Saturday, November 11, 2006

The Marine Assault Course: Part II

Okay, where were we? Underground, pitch black tunnels... More deep water puddles. There is a rope under the water in case you get stuck in the mud. Here is the final task. This one made me nervous. Two pools connected by concrete tunnels under the muddy water. We were pushed through and had to swim out the other side. Nigel takes a breath and dips his head underwater. The sudden cold on my head made me hyper ventilate...while I was underwater. I controlled myself until I finally emerged. The big push through... He emerges a short time later. Recovery. More recovery. Nigel and Gareth did it a few more times. Once without a push, which they described as trying to scrape through a small tunnel with no propulsion. Back at the Landrover. We felt pretty good, although a little cold. My post-marine-assault-course bruised knees.

The Marine Assault Course

Here is a glimpse of what Nigel I do for vacation... a Marine Assault Course. Nigel ventures into the first big puddle. This is October and it is chilly. Gareth, our guide, runs in after Nigel. I noticed that he would send us first into the pools with the drop-offs. I am feeling tough and dry at this point. We had the choice of tunnels to go through. We went for the bigger one. We were then told we had to do them both. I wasn't sure if I was just nervous or if the cold of the water was making me hyper-ventilate. Okay, I am ready, posing for a picture, and trying to catch my breath. Forget the hat. I know, I am stalling. In I go... Nigel is next. He is right behind me. It is too small a tunnel to crawl on my hands and knees. Goodbye world! There were several of these underground tunnels completely dark and not quite tall enough to walk in. I close my eyes and feel my way along. Nigel emerges.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Pumpkin Soup

Seems timely... 900g of pumpkin 2 cloves garlic 1 chilli 1 can coconut milk coriander Cut pumpkin into small chunks and boil until soft. Whizz chilli, garlic, coriander, salt and pepper in a blender. Drain Pumpkin and blend with chilli mix. Return to pan. Add coconut milk nad simmer. Garnish and serve.

It Just Gets Better.

mcphee.com

Now that is cool.