snorkeling

When I first arrived at the resort they told me that there is a reef right in front. I went out with mask and snorkel and was so excited to see shapes, colors and some fish. It was always a special treat, that I would wait for, when the water was clear, and the sea still, the tide in, good lighting….ah…lets snorkel! Then one day we took a fisherman's' boat a few kilometers to the east to a dive resort and jumped into the water off the boat. What a pleasant surprise to see even more coral, more colors and more fish. A whole world, beneath the sea. It was so much fun. I heard stories of an even nicer reef on an island a few hours away, that was full of fish, and perfectly clear water. I looked forward to going there one day.

While sharing my snorkeling experiences with some newly arrived guests that were interested in snorkeling, they decided to take a day trip to the island and invited me to join them. When we arrived the guide at the reception desk asked the 5 of us a question that sounded a bit strange; "You know the price, right?" "No, we don't". and of course there was no price list on the wall or table….trusting my instincts that that is a cue that we are now going to be taken advantage of as much as possible, as foreigners, I left the young 15 year old Australian son that was good at bargaining, to begin, and I ran out to our cab driver to get a quick rundown on what we should be paying. When I returned inside, the guide had already quoted a price double of that, and as the boy began to bargain, it was clear that the guide knew that I had consulted with our Balinese driver, so the game was no longer free play. We had to take into account that the Balinese must be loyal to each other, before they are loyal to a foreigner. So, in the end we paid a higher price, in order to save the face of our kind driver Gede. The next thing we knew, this same tough bargaining receptionist was to be our personal guide for the 3 hour snorkel trip. I was grateful that we hadn't made too much of a fuss about the money, so as to maintain friendly relations with him for the rest of the afternoon!

As we crossed from shore to shore, our local guide told us that he had been working there for 25 years and that there are also turtles breeding, dolphins, sharks, etc. we had rented good snorkeling masks and fins from him, and I was surprised to see our guide changing into his snorkeling gear on the old wooden boat as we made our way to the island 30 minutes away. His gym shoes were too small on him and slit at the soles from much wear. His flippers had been repaired by hand many times by tying pieces of plastic to connect the torn parts together, his diving suit was mainly in shreds. His smile was from ear to ear as he announced that we will stop at three different spots and have a rest in between. As we reached our first spot he stopped the boat and we all put our masks and fins on and jumped off the side of the boat. What a nice surprise…water not too cold, and perfectly clear, and as I began to swim about I was so shocked to see quantities of fish and corals of all shapes colors and sizes that went on for miles.

I always marvel at how it is possible that God thought up all of these combinations of colors and polka dots and plaids and stripes and shapes and sizes of fish!! I kept thinking what perfect outfits they would all make for a dress for me for my sons upcoming wedding. Now I just need a fashion designer. And the corals….huge huge corals that formed a reef that had a deep drop where even bigger fish could be found. All pulsating and breathing and swaying and alive, down below the calm surface of the sea. The only sound I could hear was the nibbling of the fish on the coral. Other than that it was like one big colorful fantasy world, moving about and around me, as I swam with tons of schools of fish of all sizes and shapes. At one point it even felt like I was a bird in the sky, as just by moving my flippers I was in sync with all the hundreds of fish surrounding me as we went forward.

Where to look first? At all the corals in the shallow water, with their own array of fish, and activities, or to go along the edge of the huge corals at end of the reef and to look down so deep into the blue waters below. When we stopped for a break between spots, one of my fellow snorkelers said that they got vertigo looking down so deep from so high up. They had also dived at the Great Barrier Reef, being Australians, and I was curious to know how this Balinese reef compared with such world renowned snorkeling spots. They gave it the thumbs up, saying that the only difference was that the colors were a little more vibrant at the Great Barrier.

I kept thinking how grateful I was to be alive and to see Gods glory and how I would love to share this with everyone I know. I thought how the staff at the resort would be in shock to see this but knew that they wouldn't be able to handle the car ride since they are not used to being in cars and would be carsick for the 2 1/2 hour ride. But Made, the gardener and former fisherman, oh how he would be amazed to see these fish!! So I asked him today if he has ever snorkeled, because I want to take him to snorkel at this place. He laughed and said "no, I put mask on, look down into water, get scared!" and laughed and made a scared face.

So what is left is just to share this wonder with all of you. And forewarn any other fellow snorkelers, that even if it is overcast and you are suntan, you can get burnt floating around snorkeling for hours at midday. The 15 year old red head boy with us joked as his mother passed him the sunscreen so that he would put it on himself. But being a typical 15 year old, with a good sense of Irish humor, he mimicked rubbing it on himself, without even opening up the container. We all laughed as he teased and said he doesn't need it. His mother laughed too, and tried again to convince him, but….no go…and the poor lad….hours later, bright red like a lobster from head to toe on his back side, hardly able to walk, sat down at the table for dinner and said sarcastically "I think someone should invent a cream that you rub all over your body that is able to prevent people from getting sunburn". When we laughed, he added in a serious tone, "mom, all you had to do was hand me the sunscreen and tell me to rub it on myself and I wouldn't be in so much pain now." But a good time was had by all and I was grateful to him for insisting that we go on this long trip to the big reef, instead of just going to the one nearby. And once we finished our meal at the delicious restaurant, we got up to pay the bill which totaled $1 for 5 people to have dinner and a drink…Bali.