Another Snorkel Day

True to our plan, we set out this morning to the beach we tried snorkeling at yesterday. It was definitely calmer when we arrived, but the waves were still quite high, making entry into the water a bit interesting (when I say beach I use the term pretty loosely, as instead of nice white sand, think baseball sized lava rocks). I finally manage to get past the surf line with Nick where he excitedly puts his head in the water to see…..sand. We kick around a bit, but in every direction there is nothing but flat sandy bottom, with only the odd, clearly lost, fish swimming by.

The water is fairly clear, and our books tell us there are things to see here, so we’re not ready to give up. There are a handful of boats anchored at the far end of the bay, so we go cross country to see if we can walk down that far (we can’t). Finally, trying again from the beach with Sam, we find a direction that takes us to a small reef. Not one for subtlety, as we return to the beach, he let’s Nick know that he saw all kinds of fish when he went.

While this location proves to be less than stellar, we do get advice from a few local people about a spot a few miles down the road where there are much better reefs and the water is calm enough that Joey can get in as well. It does not disappoint, as right off the rocks where you enter the water (again, no sand, just lava rocks) there is healthy reef and clusters of tropical fish. For the kids, this is the best place ever and they snorkel for hours, before finally wearing both Ang and I down to the point we just can’t go anymore. When he’s not in the water, Joey goes from tide pool to tide pool counting up all the fish (240), shrimp (70) and crabs (6) that he sees.
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Back at the hotel, it’s movie night, on a big inflatable screen they set up near the pool. They are playing Prince of Persia, so we spend the next couple of hours parked there before turning in for the night.