Disney Vacation - Snorkeling

I love snorkeling...and I always try to go during a cruise if the opportunity presents itself. I'm usually one of the first in the water and one of the last to get back on the boat. Fortunately during our cruise I was able to do two different snorkeling excursions. My first one was on a catamaran in Nassau. The boat took us to the end of the shipping channel where the open ocean starts. We anchored at a small coral reef and we all jumped in and snorkeled for an hour. The water was surprisingly cold. I mean VERY cold. It took me almost a half hour to get used to it and tolerate it. I just kept freediving down to the bottom to try to get my blood circulating. The fish were okay...a few here and there. But the corals were interesting and abundant. Here's some shots from my snorkel trip in Nassau.







The other snorkel excursion was on Disney's private island. There you can just snorkel right off the beach (granted you have to swim away from all the people in order to find the fish). Ben saw me putting on my gear and he told me he wanted to try to snorkel with me. So we put his gear on and he was all pumped to go. Then he got in the water, stuck his head in the water, and then he panicked. He just couldn't get the grasp of breathing through the snorkel under water. He would do it outside of the water, but as soon as he stuck his head in the water he would hold his breath like normal. But I was proud of him of course for trying. Someday we'll do it together.
So anyway, I just snorkeled by myself. The fish here were great. Lots and lots of different varieties that came right up to you. Disney also submerged a whole bunch of relics and things under the water for you to dive around. That was cool. The highlight for me here was coming upon a 4 foot stingray resting on the bottom. I ran out of film of course...but it was still cool to see. Here are the shots from the Disney island.