Into the Ocean Blue!

We woke up to thunder & a downpour on the roof. We looked at each other & said, "Well, guess it'll be another day before we leave for ReefCI." Just then, Esme (Kate's replacement while she's traveling) knocked on our door even before our alarm went off, with breakfast tray in hand. Five minutes later she was back, saying that a taxi would be there in 15 or 20 minutes to pick us up. We were going! To say that we were flying around the apartment packing & picking up last-minute things would be an understatement. But we were sort of ready, even though it was raining & we couldn't imagine that we were actually leaving. And we didn't really leave the taxi driver waiting.

We met up with everyone at the Snack Shack again, then were driven to the wharf where all our bags were put into plastic sacks & stored here, there, and everywhere.

Were we really going to leave in this rain? Eight guests and 5 crew people piled aboard the open skiff & away we went. And went.

And went. We headed out into what looked like the open sea, and an hour and a half later we pulled up to a tiny island. Montana and LuRue expected to be landing on a small island that we might be able to drive around in half an hour. We would have to stroll very slowly for it to take ten minutes to walk it!

After a short introductory welcome, we were shown our rooms. More pictures of the buildings later. We are truly living an island experience. The crew is wonderful!! Very friendly, accommodating, and patient.

After lunch, we had our first scuba lesson. We and two guys were shown the equipment, hand signals, how to put on the gear, and next thing we knew, we were nudged off the wharf into the water by the instructor. LuRue was relieved to see that we actually floated!

Before the lesson was over, we had learned how to use our breathing equipment, how to kneel on the bottom, how to change mouthpieces if the main one was knocked off, and how to work with someone else's mouthpiece if in trouble. We were also shown how to clear water from our goggles, but both LuRue & Montana had to repeat this lesson for different reasons. They both had to go to the top to breathe. But they got it the second time.

We spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling...around the whole island. The most interesting place was the roughest because of the remnants of the storm, with the water breaking over us. But it was worth every second!

Does this remind you of anything

Find the fish

Good dinner, good company and a promise of lots more to come.