While in Jamaica, I decided I needed to put in some serious swim time. The resort offered several activities to get their guests into the water. One was a short snorkeling trip. Although I’m not completely confident in my swimming abilities, I decided the snorkeling trip was the one for me. I signed up for the 1 p.m. excursion. Ummm…what should I take? Will I be forced to leave my towel behind? Will my bathing suit cover-up get wet if I take it on the boat? I decided to only take myself in a bathing suit sans cover-up but wearing thongs on my feet. I can only imagine that the deck by the boat would be hot. At the assigned time, our guide greeted us – a local who worked for the resort. You could tell he’d done this a few times before. His instructions were straightforward. He told us to remove our shoes and get on the boat. I noticed he was not wearing a bathing suit, which meant he didn’t intend to get wet. After a quick trip across rough waters, we stopped at a reef. He said the tide was too rough to take us to the usual place, but that we should still see quite a few fish near this reef. He explained where Cuba was (we could see it I think) and told us to “not swim that direction.” ”Who can’t swim?” he asked. I raised my hand. “I don’t swim well,” I said. “Who’s never snorkeled before?” I raise my hand. “I’ve snorkeled once or twice.” “What are you doing on this boat? Why did you come out this afternoon rather than this morning? The water is always rougher in the afternoon,” he said rather disgustedly. After being reprimanded, I agreed to wear a life vest, which he put around my waist. I counted 11 of us in the boat – five couples and me. I told the lady next to me, “Make sure there are 11 when we head back.” She laughed. All in all, I had a great time. Most of the other swimmers wore life vests too after they saw me with one. I probably could have snorkeled without it. I noticed that a couple of the “stronger” swimmers had to get back in the boat early. I stayed out until the horn signaled us back. It was wonderful seeing all of the fish, and I really gained confidence in the water. Now, if only I could do that a few more times before March. I doubt I’ll get the opportunity. I’ll have to just keep swimming in my gym pool and pretending like it’s the Caribbean.
“Come on into the water!”
Chrissie Watkins
“Jaws” (1975)
