OK, let me back up a bit here. Nate and I took a cruise in October to celebrate our first year together. It was such a great, relaxing vacation. With one tiny exception....
On the first day of our trip, we decided to go on a kayak/snorkel excursion. This entailed kayaking from the beach out to an island that we were told was about a 30 minute row. Well, Nate has been white water rafting, I have been canoeing, we figure this will be fun! We were wrong.
So, we get to the beach and the guides tell us that the water is extra choppy today and that it will be difficult to get out past the first 50 feet or so. Well, we still figure we will do okay. So we get started and get about 30 feet from shore when we capsize. I begin to get a little upset because I am deathly afraid of sharks (long story for another day). Once Nate points out to me that I don't have to try to swim like a maniac because I can just put my feet down and touch bottom I am fine, though. HAHA!
So, we get back into the kayak to try again. We get about half way to the island when we capsize again. This really scares me, as I can not touch the bottom this time and what with my shark phobia and all. So the guide rows over to us and helps us dump the water from our kayak and get back into it. We start off again towards the island. Well, within 2 minutes we are back in the water. I freak out some more. I believe I said something to the effect of "We're going to die out here. The sharks are going to come and eat us and that will be it. We'll be dead. And it's all your fault. I hope you're happy." Somehow in my mind, it was his fault that we were capsizing. It had nothing to do with the choppy water or our inexperience at ocean kayaking. Nope, it was just his fault because I was about to die a horrible and gruesome death.
Anyway, the guide comes back and helps us back into the kayak again and we all decide it is best if he just tows us back to the beach and we forego the island and snorkeling adventure for the day. He tells us not to row and that he will just pull us in. So there we are, not rowing, and yep, you guessed it... SPLASH! Back into the water we go. At this point I was beyond sanity. I was crying and freaking out. I was trembling and then I started thinking oh my god, sharks can probably smell fear, along with the blood I am probably seeping into the water from these two open blisters I just got in the last 30 minues of rowing. Of course, these thoughts just freaked me out more, creating this vicious cycle in my head. I think I kept making comments to Nate about how when I got eaten by the sharks I hoped he'd feel bad for capsizing us so many times and causing my death. Yeah, like I said, I was insane.
Along with my insanity, I was dead tired. My arms felt like jello and I couldn't pull myself back up into the kayak again. So I asked the guide to just pull me back in while I stayed in the water. He reluctantly agreed to tow us in that way. So here we are hanging on to this rope while the poor guide tows us back to shore. About 50 yards from shore he stops because with the waves he would probably capsize while towing us. So we had to swim the rest of the way. One would think that swimming to shore with the waves at your back would be fairly simple, but one would be wrong. I am a decent swimmer and I had such problems getting myself to shore. I really thought I just couldn't go anymore and would just float out to sea in my lifevest and die. Again, no sanity was left. The swimming was definitely not helped by the lifevest, though. The thing was up in my face and cutting into my neck thanks to my "endowment." I'm sure the fact that I was wearing shoes didn't help any, either.
So, once we finally got to shore, Nate and I relaxed and sunned ourselves for a few hours while everyone else snorkeled and rowed back. It was a lovely afternoon for the remainder of that day, with the exception of the biting flies. One even drew blood on my leg! Yuck!
The rest of the cruise went well, though. It was so relaxing and fun. We had a blast snorkeling in Nassau the next day.
Anyway, here are the pictures for your enjoyment.
