Snorkeling!!

So.  I am finishing up day number three at sea, sailing around the British Virgin Islands with my best friend and her family.  And on Friday, I had my first snorkeling experience, which has been happily repeated the following days.

Snorkeling.  Is.  Amazing.  Especially because I figured out (meaning I was taught...) how to dive under.  Now that I re-read that sentence, it sounds pretty stupid.... I just realized that you can go underwater with a snorkel in your mouth.

The water here is incredible, unlike any ocean water I've ever seen.  It is so flippin' clear that you can see the bottom when you're about 10 meters above.

Also, the boat we're riding on is absolutely beautiful.  I've never felt luckier to be somewhere as I do right now, for sure.  And I am entirely grateful for this experience.

I've also never been able to explore the ocean like I've been able to these past few days.  The ocean in New England is a bit of a no-man's land, even on the hottest days in August; it's not always worth it to really venture too far out.  But here... the water is so warm, and the sea life so accessible and near to you that it's impossible NOT to dive in and explore a bit. I've never seen fish of these color, nor thought that I'd be able to see such complex coral structures in my life.  I can't wait to upload some of the underwater photos that Mrs. Vogler and Laura have taken... truly amazing!

And seeing the ocean like this makes me realize how little of the world I've explored, how little I know.  And even if I covered all the countries of the world and all the land terrain that I possibly could... I'll never see it all.  Obviously, I knew this before.  But I've never really thought about how different it is to explore the land versus the water.

For some reason, it's comforting to know that I'll always remain blissfully unaware of so many things. So for now, I'll learn all I can about sea birds, coral, and sailing...