Snorkel Trip

It was a rainy, cloudy day in St.Croix and we were getting ready to get on a boat to go snorkeling. Dark skies and dark moods, nobody wanted to go. The sun was setting behind low, gray-blue storm clouds. I could smell the humid rain and the fishy waters from up above. I thought to myself,  this is going to be the worst day ever, I don’t want to do this. Why would my parents spend all of this money for a terrible time? I want to go home. What if I get eaten by a shark? What if I get lost and I’m stuck in the middle of the ocean? What if I die? I couldn’t stop thinking about the what if’s . Snorkeling was not important to me and I was really against this adventure. The only thing stopping me from going home was that luckily, we retained our good friends with us, Jack and Ali. They made it much more entertaining. We started to shop around town, we went into the Pura Vida store and all bought matching bracelets, to get our mind off the fact that we were going snorkeling in the rain. After the fun shopping experience, we were back to waiting at the doc until the captain of the boat asked us to come on board. I was getting really impatient, and I just wanted to leave because I knew this was not going to be enjoyable

Now, it was time to hop on the boat. “UGH I want to go home.” I exclaimed. 

We got on and put all our snorkeling stuff in this big blue bin. I could see the remains of sand and saltwater at the bottom of the bin from others snorkel gear. After this, the captains asked if all 5 of us kids wanted to sit up front. 

We all said, “Yes! We would love to! Thank you so much!”

Now I was in a better mood and my attitude started to turn. I began to feel excited for the day ahead of us! We went up front and held on tight to the railing. It was really humid that day so it felt good when the wind was blowing in our faces. The boat ride was about 30 minutes of pure joy and happiness. 

Once we arrived at the island, Buck Island, the skies started to clear up and the waters started to glisten. I could smell the salty beach air. I stuck my toes in the warm and grainy sand, and that's when I knew that this was going to be a great day. I grabbed my light blue snorkeling bag and put on my snorkel mask, flippers, and a life jacket. We were commanded to wear a life jacket because it was a tour guided excursion. Anyways, I hopped in the water. It was the clearest and the most turquoise water I have ever seen. It was a magical underwater wonderland where there were rainbow parrot fish everywhere and many varieties of different types of corals.

As we were snorkeling around, just soaking in that this was real and not a dream. 

My dad said, “ Hey guys! Look straight ahead!”

 There it was. A giant lemon shark! The lemon shark was sleeping right next to a big stone of bright yellow coral. I swam down right next to it and touched it. It felt like ridges on the side of a quarter. I was so amazed that I got to experience seeing and touching a shark in real life. 

Then, my brother goes, “Camdyn, look.”

 I turned my head about 45 degrees and it was a little baby barracuda. Then, I turned my head another 45 degrees and there it was another barracuda but about double the size. Then, again I turned my head and it was another barracuda double that size. 

I said to my dad, “This is really creepy. Why are there so many and why are they getting bigger every time we turn our heads?”

 My dad was like, “Camdyn, this is so cool. Enjoy the moment.” 

  I really realized that I need to enjoy the time that I am in right now because I never know when the last time I am going to be on this earth will be. I also need to take every advantage I can get to spend time with my family and friends because they do so much for me. My family is always so busy with sports. Sometimes it’s hard for us to realize how important this really is. By that time, it was time to hop back on the boat. I hopped on. But the excitement was not over. 

The tour guides said to us, “Do you kids all want to jump off the top of the boat a few times?”

 We replied, “Heck yeah!”  

So of course we all jumped off and it was a blast, there may have been a few backflips in there too!! 

After, we jumped off a few times and headed back to the front of the boat for a 30 minute ride back home. There were lots of sea turtles poking their heads in and out of the water right next to the boat on the way home. That was also a really cool thing to see! I will always remember this special moment and I will always be grateful for the opportunity to experience these wonderful adventures with such great people.