Snorkeling:) :) :)

If you ever find yourself with the opportunity to go snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, or any other reef for that matter, DO IT. What an incredible experience. We began the day with an Australian that looks a lot like Lucas Black... :) Before booking this trip, I met an Austrian woman named Emma on the bus ride to Daintree Forest. She is also a teacher, has a strong, compelling personality, and has turned out to be a great friend on this adventure. So we booked our snorkeling trip together--my first snorkel ever, let alone on the Great Barrier Reef, and one of several for Emma.

  Lucas Black

Anyway, Mr. Black (I never caught his name) told us a few things about the reef, drove too fast over the rutty roads, then dropped us off at the Ocean Safari center where we were given wet suits (wetties in Australian--they shorten everything that can be shortened), and shown a picture of Mackay Reef, which we were to visit that day. Cam, our tour guide, explained the benefits of that reef, i.e. they were the only tour that went there, so it is very exclusive, basically undamaged, and the creatures aren't afraid of people. This is Mackay Reef:

It looks a bit different now but basically the same. Instead of a long, linear "island" there is now a single island or cay that is round and emerges above the water about three or four feet; the sand is a product of coral that has been ground to a fine, white grain. 

The boat ride out was wild. I opted to ride on the side of the boat, which meant I was clinging to a rope with one hand and a cloth handle with the other. At times it felt like we were hitting the ocean floor when we hit the trough of a wave, but it was incredibly fun and adrenaline inducing. The skipper (my Austrian friend Emma used skipper instead of captain) drove like a man possessed, played chicken with the waves, and blared music for the 30 minutes it took to reach the reef. All this resulted in a tiny bit a fear and a large bit of excitement. This is an image of the boat we took to the reef:

When we finally got out there, Cain, our skipper, gave us a rundown on snorkeling safety and hand signals that indicate certain states of being: one hand held to top of your head, your arm in a loop, means you're okay, an inexplicable gesture with your hands means turtle, hands held like fins on top of your head means shark, and waving your arms and screaming "help" means, well, "HELP!!" 

After all this, I was pretty apprehensive, being out so far into the Pacific, out of sight of land. I'm not a strong swimmer, I'm from a land-locked state, and the water was so blue and so deep. But Cain handed me a pool noodle, told me I'd be fine, and sent me over the edge. I can't put into words the feeling of plunging into the absolute unknown. I've done it before when I bungee jumped in South Africa, but the ocean was somehow scarier, more unknown. At least I could see the ground rushing towards me when I bungee jumped. But the ocean is murky at certain depths and even the smallest imagination can conjure terrifying monsters from that water. 

But Emma was right ahead of me, and seeing her put on her snorkel, I did the same. What followed was like magic. I could see, and what I saw was fascinating. The best way I can think to describe it is like a community. The fish had their areas, their pockets between the green, blue, orange, pink coral. They lived in symbiosis, trimming the coral, keeping it clean, while cleaning each other and coexisting in this incredible coral reef that exists on a plane somewhere between land and water. It was at first strange to hear myself breathing, like Darth Vader had taken up residence in my head. But I became comfortable much more quickly than I would have expected and began to notice more and more. I saw parrot fish, blue starfish, giant clams, and a sting ray.

Giant clam and blue starfish.

 But best of all, I saw five sea turtles, their backs like desert mosaics, their eyes large and shining. They scratched their bellies on the coral, they drifted around, looking bored, then interested, then bored again. We didn't matter to them; they were oblivious of us as we followed them around like a school of fish. The only problem I found with the turtles was I could not keep from smiling, which flooded my mouth with ocean water. A rookie mistake, I'm sure, but there was no helping it.

After the initial snorkel, we went to another, deeper spot on the same reef, and this is where we saw the biggest of the giant clams. In one spot, Cam told us there were 32 clams, the largest measuring 3-4 feet across. Their colors are brilliant: blue, pink, white, purple, and varying shades of many others.

After two hours on Mackay Reef, we went back to Cape Tribulation. I was exhausted and cold, but happier and more satisfied with snorkeling than I had expected to be. This final picture is of me and the crew that were on the reef that day, September 15. I hope you enjoyed this blog. Feel free to comment at the bottom and ask questions! I'm sorry I haven't blogged for awhile; the last two places I've stayed have charged way too much for wifi so I stubbornly refused to pay. But keep in mind, although I try to be consistent, sometimes it is difficult. I will do my best!