Saturday, March 25, 2017

Mom's Snorkel Outing

This post is part of the Slice of Life March Challenge hosted by Two Writing Teachers.
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One of the only things that was on my mom's 'must do' list while visiting us in Saudi Arabia was to go snorkeling. Today was the day we had set aside for the outing. 

There is a great beach just over an hour north of us. The coral is fabulous. It sits in a small bay. Best of all, the National Guard oversee the area and when we register they will close the beach off to non-Western expats so we can wear whatever we want. It's been nicknamed "Bikini Beach".

The first thing I noticed when we paused at the bluff above the beach was that there were two boats anchored in the bay, which I have never seen before. When we pulled up next to the water there was a breeze blowing - enough of a breeze that putting our sun shade up in its normal 'tent' format would just blow it out to the water, even with the stakes.

The guys who were diving got into their gear and headed out. (Full body wetsuits as well as being below the surface of the water were two factors that would be very different for them than for those snorkeling.)

I am a wuss. I don't like to be cold. Plus I live here. I don't have to get in when the conditions are not ideal. I plopped down to enjoy the view and watch my daughter construct grand things in the sand.

My husband comes back in to take my daughter snorkeling. She tells of all the pink and purple coral she saw and describes many fish that fascinated her.

My mom sat next to me. 

"Who will believe that it was too cold?!" I imagine her saying to people back home. 

3 comments:

  1. Enjoyed this post. Last line made me smile. Did you mom get the chance to go snorkeling?

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  2. This makes me want to visit Saudi even more once I move to Bahrain in August! I need to start researching this idea more. I imagine that it is not going to be the easiest thing to do as an American visitor. Hmm. How awesome that you can close down a beach so you can go snorkeling in a bikini!

    -Amanda at https://teachingwanderlust.com/

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  3. I'm wondering what you consider to be cold, and I'm betting it's different from what I would think, ha. I've never been snorkeling before....This sounds like a fascinating adventure! ~JudyK

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