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Fort Lauderdale has been called the Venice of America, or so I've been told. Today I understood why.
It was with some trepidation that I joined a group of youth from Andy's church. We were going snorkeling. Now, it wasn't the actual snorkeling that was causing my nerves - snorkeling sounded fun - but it was a number of other things like sharks, the cold and bathing costumes. The idea of sharks terrifies me, if I were to see one my reaction would be very similar to what happens when I see a spider. My heart races and climbs its way up into my throat. I break out into a cold sweat and my brain goes on holiday, leaving my body frozen in place and unable to move. So when I swim in Cape Town waters I always make sure that there are other people in front of me (this will give me enough time to run away if I need to) but I would certainly not go snorkeling there!
The second thing bothering me about this excursion was the cold. The sea waters that I am used to turn you body numb in two seconds. There is no way that I would even be able to get in the water (I'm a bit of a sissy) never mind snorkel if it were that cold! The third thing bothering me was the idea of wearing a tiny bathing costume in the freezing water! There is no way I would be warm enough! Then, to add insult to injury I would be forced to expose more of myself than I really feel comfortable with. However, when I left South Africa I made a decision to try everything and to use every opportunity that came my way, so I thought, "bring on the adventure!"
(What to wear?! Swimsuit obviously. Have me boobs got bigger since I last wore this, cause I don't remember it being this small! Why cant I just wear a polo neck and sweatpants?! Was I always this white? I'm practically translucent!)
The day was sunny and the water was beautiful. We had a glass-bottomed boat - we could see fish even if we weren't in the water. Sailing to open water involved navigating some of the smaller waterways in the Fort Lauderdale area and this is where I discovered the similarity to Venice. There are boats everywhere in the waters of Fort Lauderdale and every riverside mansion has its own yatch attached to it. These aren't just any yatches, however, these are mega yatches. They are more than one hundred fee long and when they are in the water, most are the hight of a double or triple story building. They are huge and expensive. Nevertheless, the ride out in our glass-bottomed boat was beautiful, if a little bumpy (but I managed to keep track of my stomach!)
By the time that we arrived at a suitable spot to snorkel, I was equipped with my goggles, flippers, flotation device and of course my snorkel - I was ready to go!
The first thing that I noticed was that the water was warmer than I expected, definitely warm enough to swim in. It didn't take me long to get in. The first thing that I noticed was the quiet. There were not other sounds, only silence (and my Darth Vader-like breathing.) When your head is in the water, it feels like you are in another universe. I was surrounded by shoals of fish and the water was so clear I could even see the bottom of the ocean. It was so easy to loose track of time and just float.
As it turns out, the biggest fish I saw was about a foot long. There were no sharks (and no great white's waiting to take a bite out of me!) I ended my day salty, smiling and starving.
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