Sometimes along this journey we call existence we meet a counter part to our soul, a reflection to our ethereal selves and a statement of the people whom we attract into our lives. A person walking a similar path with just as many questions to match their profound discoveries; maybe our paths were meant to cross or maybe it was just sheer luck. But, that one day in Leyte, my path diverged with another force of nature, another woman with an intensity to rival my own. During my time in the Philippines I encountered my dear and sweet friend, Aneesa the Wee Indian Lass. As an avid traveler, everyone gets a name in my address book to help me remember them— last names mean nothing to me.
Aneesa the Wee Indian Lass
Aneesa and I met each other at Peter’s Dive resort in Leyte, a woman whose insight and ambition is matched only by the infectiousness of her laugh. As I sat on the shores of Leyte, sucking on some coconut juice with my friend Steve, a young woman made her way down the rocky beach in a wetsuit and carrying a pair of turquoise scuba pro fins. She caught my attention as she looked a bit uneasy as she meandered towards the crashing waves. Unsuccessfully, she tried to enter the water, it was quite the sight to watch as she stumbled with her fins firmly attached to her feet. Usually it helps to put your fins on once you enter the water, but as I soon found out, Aneesa was just beginning her scuba training.
As amusing as it was watching this raven-haired little woman stumble into the water, I could not help but laugh a bit and make my way down to the water. Frustrated and irritated, she could not get the first few yards, the surf was just too much. So, I offered her a hand and a bit of advice to enter the water, she thanked me and off she went. Turns out, Aneesa is and was bomb—the 25 year old had left London in search of life outside of the office and was on her way to start her Dive Master at the famous Manta Dive of Gili Air, Indonesia.
Her company was contagious and our paths have crossed a few times in the past year. Our friendship was confirmed by fate the moment I screamed for justice, just the two of us alone on a beach. While I wailed and lamented for the trauma I had endured all of these years, “I just want the universe to punch him in his fucking face!” An asteroid with a vibrant viridian tail crashed in front of the two of us— I shit you not. I’m not one who believes in divine anything, but that moment made me question the universe and the role it played in my life as well as my place in the world. Aneesa has always been a guiding light for me when my world seemed darkest, a friendship between two strong women who consistently push themselves to be better than they were yesterday.
A Birthday to be Remembered
Six months passed and Aneesa had started her DM training in Indonesia, an island nation of the South Pacific, and at Aneesa’s invitation, my destination for my dirty thirty. I had promised myself THIS birthday would be amazing and for once I had a celebration which rivaled all of my adventures.
A short flight from Manila and a two hour ferry ride to Gili Air and I found myself staring at the landscape of yet another mesmerizing horizon. After months of solitude in the Philippines, to have the warmth of a close friend meant so much to me. What was even better about being reunited was the invitation to dive with her esteemed employer Manta Dive Gili Air.
One of the top diving destinations of the world, I spent a month exploring the waters off this small island. Despite being in the Philippines for nearly a year, this was the first time I felt something akin to the Caribbean Island life. On Gili Air the only method to move quickly is via horse buggy or bicycle, needless to say, despite being a busy dive shop, life on the island was an experience all its own.
The crew of Manta Dive welcomed me as one of their own and I soon found myself under the spell of the island, for a moment in time I had a home. As I rode my bike around the island, listening to Moby’s “Porcelain,” I could only look back on the last year of my life and be astounded at the leaps and bounds of my transition. A year prior to my arrival in Indonesia I was miserable on a boat, my life crumbling, afraid of what was ahead of me and burdened by abuse and alcoholism.
Gili Air, Just don’t Care
While I was not such a fan of Bali—it was inundated by basic tourists and people with the emotional depth of a wading pool—Gili Air gave me the complexity and depth I craved, the dive sites were an extension of the personality of the island itself as well as my own.
The Gili Islands and Lombok had been struck by a terrible earthquake a few years ago, around the same my own home of the Virgin Islands had been decimated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. To see the recovery of yet another island crushed by natural disasters only reaffirmed my belief of the endurance and fortitude of the human spirit. Much like myself, when something crumbles we simply want to rebuild and move forward with what we love; the hope that tomorrow will be better, life can and will always find a way.
As for the other friends I made while enjoying diving every day, I met photographers, dive instructors, captains, Spa owners, and restaurant staff from all over the world. Gili Air, despite being maybe a mile in diameter, encases such a beautifully dynamic assortment of people. I was lucky enough to be brought into the inner circle immediately, to hear the gossip of the island, to eat the best food, to make some late night regrets with dirty Spanish boys, and of course to let the succulent drip of a passion fruit run down my lip each morning.
Diving with Manta was so much more than a rewarding experience, on my birthday the crew surprised me with a birthday cake. As I blew out my candles the confirmation of my SSI dive master arrived in my email. To say I cried as I left Gili Air does not quite present the magnitude of what the island gave to me. I just hope one day I’ll be able to walk the beaches, revisit my turtle buddies, and see some of my family at Manta Dive again.
Thank you Aneesa for all you have done for me.
