My best and most unforgettable experience in the Bahamas for me was the snorkeling experiences I did at many remote unpopulated places. I have only snorkeled once in the Bahamas when I went on a cruise and I saw none of the coral and reef life that I saw on this trip. I was amazed how a breathtaking beautiful world with animals and plants can live together in harmony. There is a radiant world under the ocean! I was fascinated to see how fish and invertebrate animals adapted to the environment. The animals lived harmoniously together around sunken ships, rocky reefs, and coral reefs. The colors within the habitats were so majestic and full of neon, radiant shades of yellow, blue, pink, and green. I found myself in awe each and every minute during snorkeling. I was also intrigued by how some animals especially the fish were as curious to see us as we were to see them. The fish would swim right up to you and turn away when I would put my hand out to touch them. Words can never explain the beauty beneath the ocean.
I would have to say my worst experience was the
heat and mosquitoes in July. During the day when the heat got
unbearable, we would jump into the water to cool off. Many of the
nights were like the doldrums - no wind and hot! The heat, humidity,
and mosquitoes were at times unbearable. Our boat did not have air
conditioning and there was limited sleeping space. Several nights we
could not sleep because we were so uncomfortable. I remember one hot
night in Great Harbour Cay when the teachers from the boat and I were
trying to find a "cool breezy" place to sleep. We found a somewhat
cooler place at the marina pool on lounge chairs. We brought our
pillows and blankets and settled down for a restful night. Little did
we know, a swarm of mosquitoes came to spend the night with us. We
tried to protect ourselves by covering our bodies from head to toe
with our blankets until the next morning. Oh yeah - insect repellent
did not work against these Bahamian "human eating "piranha
mosquitoes. Many of us arrived home looking as if we had a bad case
of measles. In spite of the heat and insects, I would not hesitate to
take another cruise with teachers again.