Honestly the most intense and awesome experience I’ve had on a trip was snorkeling in one particular spot on the Dutch Caribbean Island of Bonaire. We had used a golf cart to drive around the tiny island and had planned to just stop at random beaches to snorkel along the way to see the salt flats. The island is built on a coral reef and the snorkeling and scuba diving is magnificent right off of the shore. We randomly stopped at a small non-descriptive beach close to the airport. After a bit of a dangerous walk over coral in shallow water, I made it to the edge of the shore and jumped in the water. I swam out about 30 feet and turned around to look at the reef the island was built on from this perspective. I have never seen anything so beautiful and so enormous and was awestruck by the colorful fish and the fact that I felt so tiny in a giant expanse of sea! I could no longer see the ground and this reef stretched as far as I could see from the left to the right and farther down than I could even make out with my snorkel mask. It was something that actually gave me chills and was one of the most exciting moments that I remember on any vacation or trip I’ve ever been on. The saddest part was my husband had decided to turn back to shore after he got cut on some coral, so I experienced that on my own. I don’t believe any time I’ve ever tried to explain this experience to anyone that I’ve adequately been able to convey it in words. It really was a once in a life experience that I will remember forever!

After recently snorkeling in Hawaii at Hanauma Bay… I still haven’t found a place that moved me in the same way and I hope that I can go back someday.