I was a little hesitant about snorkling off the boat seemingly in open water of indeterminate depth.
I bombed into the water, partly as an all-or-nothing approach, and partly as a brave I-don’t-care. This partially dislodged a flipper and messed up my goggle-snorkel arrangement. After re-arranging my equipment I looked into the depths. My first sight was a disturbing perspective. Light green foreground into a dark green background. There were a few scattered fish at varying depths, and no bottom. I was a bit taken aback and short of breath whilst I determined how I related to this new experience. Across to my left, the scuba team were following the anchor line down to the depths. A bit further out from the boat, the coral burst up in clumps from the edge of the deep. It was an alien landscape with a huge flat-topped mushroom shape here, a bulbous reactor dome there, as well as clumps of giants brains, blue coloured brambles and thick udon noodle grass. There were so many coloured fish of differing sizes. The small ones in schools, the big ones deeper down munching on coral. After removing my floatation belt I could dive down and glide over the coral landscape amongst the fish. I felt as if I was in a giant fishtank filled with tropical fish.
When heading back to the boat Adia pointed out some jellyfish that were around us. They were cup sized, almost clear and rhythmically pulsing. One of the crew had said earlier that all jellyfish have some kind of sting. I was a little panicked and tried to swim clear, but they were all around. I imagined stinging feelings on my exposed hands and ankles and I was seeking an available ladder to the boat. Both sides were occupied by scuba divers getting out. I thought I heard one of the crew saying not to panic, which made me think there must be a problem. The woman getting out in front of Adia was struggling to step up the ladder with flippers on. I pulled my flippers off and dumped them on the deck so that I could make a speedy exit from the water.
Many people continued to snorkel regardless, so perhaps the concern was all in my imagination.