Memories

Chapter 5

Mitch POV

Day 5

"Land ho!" Kirstin says as we stand on the bow of the ship. "I've almost forgotten that anything exists other than this ship."

"That's good, isn't it?" I say.

"Yeah. I mean, what's the point of this nice vacation if you can't forget your life for even a few days."

"Yeah," I say. I know she doesn't realize it, but her comment brought me out of the little haze I've been in since last night.

The people we have met are great, and some of them even go to school with us, but not all of them. Things won't be as fun and carefree when we get back; we'll most likely be strangers once more.

We meet up with our group guide who is taking us on our first adventure out into the small island. We packed a bag with a change of clothes, because first up is snorkeling.

We board one of the waiting boats, and it takes us out to a nearby reef. After a quick safety lesson, Kirstin and I are ready to go. We hold hands as we fall overboard together, and take off.

The reef is unlike anything I have ever seen before. The fish darting in and out, sea turtles swimming by, even a passing sting ray comes close enough to touch. Every animal we encounter is such a vibrant shade of purple or blue or orange, I swear they will have to invent a new color just to describe them.

We pose for a crew member with an underwater camera before swimming over to an area where we are given some anchovies to feed the anemones. This is easily one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

Just as we surface, a crew member from the boat alerts us to a pod of dolphins nearby. We're told they're friendly, but that they don't always come near. We wait with the rest of the group patiently, but they never get closer than maybe 100 feet. Still, we laugh and enjoy watching them swim and play and jump out of the water for us.

"I can't wait to see that picture we took. I bet we look like dorks," Kirstin says with a laugh on our way back.

"Dorks or not, it'll still be a cool picture to have."

We rinse off and change on the beach, and head into town to explore. Most things here are fairly Americanized, so we don't feel too out of place, but there are still some places that we find where we have to communicate with gestures and laughs. The first one is a bakery.

We are drawn in by the delicious smell of baking bread and sweet sugar. The woman behind the counter greets us, and waits patiently as we point to various items. She gladly creates us a sample box of her favorites. She takes our money, and shoos us out the door.

"This is the best bread in the whole world," I say as I take another bite of the sugar coated piece Kirstin and I are sharing. "It needs an award."

"Two awards," Kirstin adds.

We pack the rest away and find another shop that sells souvenirs. We take more pictures, unable to control our laughter at one point. We excuse ourselves when the woman behind the counter shouts something that neither of us understands and glares.

"I think we made her mad," Kirstin says.

"I think we did too. Hey look, there's a park over there. Let's just go relax under a tree."

When we get there, I see that it's not just a park, but an almost mini jungle in the middle of the city.

We find a nice shady tree to lounge under, close our eyes, and take full advantage of the amazing ocean breeze that's blowing.