Best Snorkeling Day

This is not my picture but this is the kind of ray that I saw. iPhones don’t take this quality of picture under water.

This morning Bill went diving so I was on my own. I decided to go snorkeling to the small island that is swimmable from the beach I’m on. My trip was free since I had no guide and I walked there. I didn’t have to follow any stupid snorkeling rules set by other people, and I had one of the best snorkel days I’ve ever had! The water was really clear for Costa Rica. It was also warmer than usual.

Almost as soon as I got into the water, a big eagle ray swam by. I’m still getting used to my new phone case so I almost missed seeing it while I tried to turn my phone on. I was really disappointed, but a few minutes later, three more big rays floated past me. It was so exciting! They were close enough to touch and seemed sort of curious about me. On my way back to the beach after I finished snorkeling, another one swam by. This one also seemed interested in me too and let me swim with it for several minutes. It kept going in wide circles around me rather than swimming away so I could swim with it. It was one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever done. It was super exciting to be able to swim with them. They seem really friendly. I kind of want an eagle ray tattoo now. You can get really neat ones.

I also saw a small reef shark. They nap on the ocean floor in the daytime and hunt at night. They are non-aggressive sharks and are harmless for humans unless you grab one by the tail or something stupid. My little shark was napping peacefully in a a little cave in the rocks. It didn’t seem super excited that I kept coming over to take pictures, but it didn’t leave either. These were my first sharks and eagle rays. I was hoping to see a turtle, but no luck on that. We did see one a couple of days ago jet skiing.

There were also a whole variety of multi-colored fish, starfish and invertebrates. It was like being in a huge aquarium. I had some problems with jellyfish again, but I was mostly able to avoid them. The rocks that I was snorkeling around had waves crashing around them and the jellies seem to like calmer water. I didn’t smell as bad when I finished snorkeling today, probably because I stayed away from the jellies.

There were a lot of fishermen out today and they are super nice and helpful. I found some dead water snakes on the beach while I was walking to the snorkel site. I stopped to try to toss one of them back into the water and one of the fishermen came over the tell me that it was venomous. When I finished snorkeling, I was looking around for my stuff and another fisherman pointed it out to me and was super friendly. I met a guy with his granddaughter while I was snorkeling around the island and he stopped to give me some tips too. I think that if I got into any trouble while I was out alone, people would try to come help me. This is really one of the friendliest places I’ve been.

Some of you may remember us talking about the skunk that sprayed something outside our hotel a few nights ago. I just saw it run across the playground behind my room. I’m in the upstairs restaurant at a table overlooking the playground. The black and white strips were unmistakable. I hope that whatever it sprayed learned its lesson!

This afternoon, we took our boards out and floated in the water. Surfing was out of the question since the water was very calm with no waves. It was nice to just float. We both had a pretty active morning.

Tomorrow morning, we have to go get Covid tested. That will determine whether we get to come home. I’m not overwhelmingly excited about going back to cold weather in Iowa, but it will be some trouble to deal with a positive Covid test. I got good travel insurance. Maybe we can find a vacation rental?

I have video of the eagle rays. I don’t think I can post videos unless my new upgraded blog lets me. If anyone wants my ray video, let me know and I can text it to you. Pictures are below. Underwater iphone pictures don’t really convey what it’s like to snorkel and see things and my screen shot ray photos are dreadful, but that’s all I had.