The third day of our trip was our first full day on the boat, morning to night. I awoke feeling more rested than I expected -- I slept well on the boat! (Yes, it was air conditioned.) I was not the first to rise, so thankfully there was coffee (though not nearly as strong as I like it).
We had gotten some snorkeling gear at Nanny Cay, and we were near a pretty good spot to do that, so we headed into the water and over towards the reef, little breathing pipes extended above the water line.
Breathing through snorkeling equipment always takes a little bit of getting used to. It seems weird and a bit terrifying at first, but after a few breaths you settle in and realize that you're not going to drown and can just start enjoying the view. It's a totally different world down there!
I wish I had an underwater camera, because the fish were something to see. I especially liked the black ones with blue-tipped fins, because they looked awesome when they all swam together in a school. There were a couple spots that I dove down to get a good look at the coral, but you can't go too far before the pressure on your ears is enormous. There were also plenty of areas where the reefs were just below the water; to get over them, you float and barely kick your flippers, lest to get a nasty gash!
It's also very strange to see your own hands moving below the water. Except that you're telling them what to do, they look like they belong to someone else, almost like you're watching a movie that someone else filmed.
J and J had enough of the snorkeling, then T did too, so we headed for the boat, and breakfast. Then we pointed ourselves in the general direction of Cooper Island.
T found the only patch of shade in our corner of the ocean
Upon arrival, there was another opportunity to snorkel, so I headed into the water again. I saw three barracudas and a really cool ray of some kind, brown with white spots. I followed the ray all over the place, until he got so deep that I couldn't see him. As it turns out, being brown with white spots and having an insanely long tail is pretty good camouflage in the ocean. Whenever I would look somewhere else and then try to find the ray again, I had to wait for him to start moving! Neither the ray nor the other fish seemed to be bothered by the presence of the barracudas, who were just hanging out there a couple of feet below the surface, very still. You could have swum right into them if you weren't watching!
I attempted my first full shower on the boat, which was a bit cramped and awkward, but I had washed my hair already in the hose on deck, so that made it a bit easier. Dinner was ashore, at the Cooper Island Beach Resort, or some similar but equally clever name. It happened to be delicious though! I picked out an appetizer of seared scallops and pork belly (how can you go wrong?!?) and a main course of chicken curry roti.
(Aside: the chickens are everywhere down there! I actually saw a chicken cross the road! I asked why, but got no answer.)
Back to dinner. Ty had a plate of lemongrass meatballs as an app, and seafood fettuccine for a main, and he was kind enough to let me have a bite. Everyone else in our party had far too much to drink (this was a theme), but somehow we made it back into the dinghy, found our boat, and nobody fell in the water while climbing aboard.
No comments:
Post a Comment