Snorkelling isn’t something I would normally choose to do.
I like dry land. Biking, hiking and climbing. However, seeing as they had a subsidised snorkelling tour for crew, and I’d been told how amazing the snorkelling was in this part of the world I thought I’d have a crack at it.
So that’s how I found myself on a boat with several crew who had wrangled a few hours off and a captain of the boat who was surprisingly good at the ukulele…
It didn’t take long to spot the first of several sting rays…
He wasn’t on his own. He had a lot of mates with him… Including a few shark mates too.
You would have thought that after seeing sea creatures like this the best kind of action would be to stay safely on the boat to prevent bites, stings and other preventable injuries. Well… apparently they’re quite friendly (probably because they want to eat us), and we found ourselves kitted out with a set of goggles and a snorkel (which I guess could double up as a kind of pokey weapon if needed).
First guy that jumped in had quite the welcome…
So with the sharks and stingrays distracted with the first bit of food that jumped in the sea I scrambled down the stairs at the back for a quick snorkel myself… No pics in the water I’m afraid… I don’t have a water proof camera…
It was amazing. Sticking your head under the water to see them swimming around, not in the slightest bit worried if they bump into you… was slightly concerning to start with, but you soon just relaxed into it and got the occasional surprise as a shark or stingray swam right beneath you.
They don’t even seem to mind being man handled a bit. Although saying that, no one tried this trick with a shark…
The ride back went via some more silly expensive huts to rent… Will simply have to suffice with pics and then once back at the ship, a quick run out at the end of clinic to snap some more cool sunsets…
Cruising in a Tub 