This morning we got up and had a wonderful buffet breakfast at the Windjammer Cafe. When we disembarked we met our tour guide, Anna, a thin, friendly woman from Australia. About twelve of us loaded a small bus and headed for the beach to Snuba. The streets of the island were hilly. Most of the islanders spoke English.
I anxiously anticipated the Snuba adventure which was a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving . A 20 foot oxygen line is attached to an oxygen tank that floats on a raft. The other end delivers oxygen through a regulator and your mouth. There were 7 of us and the guide all linked to four oxygen tanks on the raft.
After getting some instructions and our gear we jumped in the water which was clear, but cooler than I expected it to be in the Caribbean at 80 degrees. I later learned that May is the warmest water at 87 degrees. It was not really bad, once you got wet.
Karen was a little uneasy with the equipment and whole process, but she tried hard and initially did fine. She was only able to swim on the surface because she kept getting water in her nose and mouth.
It was a little challenge to trust the regulator to deliver the oxygen you needed, at first, but I soon got the hang of it and was off. {There was something really freaky about being completely underwater and breathing. It was really hard for me at first to. Your gut reaction when under water is to hold your breath so telling your body to breath is actually challenging at first. But after a few minutes you adjust and all is well.} I followed the guide down to close to 20 feet, equalizing the pressure in my ears every few feet as instructed, not by blowing my nose, but by a combination of swallowing and yawning like I would on a plane. Only my right ear seemed to need to equalize.
The water was clear and the fish were beautiful, but not as abundant as I expected. We spent about 45 minutes in the water, until it was time for the next group to rotate. I was just getting the hang of things and ready to explore more and go deeper.
After our turn ended , we all four went exploring and snorkeling on our own. That was just as fun. I found a 12 inch starfish on the grassy bottom, but most of the colorful fish were closer to shore around the rocks and coral. {Mike found a really pretty conk shell and gave it to me. We also found a hide out for a huge school of fish. It was a really neat little area. We also so a guy teaching his dog to swim which was the cutest thing ever. Mom and I enjoyed the beach area as well. It was such a nice day, which is why it is surprising when we had an afternoon shower at the end of our time on the beach.} It was a fun three hour excursion. I couldn't wait for the next snorkeling opportunity.
A light rain fell on the way back. We boarded the ship and went to a nice lunch in the Windjammer buffet, then back out to the island to shop for shirts and hats and other souvenirs. By 6:00 pm we had showered and sat down to nice dinner and met our other table companions, Fred & Cathy, Don & Margaret, Ano & Linda. They were pleasant company. {It was the first formal night of the trip so we were all dressed nicely which meant it was the perfect time to take lots of pictures. Mike was a good sport but was happy when we were done. When we got back to the room to change we had a cute little towel elephant on our bed. It was adorable and impressive.}
After dinner we wandered over to the Colony Club for some good entertainment. By 10 pm Karen and I were feeling tired enough for bed.
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