They call it Shnorkeling

I didn't take these pictures, but they are of the fish that I saw today.

Today I decided I was going to go to the Sea. To make sure that I actually followed through and didn't get deterred by the 104 degree weather I left the house at 8:00am, before it was too hot. My plan was to go to a beach that is farther South than I have been so far, a few miles away I think. It's called Coral Beach and is known for the good snorkeling (or I should say shnorkeling). I packed a lunch, loaded up my bike with all the necessities for a day at the beach and headed off. However, I wasn't even half way there before I looked down and realized my back tire was completely on the ground. The culprit was a thorn. So...plan B. I was only about a quarter mile from another nice beach that I know of so I decided just to walk the bike there and go to Coral Beach another day. It was a good decision, I'm not even sure how far away that beach is, it could have been a VERY long walk.

So at about 8:15am I arrived at the beach, there were only two other people there, the music that they play on the beach wasn't on yet and the water was calm. It was a great way to start the day (excluding the flat dire ordeal, well actually it wasn't an ordeal..yet). After I got toasty on my towel I went for a swim and floated on my, well..on my floaty. When I got out I was setting up for a nice read on the beach and the bottom of my right foot started stinging. At first I thought it was the sand or the salt but I realized it was red! I'm not sure if it was the coral or a piece of glass, but man a cut stings in the salt. It's not really a bad cut or anything, it's just that is is all the way across the bottom of my foot, kind of an important and sensitive area, especially for walking. Oh well, I decided to ignore it and continue my time at the beach, but from then on whenever I got in the water I wore my keens.

Eventually I tired snorkeling. I didn't really think there was going to be much to see except clear water because this beach isn't really known to be great for snorkeling and I had been there a few times and didn't see much from above. Wow, was I wrong. Little did I know that right at my feet there were fish swimming all around. And I don't mean gray and brown fish, I mean yellow and blue and purple fish! Once I got the hang of breathing like Darth Vader I had a great time seeing the water with such a different perspective. I saw a beautiful larger fish that was a mix of purples and greens and blues. It was almost like that fabric that seems to change colors as it moves or as you move. I had to laugh into my tube though because as I was enjoying the view of the pretty fish....it pooped. HA! (I think the picture above is of that fish, but it was even better in person).

Later I followed a similar fish into some shallower water and realized that right next to me, skimming the surface of the water was a long skinny fish with a really pointy nose. They were very close to me. There were also some fish that seemed to spend most of their time closer to the surface and were always about at arms length away from me. I think I was more scared of them than they were of me...they barely moved when I swam right by them.

I spent quite a while at the beach, going in and out of the water, reading a bit until I was too hot to stand it and then spending some more time with the fish. At about 1:30 I began my trek back home (this is when the flat tire became somewhat of an ordeal). In the heat of the day I began walking home. I hadn't realized it, but my skin had already turned a bit towards the red side and it's about a two and a half mile walk home (not bad without a full bike, 104 degrees, and a cut foot). I stopped once to buy a drink and then went straight to the bike shop to get my tire fixed...silly thorn. Now for the embarrassing part...you would think at 26 almost 27 years old I would realize that when you are out in the sun that long, it may not feel like you are burning...but you probably are! I now look like a stripped lobster with a raccoon face! I've certainly seen worse and I 've had worse myself, but still...LAUREN!

Anyway, I am back home with two full tires, aloe vera, and air conditioning, and I'm super excited that in a few hours we will be going to Ulpan. I am really curious about what it will be like. I had a few dreams about it last night, none if which made much sense and all of which the real Ulpan will certainly trump. I'll be anxious to write about what it was like soon.

Well, I was planning to try Coral Beach tomorrow but unless I want to look like a piece of leather I think I might try to stay out of the sun tomorrow.

'Til next time!