Maldives - Ocean Snorkeling

It's Official - I'm Dating a Crazy Girl
Nothing could dissuade her, not my logic, not the recent storm, not her snorkeling inexperience. She was going to go snorkel in the deep water - out at the "ocean pavilion."

A refresher for you, dear readers - see that tiny speck in the upper left hand corner of the photo, near the border between the dark blue water and the light blue water? That's the ocean pavilion. She wanted me to go out there and watch, which I was against. I figured we could have an open casket at the funeral - no need to actually watch her drown. She and Khartik worked on me, told me it would be nice out there, under the roof, sitting in the shade, reading. Alrighty then, off we go, into the speed boat.

The speedboat captain and his helper pulled up and helped us onto the pavilion. It was bigger than it looked from shore, about 20 feet by 20 feet. The helper placed a box of stuff on the deck, including some towels and a life jacket. He then got back on the boat and they sped off. I felt my heart skip a beat. "Where they going?" I asked, mouth hanging open. "Oh, this is the cheap package babe, you gotta pay more for the guided package. See? Saving money!" She was so proud of herself for tricking me. Now it was just the two of us in the middle of the ocean. Sure, no problem, I'll read my book as you splash around. I felt somewhat better that they made her wear a life jacket, but I was still a bit worried.

There were ladders on either side of the pavilion leading into the water. I tried to see the end of the ladders but couldn't. The waves and current were strong, though it doesn't show in these photos. There was a strong wind from the north.

She didn't seem to be the least bit worried. She's done lots of wake-boarding in deep water so I guess she's used to it.

Down the ladder....

Hanging on to the rail as the current and waves pushed her back towards the pavilion.

Then she was off. She splashed around and visited all the coral outcroppings. Every now and then she popped her head up, took out the breathing tube and raved about some type of fish. "Pufferfish, babe!!" she'd say. As she enjoyed it, I paced back and forth, watching her, counting off the minutes, looking for the speedboat to reappear. About an hour later it finally did. She swam back to the pavilion with a huge smile on her face. She loved it. She told me all about it at dinner. That's when it started: "Babe, are you gonna try it with me tomorrow? You gotta try it, it's so cool!" I chewed slowly and held still, hoping the questioning would stop.