The Fatman's Final Belizean Gaff (and Partial Redemption)

Sad story: I bought a water-proof (to 12 ft) 10MB digital camera for the recent expedition to Belize - sufficient for the river crossings, caving, snorkeling, rain storm photo journalism, etc., that I expected. A few days after Rocky and the Bushwacker (née Stoner) fled the country under the threat of non-smoking related activity, I undertook a dive trip to the southern-most tip of Turneffe Atoll. Called The Elbow, the currents there supply a natural concentration of food which allows for huge numbers of fish and other marine life. The diving was demanding (due to the fast current), but outstanding for its pelagic plenty. We saw large numbers of eagle rays, horse-eyed jacks, tuna and other open-ocean fish. After two tanks-worth of this delight, our boat docked at an idyllic isle nearby for lunch and an extended surface interval to allow for further diving. I took a few photos during the break, and then slipped the camera into the pocket of my swim shorts. A short while later, back out in the eight-foot waves of the open sea, I was caught off-guard by a call to get ready for the third dive and, in my rush to get suited up, I forgot about the camera. It went with me to over fifty feet below the surface, and in the process the camera flooded, its battery exploding into blue gunk - a $300 gaff. Later, back on Caulker, my attempts to retrieve the data on the camera's memory card failed - Friday's notebook computer wouldn't even recognize the card. I assumed it was trashed during the diving ordeal but kept it anyway - you never know, right? Back in Colorado, after various attempts to read the data with my computer failed, I dismembered the memory card housing, extracted the chip inside and soaked it in vinegar (hoping the acidity would dissolve any corrosion wrought by the sea water), and then mechanically scuffed the chip's contact patches. After reassembling the card, I slipped it into my computer's card reader, and voilà! Here are a few of the photos that I was able to salvage, all of them from the time between Rocky's departure and the camera's destruction:











Sunset at the Back Bridge (Pier); Friday, in repose; The Ice Cream Man, Caulker-style, when he pedaled his trike thru the neighborhood I was living in, scooping out real ice cream from the several buckets he carried; a nest of baby spiders behind the dive shop.











The idyllic isle; our dive boat; sunset from the Back Bridge; The Fatman (née Feral Boy) about to commit his blunder.














Friday, prepping for a dive ; a small spit of sand where we took a break on another dive day; Friday w/ a new friend; pelican; James (one of the Belize Diving Services guides).