Maldives - the Final Chapter

You Knew it was Coming, Right?
With all the foreshadowing of the last few posts, you knew I was destined to go ocean snorkeling, right? Dodo worked on me and I also worked on myself. I saw how well she floated with the life jacket and that gave me some comfort. We set off in the speedboat and were at the pavilion in 5 minutes. As I put on my equipment I noticed that the sea was not as rough as before, but there were some sizeable swells. I asked Dodo to get in first so I could take my time - she paddled away without looking back. I stepped down the first few steps and could feel the strength of the current. At the dive center the small Japanese lady who rented us the equipment told me to swim into the current and let it bring me back to the pavilion.

I only hesitated for a fraction of a second. I glided in and began to kick my flippers. I was in the ocean, looking down at the seafloor, gliding on top of the swells. It was surreal. I looked up and there was Dodo staring at me. "You ok babe?" I gave her the thumbs up and kicked my way around to the other side of the pavilion. The water was not as deep as I expected - perhaps 20 feet. I found a huge coral and floated above it. There were dozens and dozens of fish. All colors and sizes. A few orange ones took a liking to me and followed me for a while. I then kicked my way over to some coral about 50 feet from the pavilion. The fish were even better - more variety. I saw some Jacks, some very small silvery fish that swam around me in a cloud. I sat up and signaled for Dodo to come over. She was the worry wart now. "Babe, can you come back over here, you are pretty far away." I ignored her and kept waving for her to come and she finally did. We floated together for a while and then split up.

I made another circle around the pavilion. At times I had to adjust my mask, it was letting in a bit of water. Every now and then a large wave would smash against my breathing tube and I would have to spit out the water I took in. Other than that, I was totally comfortable and enjoying every minute. This was the absolute best part of the trip. I keep thinking back on it and it brings a smile to my face. So, what could possibly be next for my budding water career? Diving with a tank? Nah, I cannot ever imagine doing that.....