Between Water&Air

For me, the coral reef was all I needed to keep me satisfied.  Housing hundreds of species of fish, the Great Barrier Reef was an enchanting escape.  My air mask was my only source of the outside world as I floated the surface of the waters watching the creatures below.  As I swam like my fellow friends, I could feel my feet turning to flippers and my mask turning to gills.  It was as though this transformation was inevitable and had been waiting for the perfect moment to commence. I felt like the Little Mermaid making new friends in new places.  As I searched around, there were no signs of human contact, which was fine by me.  I had left that mortal world behind and traded it in for my destiny of life in the sea.

My first day of snorkeling was not my last on the trip to the Great Barrier Reef.  I had spent many days in my backyard pool as a small child playing with a snorkel mask and pair of fins.  It was fun up until the point where I outgrew my pool and could reach the other end, that once seemed a mile away, in one stroke.  Here swimming in the reef, I was in my element.  Living on Long Island, I was always exposed to the ocean and my dedication to swimming lessons and 5 years of lifeguarding helped me form my relationship with the water that will last a lifetime.  I often feel more coordinated when I'm swimming and exploring the water than when I'm tripping and fumbling over my feet on land. 

I was the first person in the water and the last one everyone called back onto the boat.  There were always new corals to explore, new fish to see and creatures to touch.  I brought with me an underwater disposable camera to take pictures that I wrapped around my wrist to insure it wouldn't fall to the seabed, never to be seen again.  I have been at battle with myself trying to decide if I should develop them now or wait until I return home.  Although the anticipation is killing me slowly, it will be a rewarding surprise when I get home and relive the experience. 

During this first trip, there were dozens of new fish I found but the most amazing part was the creature that let me swim beside it as it soaked up the attention it was being given.  I cannot take credit for spotting it first, but it was a brand new memory for my eyes to create.  As I had wondered off close to another student on the trip, I looked over and he was pointing to something coming out from under part of a coral cave.  The sea turtle came into focus as it slowly swan upwards from the salty sea ground.  I quickly funneled my last breathe through the plastic tube and dove downward.  I aligned myself parallel to the turtle and we swam together for what felt like an hour.  I knew not to touch its shell as it would become alarmed and swim away, so I got as close as I could without posing a threat.  It swam with the intend of misdirection or maybe it was its way of showing me how free his life was.  I almost forgot that unlike the turtle, I did need to come up for air more than once every few hours so I had to say goodbye and resurface. I continued to follow it the rest of the afternoon until it became frightened by all of the others snorkeling in his home.  As he swam away, I couldn't help but imagine what life must be like with the freedoms, threats and openness of the sea.