Day 8

I realize my story has passed the dénouement, but there are a few days left on my trip. To an extent I see my trip report as payback for the help I’ve received from fellow boardies. I’ll continue the report in hope that other boardies may find useful information herein.

I took Mrs. Peel up on her offer to re-enter the salt water. After coffee, calaloo and fritters we head back into the surf. It didn’t look like her mask was going to work.
Her face is too tiny for the seal. I McGyvered her up. I got the face mask as tight as was comfortable. I put the snorkel through her strap, then we got out our plastic inflatable raft.
Kudos to Gerryg for that idea, don’t leave home without it.

I put the steering reins back on my ankles. I suggested Mrs. Peel then scooch up on the raft so her head was beyond the end of the raft. She could then put her face in the water, breath through the snorkel, see the bottom with only a little water getting in at a time. She had to drain her mask every so often but it didn’t fill up with water immediately. I don’t think she minded being towed around like Cleopatra either.

We brought a bag of bread along for the reef fish. I think bagels would have worked better. We swam out from Xtabi, around the point at Three Dives and into their little bay.
We had good luck with fish but nothing spectacular. Mrs. Peel has had limited luck snorkeling in the past. “I don’t seem to get it.” I didn’t see any point in trying to teach her, with a mask that didn’t fit, and our jerry-rig worked fine our purposes. We spent an hour or so exploring the waters near Three Dives and the Rockhouse.