47nights

With help from the crew I don theprerequisite gear. Thanks to the flip-pers, I stumble around the deck like ademented penguin. The others are al-ready submerged so I say a quick prayerand belly flop right in. After all, I didn’tcome all the way from frozen Canada in February to wimp out on my firsttropical adventure!

Clenching the snorkel in my mouth,I attempt breathing underwater. Theinstant my face is immersed beneaththe waves, a rainbow of fish swirls up togreet me in a whirling tornado of color.Not a scary looking one in the lot!

Underwater sightseeing alwayslooks so magical on television. But I’vealways wondered if they have off-camerapeople keeping dangerous sea creaturesaway from the actors. Now, as I’mabout to embark on my first snorkelingadventure, I’m suddenly terrified bythe potential evils of the deep.

I quickly realize I’m the onlyfirst-time snorkeler aboard as every-one else starts casually spitting intotheir masks to prevent fogging. Yech!We can put a man on the moon, butwe can’t invent masks that don’t fog upwithout saliva?

Neptune’s Playgroundby Susan Campbell

Chicken of the sea faces evils of the deep…

48 nights Photos by Michael DeFreitas

The TugboatThe tugboat wreck is accessible

from shore via Caracas Baai. It sunk

over 30 years ago when its captain

inadvertently dropped the anchor on

the deck, causing a rupture and instant

submersion. Today, the tugboat sits

upright in about 17 feet of water.

Many hotels offer first-time snorkeling

lessons in their pool. Beginners who

would like to practice before heading

out to the open sea should check at

their hotel’s activities desk.

I see another snorkeler feeding her fishlittle bits of bread. I wish someone hadtold me about that! But my marinebuddies don’t seem to mind myempty-handedness and lead me to anamazing discovery. Sitting on theocean floor is a tiny sunken tugboatcovered in vibrant corals and spongesserving as a kind of underwater condofor a variety of ocean tenants. The sceneis so Disneyesque I half expect the fishto break into song and dance.

I am spellbound by the mass of lifedown here and would love to explorefor hours. But a tap on my shoulderbrings me back to reality – I should beheading back to the boat. But I’m notready to become a landlubber again so soon! Back on board, I am told thatthis is one of the most perfect spots in the Caribbean for snorkeling novices.I chose well for my first underwaterexperience.

Would I repeat the adventure? Youbet! If my newfound fishy friends willpardon the pun, I am definitely hookedon snorkeling.