The Fish Adventure

      On January 3, 2009, my entire family (except my mom) boarded the dinghy, our destination a good hookah diving site. The site was near an island in Banderas Bay. The islands were called Las Tres Marietas. A hookah is motor that provides air for people under water. If you use a hookah, you can stay underwater longer.  Since the water was relatively warm, my family and I only wore our wet-suits as a precaution. The skies were clear and sunny, but the winds a little strong and the ocean choppy.

      When we arrived at our destination, we had trouble setting our dinghy anchor. After many tries, we managed to set it near a promising rock. Dad started the hookah and everyone jumped into the water. One person remained on board to alert us if the hookah shut off or if our anchor dragged.

      The first plunge into the water was a shock, but I quickly warmed up. I had trouble with my mask, so I switched to goggles. From my view, the rocks were dark, a little murky but not eerily so. Groups of green and brown striped fish as long as my thumb swayed with the tide, like clouds drifting around a mountain of rock. I spotted a beautiful dove gray and soft blue fish, 1 and a half feet long. Jaime showed me an electric blue fish, again as long as my thumb. We even saw a grumpy little octopus hiding in a hole in the rock. The rock itself was patches of muddy red, brown, and gray. There were very few green plants, but purple anemones waved their arms everywhere. Once I spotted a deep blue fish with a white stripe in the middle and yellow fins. A fish the color of the rocks flashed by me and startled me. A new flock of fish floated by, black with a stripe of peach in the middle.

     All at once I noticed the air from the hookah tasted funny and that my teeth and mouth ached from clenching the hookah mouth. Rising, I took a short break. It took many trips down to satisfy our curiosity. We motored home, wet, shivering, and eager to get out of our wet-suits. I hear that mom is making fish chowder for dinner!

Mera Conger

s/v Don Quixote