Once we got to the place we were snokleing at, I became very nervous. Brandon and I both thought that we were snorkleing from the beach. I was ok with that, but the thought of jumping into the ocean from a boat and in water deeper than can stand in, is a different story. I quickly noticed the boat, and Brandon asked if we were going out further in the boat. The instructor gave us the answer that I was dreading!
The instructor said that we would be going out to some orange bouys and jumping out of the boat in water that was about 18 feet deep. I freeked! I grabbed Brandon's hand and looked at him like "I can't do this!". The instructor kept saying it doesn't matter if it is 5 feet or 100 feet deep, we would be at the top. I disagreed! Then we were going to swim to where the water turns dark blue. It is called the wall and drops to 7,000 feet. I almost hyper-ventalated right there. Then he added "we will see berecudas. Just leave them alone." I nearly passed out and litterally almost backed out, but I was brave... well brave for me! Did I mention that Brandon and I were the youngest ones on the excursion... by alot! There was one other lady who was scared, and I didn't want to be more chicken than her!
Once we got out there, I did pretty good. In fact, I was one of the last ones back on the boat. Having the little torpedo thing to pull us through the water was fun. The guide showed Brandon and I a sting ray that was below us in the sand, which was way more than 18 feet by the way! It was pretty cool and I don't think we would have found it on our own. I stayed well to the side of the wall, even if I was supposed to follow. Once back on the boat, others commented on how well I did. I guess I didn't hide me fear well at all!
After we returned to the beach, one of the guides pulled the meat of one of the conches he grabbed off the ocean floor. He then started cutting slices off for people to try.... I passed, but Brandon gave it a go.
He said it wasn't bad. Meanwhile, i grabbed a cup of fruit punch and started drinking. I turned to Brandon and mentioned that it was really good and wondered what kind of fruit it was. Guava, I thought. Brandon almost gasped and said "Juli, that's rum punch!" Apparently, on the boat ride back, I was so proud of myself and catching my breath that I missed the part where they said it was rum punch, but that if we didn't want the alcohol, they would get us just fruit punch. OOOPPPPS! I stopped drinking my rum punch and asked for the non-alcoholic version. Pretty funny!On the way back, we drove around the island more and saw how hurricane Ike damaged the island. Grand turk reminded Brandon of Zimbabwe, alot, except instead of zebras and elephants wandering around , there were donkeys... strange.
It was my first time in another country. I wondered what the missionary efforts were like. Driving by the cemeteries made me think of family history and geneology. It was very cool, but I am glad to live where I do! However, I would definitely like to go back.... soon!
Brandon and I ate dinner at a shared table of about 8 people we didn't know. One was a little old lady that had moved to the US when she was fairly young. She still spoke with a heavy accent and spoke ALOT! It was kind of funny. She spends most of her time cruising. She figures that it is not much more expensive that what she would be doing anyway, and she gets to see the world. We left dinner quickly, to get to the cricut scavenger hunt. Well, the had changed the time and we didn't get the message. I was totally bummed. I really enjoy a little competition!
Overall, it was an amazing day!
2 comments:
Wow - the scuba diving sounds amazing, but I would have been scared of that 7,000 foot drop, too! Glad you didn't get too drunk!
Glad you got some RUM!! That is awesome! You are brave.
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