Disney had it all wrong...

It's been 33 days, 4 countries, 4 equator crossings and countless packing frustrations but it all paid off today...the wetsuit made an appearance.

Those who are regular readers (I'm pretty much talking to Staci and Gretchen here) will recall the disaster that my attempt at scuba diving turned out to be in Cambodia. But not to be deterred, and anxious to see the underground ecological world of the Mnemba area of Zanzibar, I underwent the humiliating expereince of donning the wetsuit. I'll skip the details of having absolutely no idea how to get my BVD, tank etc on and just say that if it weren't for Leila and the staff at Zanzibar Watersports I would have easily drown.

And I am glad I didn't drown, for I am here now to tell you about the amazing underworld of East Africa. The water is glossy brochure turquoise and the perfect tepid bath temperature. Instantly upon falling in the water, you are enveloped into a bizarre world of crazy looking fish who appear vaguley famililar after seeing their relatives on the downtown food market grill last night. Our group of 9 slowly descended down into the depths, while the more experienced divers were instantly comfortable and could easily approach fish and coral - I focused on not drowning. (Brian and his ability to hold goofy poses still astounds me) I felt very much like that little scuba man that lives in your tank at home...lion fish, puffer fish, sea turtles and eels were only a few of the many creatures that took time to come by and visit us.

I was most excited about the abundance of my absolute favourite fish. Many years ago Disney popularized this fish (for the record it was my favourite fish before Hollywood exploited it), the clown fish in a wildly popular cartoon "Finding Nemo". The title character in this film was a clever, kindhearted clownfish that overall left the viewer with a warm fuzzy feeling. I am sad to report back to you all that Disney is a liar. Clownfish are viscious, territorial and violent.

Our divemaster for the day was sporting a large open wound to her forehead, the result of an interaction with a clownfish the previous day. Another diver that was with us showed us how to punch at the fish to attempt to deter them from attacking. After a few practice runs, it became a routine to swim around trying to strike these teeny fish.

 No longer were eels and sharks by biggest conern - it was Nemo - the cute but truly evil clown fish.