Great Barrier Reef

My Great Barrier Reef experience was absolutely amazing. I think the entire boat ride, swimming, and playing with fish was one of the best parts of this trip. The anticipation on the boar built up as we sat there for almost an half hour soing who knoes what! Finally as we set off and our high speed boat sped through the water into immense blue. I thinkthat in heneralthe sea relaxes me and being out there, not even in the water, just made me feel so happy. Even when the wind got a little cold and I was being sprayed with salt water the entire ride, I stuck it out the entire rideout there. Surprising fact I learned today, is that salt water dissolves/condenses very quickly! When the boat slowed and there was no more water hitting me i looked down at my arm and had a grainy layer of white salt all over my body. When we were finally allowedto leave the boat everyone rusehd to the tables, took of their clothes, and ran over for some life wests. I feel like we hardly got any instruction on what to do out there and how to do it because we only learned form a 20 minute video. But I liked how much freedom we had to go out there are learn what to do from experience and mistakes. So while kind of understanding what was happening we put on all our equipment and jumped in. That first glance under the water was breathtaking. All thesefish and bunches of coral are only things that I have seen in movies. My first contact with the fish were the dark blue and yellow ones that swarmed me right when I got in the water, I freaked out, paniced, and kick around as Arnaud laughed at my pain. We kept swimming into shallower coral that at the time sounded like a good idea until I was right on top of it and it was too close and I kicked around again and cut up my leg. Lesson learned I swam out of there best I could and got back on the boat for some lunch. While on the boat there was a little semi-submersible boat tour that we decided to take out in the water where we saw a little sea turtle! Although the boat was fun I woul dhave to say that I'd rather have been in the water checking it all out but it was something different to try out. We did get to see clown fish and turtles which was very cool. Our next and last dive was after we got back to the boat and lasted about 2 hours. Well mine did, everyone else got out at about an hour but I just couldn't leave. I loved looking at the fish and exploring everything that was in the reef. It was so beautiful and warm and I just felt like I belonged there.

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