reef snorkelling #perfectday #exceptthechinesekids
We get to the designated reef beach and get kitted into some very sexy Lycra full body suits (recommended for the jelly fish or stingers as they call them here). I put my flippers on and back in, imagining I look like a penguin in rewind mode. I laugh at my lack of elegance. Once successfully in the water, I spit on the inside of my goggles and wash with the salt water, as recommended to stop fog. I pop them on my face & put the tube in my mouth and chomp on the little rubber bungs. I tentatively put my face under to practice. It’s rather weird having your nose sealed off and breathing through the tube, and even more buzz are swimming just with legs. It takes me about 10 min to acclimatise, and we head out into the reef. As we saw lots of various sizes, coloured and patterned fish, I struggle not to exclaim, and must remind myself to keep the seal on my mouth and breathe!
As my confidence grows, I keep my face in the water more and more. Suddenly, a speckled turtle is beneath me! I pop up to try to get Leon’s attention but he is too far away and face under. So I go back under just to enjoy the moment myself, watching the turtle glide and flap so peacefully through the ocean. Such a beautiful array of colours, little yellow and blue stripy, tiny electric blue, a larger school with a horn at the front, and some pastel rainbow fish too. The pinnacle of my snorkel, was seeing a grey and baby blue ray sparkling and rippling across the bottom of the reef grasses! I actually started to get emotional and cry happy tears a bit, but thought to myself, pull it together or your will literally drown in your own tears! Ahahaha! We head back to shore where groups of annoying Asian teenagers were chucking each other in the air, bombing back into the water. Not so cute when grown up! We check the time with the lifeguards and have enough to head back out. We swim out together and I am humming part of your world from the little mermaid. I genuinely could imagine Leon and I are a couple of merpeople & I love swimming alongside him.
When we get out, and use a tiny bit of a table to put all our stuff on and individually go the get changed, (I walk towards the shower) a hoard of Oriental women start yelling and screeching at each other from feet away, & the one that was walking towards me seemingly oblivious that I am there as she yelled full pelt IN MY FACE! I retaliated before brain engaged with an ‘oh fuck off’, and she was unfazed, continuing her high decibel conversation. It made me feel better anyhow!
In the photo below of us post dive, my face is a bit indented and squishy from the tight mask, but so happy!
16-12-2017
