Snorkeling (Having the time of my life!)

Sorry but there is not enough time and not enough Internet connection to blog regularly while on vacation in Australia.  But I gotta let you know that snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef was a dream come true for me.  It was Everything I Hoped It Would Be.  I snorkeled 3 times; twice on the inner reef near Low Isle outside of Port Douglas and once on the outer reef.  The Great Barrier Reef is the only animal that can be seen from the moon.  Coral are animals.  The Great Barrier Reef is not a single reef but a collection of smaller reefs.  Snorkeling there is like swimming into the most amazing fish tank you have ever seen. The reef is farther from shore than I thought.  It takes 15 minutes in a jet boat to get to the inner reef and 90 minutes to get to the outer reef. Coral comes in two kinds-hard and soft.  The soft coral moves in the currents just like I do.  The hard coral doesn't move with the currents and is mostly found on the outer reef.  The soft coral comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors.  Brain coral looks like brains.  Boulder coral looks like boulders.  Spaghetti coral looks like pasta.  Lettuce coral is a pretty green and looks like lettuce.  I saw stag-horn and cauliflower lettuce too.  The fish comes in all colors of the rainbow.  Some fish look like a rainbow!  The reef is fascinating and three snorkeling trips was the right amount for me.  Each trip included 3 to 5 hours of snorkeling.  Snorkeling doesn't feel like much work when you're doing it because it is so much fun but I am exhausted by the time I get back to my room in the evening.  I saw a hawk-nosed turtle and followed it for 15 minutes feeling so at peace as we flew through the water.  I saw a white tipped reef shark and followed it around a piece of coral until it saw a diver down there and turned around.  I turned around with it and went the other way until it saw 2 divers and sped off into the depths.  I swam with some black and white striped fish that were not shy and constantly in my face.  I swam with a school of turquoise and yellow fish with a metallic silver stripe, each about an inch long.  I joined their school and almost felt I was one of them.  When I get home I will develop the film in my disposable underwater camera and share my pictures.  I really hope they turn out because what I was was really incredible.  Cheers!