Snorkeling

Snorkeling Isla Isabella is the first place since leaving Long Beach where the water has really cleared up. We are anchored in 20 feet, and it looks like you could reach out and touch the bottom. And the water is 82! Clear and warm water equals snorkeling time! So so happy to be in pretty water conditions. My snorkeling experience is very little. I snorkeled as a kid back in Florida for about a week. Then more recently for one day in Panama. I also attempted a few times in Hawaii. I love being in the water! But something about breathing through that snorkel tube just makes snorkeling an extreme challenge for me. I got my snorkel gear out the first day here and it was off to the races!! Well, not really. Greg had already snorkeled the entire anchorage looking for a prime spot to anchor, so my first time in the water was already his second snorkel of the day. Getting my gear on and in the water was no problem at all. Then I had to stick my head under the water, and after a few unsuccessful attempts, I was finally able to keep my face under the water. We headed off towards the neighbors to say hi. We snorkeled on over to the other boat, not the most gracefully. I had to keep stopping. It was all I could do to breathe. I saw some movement but wasn’t looking at the fish at all. Made it to our neighbors’ boat, yeah! Greg sat there and chatted with them a bit, and I just floated there breathing above the water, LOL. After a bit we left them and headed over to the other boat. This time I wasn’t doing so well, I couldn’t see much of anything, and I couldn’t manage to pull out my mask, dip it in the water, and pour it out and get it back on my face without feeling like I was going to drown. I ended up half floundering over to the other boat. Thankfully they had a stern ladder and swim platform and I was able to pull myself up out of the water and sit there for a bit. After getting situated with some help from the cruisers on whose ladder I was resting, we headed back towards our boat. I managed to relax as Greg pulled me though the water. Then I started to realize we had fish all below us! So cool. After getting back to the boat, Greg went off to check the anchor and I just hung out by the boat and floated. He came back to the boat and went aboard. He didn’t see me onboard, and when he finally found me, he couldn’t believe I was still in the water! I definitely see more snorkeling in my future!!!!