Our fourth day was our yacht day! Because there were so many of us, we split up and took out two boats! I got so tickled over Roen bringing his box of Captain Crunch aboard... not to mention, he packed this in his suitcase because this boy was not going a week without his cereal (he may get this from his mama).
We started off snorkeling Smith's Reef! This reef is pretty famous and people travel from all over the world just to see this ecosystem! I have snorkeled many times in my life, but this little venture gave me a memory of a lifetime!
If you have never snorkeled out in the deeper waters, it's like you are entering an aquatic, magical world. Once you peek underwater, it suddenly feels calm and quiet, as you watch the ins and outs of all the colorful marine life! Some fish swim in schools, some dart in and out of rocks, others lay very still, camouflaged on on the ocean floor, some lurk, watching from the corner of their eye.... and it is all very fascinating, almost hypnotic. I can be swimming along, following a fish I've never seen before, diving down, looking for eels or little reef sharks that might be hiding underneath coral, and then pop up to holler at one of the boys to come look, only to realize I've veered off solo and the boat is a million miles away. Just kidding, not that far away, but I know Cici and Mom are reading this and it's always fun to give them a little scare *wink wink*. But really, you can become so immersed in the underwater world, that time and space just slip away.
Back to what made this snorkeling adventure one of the best yet... I was just moseying along, looking up ahead, when I glanced straight below me, and saw a massive shark! I immediately knew it was a nurse shark, and though it was just out of my reach, it was close enough that I could see the texture of its skin. So I did what any mom would do, I popped out of the water and started hollering for the boys to come see the shark! I shouldn't have done that, because when I went back down under water to follow him along, he was gone. Poof, in seconds, he had vanished. I was so disappointed because the boys would have given anything to see a shark this big and this close! Later, back at the boat, I told our guides about my encounter, and they confirmed that there is in fact, a friendly 5 ft nurse shark that lives in that area of the reef!
Also, while snorkeling at Smith's, I spotted a shoal of squid! There were probably 5 or 6, little bitty beauties, not bigger than a foot in length. They were translucent and a shimmery, iridescent purple color, and absolutely breathtaking! I kept running into them every so often and would swim alongside them as long as I could, as they weren't really shy and seemed very indifferent to my curiosity. This was the closest I have ever gotten squid, and so it is not fair to let the shark steal the show, because the squid were just as fascinating!
After we snorkeled, we anchored near a bay for some afternoon lunch, jet skiing, tubing, floating, diving and sunbathing! We cranked up the music, sipped pina coladas and had so much fun jumping from the tops of the yachts and swimming between the boats! Even sweet 93 year old Gran went for a ride on the jet ski!
From here we went over to one of my favorite places on earth, Half Moon Bay. This butts up to Iguana Island and that is always a treat too! These guides did not bring food for the lizards, so sadly, we did not get to feed them, which meant we really didn't get to get that close to them. But our guides redeemed themselves when they showed us some upside-down jelly fish and let us hold them! Half Moon Bay should be pictured in the dictionary by the word serene. It is really hard to put into words how beautiful it really is, and honestly there were so many of us, it was hard to soak in this trip. But I have been to that bay when it was just us four and I could have stayed there all day long. Hopefully, I will get to visit this little slice of heaven again one day!
After our day out on the water, we came home the dinner table all spiffed up and dressed in red! It was the perfect way to end our adventures out on the salty sea!
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