This is my Personal Legend
by Michelle Saltis
Traveling has become my life, my fulfillment, and my joy. ...
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Why a 19-Year-Old Needs a Lifejacket to Snorkel
(middleMARCH2009)I thought after learning to surf in the 6-foot, highly aggressive waves of the Ecuadorian coast would cure my fear of water forever. In some ways it did, but in others.. not a chance.
We were off the coast of Costa Rica, ready to snorkel around Isla Tortuga. I decided, that yes, I was no longer afraid of water after my nearly drowning every day in Montanita, and, that no, I did not need the lifejacket offered, thank you. That was mistake number one.
At first, I was fine, a tad freaked out because I had never been floating in water this deep before and seeing all the fish below me were intimidating. But, as I floated on my stomach, further and further away from the boat, I began to get more nervous. I still couldn't get the hang of the snorkel, and my mask kept filling up with water, as did my snorkel. It was obviously too deep to stand, and I was getting more and more tired from having to tread water while I emptied the water from my mask. And, then, obviously not seeing beneath me, my knee scrapped along a coral rock below me. That was it. I was quite done practically drowning and not breathing. Not to mention that I was very tired, and my knee was getting very sore. I began to swim back to the boat, but it was very far away. I was convinced that I was going to drown before I got there.
And, that is why, whenever I went snorkeling again, I was sure to wear a lifejacket, and was usually the only one above the age of 6 to do so.
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