When the boys got back we ate lunch and then went snorkelling. We saw turtles on the way, so I jumped in with them. I only found one, and it was sleeping on the bottom, but I disturbed it by being there, so it swam off.
We then headed to a shallow reef for Elokin and Hendrix to have their first ever snorkel. We gave them a noodle each so they could stay afloat without having to work at it. It was awesome. They were so excited, especially Hendrix, he was squealing with delight! Elokin got in first without flippers but refused to put her face in. Nath even dived under water to try to coax her into watching him, but she wasn’t falling for anything. Eventually, after much encouragement from us, at the edge of the boat, she looked under water for a split second. It was awesome!
It was Hendrix’s turn next. He was adamant he was wearing his flippers. Again, he too refused to put his face in. This time Nath headed out over some coral. When Hendrix finally stopped looking at El, me and the GoPro, turned around and started looking at where he was going, he shrieked when he saw the dark stuff in front of him under the water and swam away from Nath at a million miles per hour. I have never seen that boy move so fast! Nath caught up to him and took him over it again letting him know it was just some coral and to have a look under the water. He reluctantly went over it, again without looking under the water and this time as frozen as ice. I think we must have worn him down with constantly telling him to look under water, because he finally did. And wow, the excitement returned. He would look under the water and then pop up to tell El and I what he was seeing. Then look under again and pop up again to tell us what he saw. He repeated this process constantly until they came back to the boat and all of us went in together.
Both Nath and I are so proud of our children for the effort they put in today learning to snorkel and actually giving it a go. Even they were surprised with what they saw; loads of fish, a massive clam and heaps of different kinds of coral. We even saw a big white tip reef shark – on their first dive! Elokin swam off after it, so Nath went with her but eventually had to put an end to it and head back to the boat. It is quite funny watching the way they snorkel. Elokin likes to be lazy and get a tow while Hendrix swims frantically doing dog paddle and refuses to get any assistance. Too funny!
We then caught up with the other boats and went for another snorkel near the reef opening. Nath and the kids sat this one out as they were cold. I wasn’t the one cold for once, so I went in with the others. We saw another white tip reef shark, which to tell you the truth still freaks me out. I know I will get used to it, eventually, I hope.
The tide was really low by now and we had a hard time getting back to camp. The reef was out of the water in some parts, and the sandy channel that we normally cruise along was really shallow. We had to be very careful.
Sandy and Pete from up the point came over in the afternoon to watch the sailfish movies. We also had a long chat which was nice.
In the late afternoon, Elokin and Hendrix played with their boogie boards and noodles in the water. I would have thought it too cold by then as the sun had almost set, but they were having too much fun to care about the temperature of the water. While watching them, we suddenly noticed that there were boats drifting away behind them. Dolly and ShoBoat had broken anchor and were heading across the bay. Pete walked out and rescued ShoBoat and handed her over to Jo to walk home, and then went to fetch Dolly who had gone somewhat further, and handed her over to Al. I don’t think the punishment Al gave her the other day had worked!
The full moon rose just after the sun had set for the day, and we basked in all its glory. Spectacular. There is no wind tonight and we are having an early night.
Until next time…. Happy and Safe Travels.