Tuesday, January 12th, Zacatitos Spear Fishing Scare
We enjoy a leisurely morning sipping coffee along with a hearty breakfast of egg, veggie and cheese burritos, cooked by our resident chef, Will. Will wants to go alone on a hike in the desert and look for plants. John, with his spear gun operational, wants to try his luck at fishing. It is late morning when both boys head out for their various activities. Soon, Art takes off on his bicycle to catch up with Will and point him in the right direction. I am concerned that John is out snorkeling without a buddy so I walk down to the beach to find him. John was told that there were lobsters to be caught off the rocks of the farthest point so I am prepared for a long walk. I am surprised to see Art riding his fat tire bicycle down the second arroyo and he leaves it, leaning against a rock and we walk together along the beach towards where we expect John to be snorkeling. We laugh when we see his barefoot footprints; so obvious that they belong to him because of the extreme duck toed pattern in the sand. We follow them until we come to the white bucket that he has carried with him to hold his gear and the fish or lobsters he hopes to catch.
 |
| John's Footprints in the Sand |
 |
| Netted Fish |
We scan the choppy water off of the rocky point but don’t see John in the water on either side of the rocky point. The wind has come up and we see that the current on the far side of the point is heading out to sea. My blood pressure rises and I walk further towards Punta Gorda, scanning every cove and looking for John’s footprints. I see his footprints both going and coming back but I continue to walk all the way to the point in hopes of finding John. I continually look backwards and see Art’s silhouette against the sky, standing lookout on the point behind, obviously scanning for our son in the water. At one point, I think that I see two figures and turn back with a moments relief, but my heart drops when I realize Art is still standing watch alone. I am scared and try not to imagine the worst case scenario but the bucket has been sitting on the rocks for over 45 minutes and my thoughts continually shift into panic mode, wondering where John could possibly be? When John was 11 1/2, he disappeared for over 30 minutes during a snorkeling trip in the Galapagos. It was the most terrible 30 minutes of my life and Alisha and I frantically scrambled over jagged volcanic rocks, from one cove to another, calling for John and looking for him in the water. I could hardly see for the tears in my eyes and my world closed down around me. Moments before, had been snorkeling beside us in the cove and then suddenly vanished. As it turned out, he swam to the far side of the cove with several young Israeli men, also on our tour.
I now try to envision us all together at Zac’s tonight, enjoying Taco Tuesday and not that John has been washed out to sea or drowned. When I catch back up with Art we each express our fears and I suggest hopefully, that he met someone on the beach and has gone to their house? I start up the stairs of a nearby beach home and Art heads towards Gloria’s and Jose’s house to ask for help. I am halfway up the stairs when we hear a shout from below. “Papa!” It is John’s voice calling from the cove just below. He has been free diving there all along, the white of his rash guard and the black of his flippers and snorkel, just momentary flashes that blended with the white caps in the choppy water. I feel such relief and joy that I expect John to come rushing out of the water to hug and reunite with us but he has no clue how worried we have been and continues to snorkel and free dive for another 10 minutes. Each time he surfaces, I motion for him to come to shore which he eventually does, his spear gun in hand and proudly carrying a net with two reef fish.
 |
| John with his Catch |
 |
| John's Reef Fish Catch |
I walk back to our house with John, carrying his spear gun and thanking God and the universe for the safe return of our boy. John pulls out a book to identify the fish he has caught and then cleans and cooks them. Delicious!
 |
| Fish Fillets |
 |
| Hawkfish |
 |
| Fish for Lunch |
Will returns exhilarated from his hike up to Punta Gorda and spends the afternoon identifying a pile of leaves and flowers.
 |
Will Identifying Plants
We drive over to Zac’s for Taco Tuesday. It’s a lively night and many of our friends are there and we enjoy introducing John and Will to everyone. |
No comments:
Post a Comment