be up until tomorrow because I'm presently sleep-deprived and exhausted from all day travelling home from Greece... and in desperate need of a REAL shower! A week on a sailboat with just minimum water showers... fun but... ;o)

from World Atlas.com

Speaking of Greece, how about a few Oceanic Facts about the Aegean Sea to kick off this year's edition? 

Mystery Fish for WOD

Happy World Oceans Day!!! 

Shall we have a lovely little fishy celebration? ;o)

Over the past several days I've been leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to help you figure out whom I've chosen to celebrate WOD:

• 1. I'm a marine fish (although some people might think I don't look like one)
• 2. I can been found in deep and shallow and warm and temperate waters all over the world

• 3. I've got a mouthful of teeth and my bite can have very nasty consequences
• 4. But I'm shy so if I bite you it was probably your fault! (see story here)

• 5. I'm usually nocturnal. That means I prefer coming out of my hiding place (in crevices or holes) at night to look for food.
• 6. I rely on my sense of smell to find my prey, so if you're a stinky dead critter all the better for me! I help clean up the sea bottom of rotting corpses. But I also hunt for small tasty critters to munch on! ;o) 

• 7. I'm part of a big family: around 200 species ranging in size from 10 cm to over 2 m in length and many different possible colours.
• 8. We might vary in size and colour, but we pretty much all have an elongated body which flattens a bit towards the end and we have a single dorsal fin and a ventral fin.

Happy World Oceans Day! oops!

Sorry folks, but if you're seeing this post instead of the solution to the Fishy Guessing Game then it means I didn't have time to complete my post in the rare moments I had internet access while sailing between the Saronic islands in Greece... my bad! If it makes you feel any better I'm probably terribly sunburnt right now! :p

Fortunately I programmed this (and the other guessing posts) ahead of time so I could wish you a

HAPPY WORLD OCEANS DAY!!!

I'll finish up my fishy post asap and launch the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon as soon as I get home tomorrow! Might even buy internet credit in the Barcelona airport (I do have a 5h layover) to get a heads start...

I can't wait to see what you guys have prepared to celebrate World Oceans Day! :o)

Final Fishy Clues!

Last two clues in our fishy guessing game! Have you figured it out yet? These two should confirm any guesses you might have made! Might also help if I reminded you that many of those clues are things I've told you about this fish in a Fishy Fridays episode... did anyone remember that? ;o)

Final clues:

9. I look like a snake

10. I've played a villain in a Disney movie

So, tomorrow is WORLD OCEANS DAY!!!  :o)

And Saturday the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon begins! You've got until Sunday evening to finish up with your posts! ;o)

Fishy Clues 7 & 8

Two more clues!!!

7. I'm part of a big family: around 200 species ranging in size from 10 cm to over 2 m in length and many different possible colours.

8. We might vary in size and colour, but we pretty much all have an elongated body which flattens a bit towards the end and we have a single dorsal fin and a ventral fin.