part 3: my christmas vacation by jethan

day 6 [snorkeling]

today was another early morning. as usuals all the regulars where there having their morning breakfast. it seems that we are always seeing the same faces. there's the gay asian couple who spend their days frolicing in the water placing seaweed all over their body, the italian family with the son who's sporting a mullet, the grumpy businessman in thailand looking for a wife and complaining about his eggs, and the rich family where the children are all wearing "cherry t-shirts". by now i've come to welcome these faces and many others in the morning. after breakfast i headed back to the room to gather my stuff and prepare for the days outing. all lathered up and ready to go we sat out front of the resort awaiting our ride. it was now 9:15am. since the tide was too shallow by our resort we had to take the infamous pickup taxi to another resort to catch the boat. once there we waited with some others until a small blue boat arrived to take us to the larger boat. we walked into the water like animals boarding the noah's arc and climbed into the boat. it was a short 5 minute ride to the other boat. we pulled up next to it and climbed into the boat. all i could think was wouldn't it be funny if i fell in trying to get aboard while all these people watched. lucky for me that didn't happen. before we took off the instructor told us that we'd be going to three different spots. the first would be for snorkeling, the second for swimming, and the third more snorkeling near a coral reef. i was very excited since this would be my first real snorkeling experience. i can't really count all those times i use to snorkel in my pool. afterall i ever saw there were dead bugs and leaves. the boat ride was amazing. the sound of the boat's engine was so relaxing. it reminded me of when i was younger and i went night fishing with my dad. i spent the whole time sitting on the edge. one leg hanging off the side that would occasionally get splashed by water and the other safely planted on the boat. the views were breathe taking. you really got a sense to how beautiful the island really is. it took about 40 minutes to get to the first stop. before we got there we lined up to get our gear. i got lucky mask and snorkel #13. it was blue with a pink snorkel. once we got to our first destination everyone line up and climbed down the ladder into the water. the water was nice an refreshing. we snorkel for 20 minutes. there wasn't a lot to see at this spot. i saw a few fish, some sea anemones, black sea urchins, and a few other things i don't know the name of. i get all excited and trying to dive down as far as i could go. my other problem and its the same problem i had in my pool is that my mask always fogs. i still haven't mastered that yet. but at least i didn't have to worry about swallowing a spider. when we stored our snorkels in the shed back in florida spiders liked to make their homes in them. i spent the whole time swimming around like a little fish. when the boat's bell rang we headed back, climbed out, and rinsed off with some fresh water that was in a big barrel. it was time to go to the next destination. on the way to our next stop they served a buffet lunch upstairs. i wouldn't say that the food was the greatest but it was good. our next stop was a private island wear volcanic rocks stood in the water. we docked quite a bit from it and we had two options: take the little blue boat or swim. we decided to swim. this time however we decided not to climb down the ladder but to jump off the side of the boat. it was so survivor like as we jumped and swam to the island. it was actually a bit farther than i thought and since we had just ate lunch i could hear my mom's voice in the back of my head "wait 45 minutes before going in the water after eating". of course we didn't have the luxury. the private island was gorgous. there was a lot of coral on the beach and the volcanic rocks were amazing. they asked that we don't remove anything from the beach because they are trying to perserve it. of course some people just couldn't obey. we swam over the volcanic rocks which were covered with crabs. it was so blue lagoon there. on the swim back i really didn't think i was going to make it. i can honestly say it was a tad tiring but i'm proud of myself for trying and actually doing it. now i know i could definitely be on survivor. our final stop was by far the best. before going in the water they advised us to stay on the left side of the boat and not to jump in because of the coral. the current there was fairly strong. the water was a bit colder here than in the other spots. i'm not even sure i can describe the experience or what i saw because it was so amazing. the fish were so colorful. like the ones i'd see in pet stores only this time i was swimming with them. everywhere you looked there were black and purple sea urchins hoping you'd get close enought to them so you could sting them. my favorite were the things that looked like barrels with flowers which closed up when you got close to them. diving down i saw hermit crabs and a starfish. now i now how aquaman feels. and for a while i felt like him swimming around with all of these wonderful sea creatures. i was completely sad to hear the ringing of the boat telling us it was time to go. i took my time swimming back trying to savor every last bit. the ride back was quiet. once again i found my spot on the edge and sat there staring out into the sea. at one point one of guys from the boat came over and started pointing to the trees. i didn't know what he was saying and i vaguely saw something moving which later i found out was a monkey. i guess sometimes when the tide is low they come to the edge and grab clams, mussels, etc. monkeys are cute. when we got close to sea view resort we once again boarded the blue boat. this time they took us directly back to the resort. nothing like front door service. i stood in the water and watched as the tiny blue boat rode off into the sunset and then disappeared. what a great day. it doesn't end there. i decided i wanted to get a massage so i went up to the spa to see if they had any time available. i lucked out because they had an openning at 9 pm. the massage was absolutely the best thing ever. this was my very first time getting one. i hated to see it end. when it was over my whole body was so relaxed. i spent the rest of the evening sitting on our balcony drinking a beer and enjoying everything around me.