Friday, September 25, 2015

Here Fishy Fishy

After watching Shark Week, what would make a better vacation than having an up close and personal experience with something bitey and dangerous. Not up close and personal enough to lose a limb, but I already have a logo arm so a little puncture wound on the other arm would balance things out. Barbara and I were swimming in the ocean.... Let me clarify that, she was standing and I have this weird thing about being in the ocean.... I like to bob up and down, I twirl and swirl and yes I even do some amazing dance moves where no one but the fish can see. Barbara was laughing at me..... "Jac, you are such a dork."  This I know, but I am a fun dork and nothing brings out the child in me like the ocean and snow. Those two things make me literally giggle like a tiny child. Actually, I may mentally be a tiny child stuck in an over sized adult body (who knows) but I do love, love, love to bop up and down and twirl around in the ocean. So I'm twirling and Barbara is contemplating the meaning of life when we both spot two fins sticking out of the water swimming just outside the swimming area. Barbara heads toward the beach where everyone is pointing and I (being a dork I suppose) head straight for the fins. I I get pretty close to where the fins are and then they cross over the buoys that define the swimming area. It was in the swimming area of the resort next to our resort and I was just about to swim under the buoy when I heard a frantic voice yelling at me.... I guessed it was me because no one else was in the water. I looked over my shoulder to see the manager of the resort waving his arms and telling me...... "NO, NO!" and waving me back to the beach..... "Darn it!" He was shaking his head and demanding I come back to the beach. "Great, just great. I was that close to seeing a fish I had never seen before. What a spoil sport." I drag myself up to the beach, head hung in shame because I felt like a
reprimanded first grader. Thankfully the manager took his little clipboard and headed back to the resort where people with real needs (like extra soap and towels) truly need his expertise. A few minutes later the little guy at the watch tower opened up for business. We had seen this fish at a distance the day before and I asked him about it. He had pulled it up on his cell phone to show me what it looked like. He said it was often mistaken for a shark but it wasn't dangerous and he had never seen one actually cross the buoys and enter the swimming area. He laughed at me when I told him about my scolding. He had already figured out I was up for an adventure. Later in the day we were back on the beach. It was our last day and I did not want to spend it just laying on a chase lounge chair. I wanted to do something. Barbara asked our little guy if he would take us out on the catamaran so he loaded the two of us up and we headed out into the ocean. Oh my gosh!!!! The ocean is paradise. He took us far, far out, but the water was crystal blue and you could see all the way down. We reached a sand bar where the water was pretty shallow and so clear it looked fake. He asked.... "Who is jumping in first?" Then he said.... "I will, I will be first." I jumped up and yelled.... "I'm right behind you buddy." Barbara looked disinterested and said.... "I'm fine right here, you two have fun, I'm staying right here." Really? "Barbara, we are here to face your fears. This is paradise. The water is perfect, it is amazing, you have to do it." Finally, probably out of pure desire to shut me up, she jumped in and you could see her whole body relax..... "Oh, this is amazing." She said..... "See, I told you so. You wouldn't want to miss this." We swam and giggled and felt like we could reach up and brush the face of God right there in the middle of the ocean. There are two places I feel the presence of God the most..... In the ocean and in the mountains.  These two places define the essence of God's majesty on earth.... At least for me. When we finished basking in the beauty of the ocean, we headed back. We learned all about our guide, his family, and how happy and content he seemed in his life. He was so sweet. When we pulled up on the beach, Barbara headed for the lounge chairs while I talked to our guide. His co-worker came out of the tower speaking frantic Spanish and waving his arms.  Obviously he had something exciting or terrifying to tell.  Finally the guide stopped him long enough to explain to me that his co-worker had been out by the buoys snorkeling when a barracuda attacked his flipper. He said it scared him to death and he fought it off but the barracuda became even more mad and attacked his flipper a second time. I was a little suspicious.... "If he got attacked, why didn't it get his leg?" I asked.... "The flipper looked more appealing to the barracuda than the leg. He swims out here every day and it scared him to death." I'm weird, and got really excited..... "Give me some snorkling gear. I want to go out. I want to see the barracuda." He shook his head..... "Oh no Ma'am, you cannot do that. Barracuda's are very dangerous." Regardless of how I pleaded and begged neither one would give me snorkling gear. I was so disappointed.... All I wanted to do was to see it, knowing it would make an awesome blog post. They would have none of it. I walked out toward the buoys, but everything was calm.... No barracuda, no fins. The guide told me I should come back in February when the bull sharks come. He said they go diving with them which sounds awesome. So, that's my "Almost saw something dangerous" story. Sorry it wasn't more gorey, but I have to keep things real.

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