Caves, Diving, Shipwrecks, Temples

 

Chapter 5

CAVES, DIVING, SHIPWRECKS, TEMPLES

 

Knowing very well what animal habits were, Irving decided to investigate the furthest away and least explored caves. This area of the island was little inhabited due to the difficult terrain full of giant trees, bushes with flowers as big as plates and heavy leaves. The roots of the trees were a trap for the unwary. Irving had rented a motorbike because without it he would never have been able to carry his diving equipment on his back. Between the road and the cliffs Irving had to push the vehicle. He left the dark greenness to find himself on a cliff above a little white bay full of pointed black rocks.

Hiding the bike at a convenient spot, Irving worked his way down to the rocky beach. The sea was of a deep and hypnotising blue. If he had been there for any other reason, he would have lain down happily in the sunshine. He saw the last couple of caves, then noticed what looked like underwater caves further on. These he did want to explore.

Knowing he had sufficient experience not to need a buddy, he put on his diving gear and threw himself into the water. Under that deep penetrating blue there was hardly any light. Irving switched on a dive light and swam in the direction of the underwater caves which were not marked on a map he had examined carefully. If Gus and the others on the excursion had been present they would have thought that the sea bed was the same as they had seen. Rocks embedded in the sand jutted out dangerously for the stranger. The visibility got worse as he got nearer the caves. Right by the entrance were the remains of a shipwreck. Irving swam around inside picking up several bits and pieces and putting them in his special specimen bag. He thought it would be a good idea to send them to his friend so that they could be analysed.

As soon as he could he made a parcel, wrapped the pieces of burnt wood in T-shirts so as to mislead the post office and put inside a game of chess to explain the weight.

The next two days Irving made more trips to places with underwater caves and the same thing always happened, he didn’t get to enter any of them due to the presence of a shipwreck blocking his way. He had been successful with the package which left the island and headed towards the continent without attracting attention. Irving rang his friend, “It’s me, the other day I posted a very interesting package to you. I’d like you to analyse the contents and send me the results immediately. It’s urgent.”

“Very well. Have you met a girl yet or do you spend all your time with the fish?”

“I haven’t paid any attention to girls -yet,” answered Irving, thinking how he would like to explore the caves and leave the shipwrecks to the fish.

 

Once again the temple was under the invasion of a group of tourists with the inevitable cameras, ipods, sunglasses, straw hats and caps. Filo and Curro were in their usual spot at the base of the large stele with the jungle creeping up from behind. Irving and Camette had met on the coach. The majority of the passengers had a partner, so Camette had no other choice but to sit beside Irving. Camette wore a white T-shirt with the immortal words ‘Camette Loves’ and underneath a picture of the stele. Irving raised his eyebrows on seeing the picture of the precious fish on the well-formed body of the newly arrived young woman. Seeing the camera and the accompanying bag with photographic equipment Irving thought in horror that Camette was just another tourist. Camette saw Irving with his shark’s tooth pendant and elephant hair bracelet as a hotel guide.

“Have you been here long?” asked Camette, “Because you have a very nice suntan,” looking at her own arms and legs still slightly red after having been on the island only two days.

“Yes, a couple of weeks,” answered Irving.

“Are you working here or do you have long holidays?”

“I’m working.”

“How lucky you are to be able to work here! I’ve got only two weeks.”

“It’s probably enough to have a good time,” Irving said staring at the picture on Camette’s T-shirt.

“I hope so. I want to find something antique from here to take to my shop. I’ve got an antiques business.”

This time Irving looked at her with more interest. She was more than a simple tourist.

“I’m here to see the sacred fire fish,” she explained. “They say that they are all around the coast.”

“I already know that. I’ve seen them, but nobody’s going to convince me that they are the descendants of the mythological fish.”

“I know what you mean but we have been told that there is no other type of fish here.”

“I’m sure that something exists, either a fish or a fire, even both things,” Irving declared.

“Well, I think there might be something in the myth, but I wouldn’t dare to think up to what point it could be a true story,” Camette confessed.

Irving and Camette and the rest of the tourists took many photos of the large vertical stele of the altar " of course with Filo and Curro. While Camette was absorbed in something Irving took a photo of her. Then a photo of the worn floor with the almost smooth engraved stones telling the story of the myth, and the stone in the centre of the fish itself which was a must for everyone. Irving photographed the stones one by one. Something attracted his attention, it was the reflection of water on the engraving of the fish in the centre. He bent down to touch it, and tasted it. It wasn’t salty sea water. He walked over the floor pressing the other stones with his feet, but all the others were dry.

“Camette,” Irving whispered into the ear of the woman who was busy taking photos. “I want you to see something.” Discreetly the two returned to the central stone.

“Look at the central stone. What can you see?”

Camette obeyed, “There’s water, and?”

“We’re going to walk around the floor but don’t stop looking for water. Well, what do you say?” Irving asked.

“The other stones are dry. Perhaps there is water under the floor, a river or a subterranean lake.”

“Good girl. I see you’ve got imagination. By the way, are you going on the excursion with the old man and the boy?”

“No, I’m not, because I want to get my films developed.”

“Take mine with you?”

“Yes, of course, if you like.”

“While you’re off to the laboratory, I’m going to spend the afternoon looking at maps and trying to find something about the geography of the island.”

“When shall I see you again?” he asked.

“Tomorrow after breakfast.”

 

Camette spent her afternoon looking in antique shops, and thought how surprised she would be if anything were more than three years old. On examining the hull of a model boat it fell apart in her hands. “Ma’am you’ll have to pay for that,” the shop owner said.

“This object has been broken before and stuck together afterwards. I wasn’t born yesterday, so, here, take the rubbish.”

Camette left the shop. The man, angry because he had been caught in his own lie, started to shout in a loud voice, “Give me my money!”

Camette walked quickly for a bit but the man’s shouts had attracted the attention of other shopkeepers, and she decided to run to get to the end of the street.

Before the experience with the man, Camette had made up her mind to dine in a typical restaurant, but after running so much and thanks to the shouts of the man, she had lost her desire to risk the island food and returned to the hotel. She wrote a few postcards and read a chapter of the island’s history (a gift from the hotel) and finally fell asleep.

 

Camette got up to fetch a glass of water. For some minutes she looked at the street through a gap in the blind. It appeared that everyone was asleep except for her. Feeling sleepy again she turned off the light and slipped back in between the sheets. 

Steles were floating in the air, spinning, a sea full of fish with eyes that looked at her as if they knew her. The central stone on the temple floor was moving and uncovered the water below. Then one by one the other stones were moving and underneath there was a large river.

 

On waking Camette saw that the bed was a mess. The sheets were wrapped around her legs and the pillow was on the floor. What a night it had been! She went downstairs to look for Irving, whom she found in the hotel garden.

“I’ve been dreaming about steles, fish, and moving stones all night,” Camette told him, and explained about the river under the temple floor.

He listened attentively, “Would you like to be my buddy and dive with me?”

“Very much, although I’m no expert.”

“It doesn’t matter. You can rent the equipment from a shop near here. Come on.”

Camette was a daring woman, and now the journey to the island had become more interesting. Irving and Camette rented a motorbike with good, solid panniers, loaded the gear, and set off to the little bay where he had found the first shipwreck. They hid the motorbike behind the same bushes as before, and changed into their diving gear. After climbing down the rough path to the beach they began to swim. The sea got darker as they neared the underwater caves. He pointed to where the wreck was, and they followed the route to the caves.

The mouth of the first cave was black and threatening. Goggles and regulator at the ready, they checked the air and submerged. They exchanged glances and nodded to each other agreeing that they should continue. They had to work their way through the wreck blocking the entrance, which turned out to be much more problematic than they had anticipated.

Their torches lit up the interior of the cave. It was high and wide, but there were only fish to be seen, no bats, no other animals. They went further in and arrived at a part that looked strangely untouched. This led them into what appeared to be a connected cave which was partly illuminated by the rays of sunshine breaking through the gaps from above. This was the prize won by Irving and Camette for their effort. Then, finally, into another. Irving pointed to an opening back to the sea, where they had to manoeuvre through the inevitable wreck blocking their way out to the open sea. And like that they left the caves.

“We’ve swum a lot,” Irving said.

“Where are we?”

“We go to the right to get back to the bike.”

The two began to swim calmly, the sun was warm on their faces. However, the water was cold.

 “Irving, now that we are out of there, can we keep our distance from the wrecks. I can’t say I fancy getting tangled up in them again.”

“Don’t worry, I want to see the caves from a distance to get an idea of how far we’ve travelled. It’s not that far.”

As they swam they rounded the coast and arrived back at the little bay. With difficulty, due to the tiredness they felt, they managed to reach the top of the cliff and the motorbike.

They went back to their hotel and after showering and dressing, Camette and Irving went to visit the tourist office.

There they found a man who looked important, who asked if he could be of any help.

“Thank you. We went diving this morning and we found some extremely beautiful underwater caves,” Irving explained. “They don’t figure on any map of the island, nevertheless, there they are.”

“What he wants to say,” added Camette, “Is that he doesn’t understand why these caves are not exploited for tourism.”

The official in the office said, “Certain islanders know of the existence of the caves. When it was decided to open the island to tourism, an agreement was made not to open them to visitors. People generally prefer not to visit submerged caves but it is the only way to see them. Also, don’t forget the unpleasant sight of shipwrecks that may affect some.”

Camette and Irving, seeing that there was no point in arguing with the man, gave him their thanks and left, and returned to the hotel.

The manager was talking to a couple in reception. He turned to the new arrivals and said, “Would you like to come over here, please. I’d like to introduce you to Jorge and Amanta. They are frequent visitors to the island.”

Amanta was dark and tiny, Jorge was not so small but equally as dark. They must spend their lives out in the countryside, Camette thought to herself.

Irving mentioned his underwater trip with Camette, and she added that she wanted to find an antique for her shop. Amanta and Jorge paid close attention to both of them.

“You must know the island very well,” Camette said.

There was a silence and then Jorge said, “I think it would be a good idea to introduce you to the curator of the museum, he’s a friend of ours.”

“I read something about him in an old magazine,” said Camette.

“It has to be said, I was under the impression that no one in other countries was ever interested in the history of this island,” Jorge commented, leaving reception with Amanta with her chilly good-bye.

Irving had complained of a migraine headache. With Amanta and Jorge gone, he took hold of Camette’s arm and guided her towards the lift. “I want to speak to you " in private.”

Camette was silent until they were in her room. “If this is a manoeuvre for getting into my room you can go right now.”

“Don’t be so silly. I want to speak about those two. They are friends of the curator, they might also be divers or interested in other things. But I have my doubts. Did you observe how deeply tanned they were. You don’t get that in two weeks.”

“I noticed their tans as soon as I saw them. They’re probably treasure hunters. Remember the shipwrecks?”

Irving’s eyes shone, “You’re fantastic. I think the curator must be involved somewhere.”

“You haven’t even seen him yet! I’m going for a dip in the pool. Coming?”

“Haven’t you had enough water for one day! I’m going to lie down.”

“I’m on holiday and I want to make the most of everything.”

“When are you going to make the most of me?” Irving asked, laughing.

“Out of here, I’m going to change.”

Irving went to his room. Before sleeping he set his alarm for half an hour before dinner, and promptly fell asleep.

 

Sonila was lying on a sun bed. She and Camette had met a few days before. Camette lazed around in the cool water and then sat down on the sun bed next to Sonila. When she was wrapped in a towelling robe, she turned to Sonila, “How are you?”

“Fine thanks. I see you’ve found a friend. Some people have all the luck.”

“You’ve got Gus.”

“Him! As you like old things so much, I’ll give him to you free of charge!”

Camette laughed, and the women started talking about what they were planning for the evening.