Bays.

During this snorkel, I was accompanied by my spotter and nephew, Nahnah - no Lulu that day but I did make a video from the water, telling him how the conditions were ideal.

I tried this yellow dry snorkel too that comes with a whistle and I didn't really like it as I found it too heavy and awkward around my head and mouth.

This is what it looks like when I am allowed free reign with no one else to look after in the water. Usually, I have one eye in the water, one eye out of the water looking for Lulu or whoever it is that is with me at the time and then I am trying to juggle filming, exploring without a camera, keeping an eye on the time and conditions and deciding when and from where I will collect kina. At times like these, I'm able to cruise through each bay and reef, taking my time and just looking at everything. It's so easy for me to get carried away and end up a couple of hundred metres down the bays and a bit around the corner of the cliff.

I absolutely love the ridge line of this cliff as memorising ridge lines is a favourite past time of mine. Once, I had side swam back around the cliff with our catch bags and used the ridge line of the cliff to keep straight and oriented towards my exit point. I cracked up as all those side swimming drills in the pool actually came in handy for once and I just took my time - I think it took me a good 20 to 30 minutes though because there was some current and the tide was coming back in as well but I just relaxed while studying the top of the cliff.

I have vertigo - so, I've never been allowed to scuba and/or free dive deeper than what I have negotiated with my GP, which is 3 to 4 metres with a maximum of 5 to 6 metres with a fellow diver and that's probably pushing it. Now, I have long-COVID and it has halved my oxygen to even less while holding my breath but I make the best of what I love though and being in the water is an absolute gift. Also, I have a fear of boats and even though my nephew is a skipper, I have yet to go out on the boat with him haha

More than anything, I just love being in the water and getting lost in the world beneath. It allows me to slow right down and be completely mindful of my surroundings. I love how entering the water has that initial few minutes of cold shock to my body until I submerge my face and then give it a few more minutes and I've adjusted well enough to really start snorkeling. My favourite time of day for a snorkel are the early mornings because of how the rays hit through the water and ripple across the reef, lighting everything up clearly and how when it rains, it looks like shooting stars from beneath. It's so easy to get lost in the bays because there are so many angles where the same area looks completely different depending on your position and the sun's rays in the water.

Oftentimes than not, when I am snorkeling back with my catch, I often come across a lot of interesting areas but I am not filming and I can't stop because I have conserved that energy for my return and then later, upon another outing - I can't find the bloody thing! haha Like how I still hold out hope for my beloved watch that I accidentally donated to these bays, hopefully one day I will come across it.

Always hopeful.

Active hope.

Oceanery.
November, 2024.