Are you for Snuba?

Why yes, yesterday we were for Snuba! We (finally) got to go on my Christmas present trip yesterday! We were supposed to go Snuba diving last week but our trip was rescheduled because of bad weather. So yesterday Courtney, Sara, Mendez, Tori, and I traveled to Fajardo to have the Snuba experience. We arrived at the marina and found our boat. It was a 60 some odd foot sail boat. I wasn't expecting a sail boat and I was a little nervous because Courtney sometimes get seasick when a boat isn't moving so I was afraid he might feel that way on a slow moving sail boat. We got all checked in, met our Snuba instructor Barry, and climbed aboard the East Wind. Wow! There were so many people on the boat! I wasn't quite sure how everything was going to work but our guide Barry was so helpful. We traveled to the small island Icacos (Joy, Scott, Jason, Courtney, & I went there in September) and hung out for about an hour. We ate lunch on the boat - so nice. They had a huge spread of deli trays, cheese trays, pasta salads, veggie salads, fruits, etc. We didn't eat much because we still had to Snuba and didn't want to take a chance of getting ill or cramping. They also had soda, juice, and oh yes an open rum bar!! Of course we were not allowed to partake of the free bar until after Snuba. After lunch it was off to our Snuba adventure. In case you are not familiar let me explain: Snuba diving is much like Scuba diving but without the heavy gear. You do not carry the oxygen tank on your back but instead you are connected to a raft that holds your tank. You are connected by a long tube from the raft that can go 20 feet down. I think we went farther than 20 feet but noone else does. Anyway - we put on our flippers and snorkel masks then climbed into the water. Barry put a weight belt on each of us so we wouldn't float up and then we got our oxygen hook up. It really was a fantastic experience! We didn't get to see too much but I think maybe that was best because we were able to focus on breathing and what we needed to be doing. We did see fish, and plants, and coral, etc. The worst part of it for me was the pressure in my ears. In case you don't know, I have terrible ears! I've had many sets of tubes in my ears and they are now filled with nasty scar tissue. I got through the pressure though and really enjoyed myself. We are tired today though! On the trip back to the main land Courtney helped raise the sails and so he got free beer (I said the rum was free...not the case for the beer). Tonight we have a Three King's Party to attend and if we weren't going there we would have found a way back to Paliminito Island because the very boat we were on yesterday was being rented by Mariah Carey to go to Paliminito today. Here are some pictures of our trip. I don't have any of the underwater pictures yet but will get those developed soon. Overall it was a GREAT Christmas gift and I would love to do it again!!