Snorkeling

Our first snorkeling trip was fantastic! We drove to the West side of the Island and found a quiet beach with a huge coral reef not too far from shore. Those little dots in the pictures are Kurtis and the girls snorkeling. I took a more passive approach to snorkeling. I pretty much did the dead man's float and let the current take me along. The fish were amazing! I think it is safe to say that we are all hooked!

Just a few feet from our beach spot, there were a group of people standing in a circle. I couldn't figure out what they were doing until they started singing "Amazing Grace". Come to figure out they were having their own prayer service, not only on the beach, but in the water! It was fun to watch and certainly more charismatic than any church service I have been to lately. At the end of the service, they had a group baptism. The explanation that I heard was that they had already been saved by God's grace, but they were washing away the sins of their daily lives. I am not sure if this is something they do every time they meet, but they did use the Trinitarian Formula, so it should stick!

The little girl pictured became my friend as we sat and watched the church service. Her Grandmother was in attendance and was one of the many who were baptized. The little girl, whose name I could never quite make out was fearful of swimming so she played on the beach and chatted with me. She and her little brother live with her grandmother because their mother had died some time ago. She borrowed my snorkel mask for a while and watched the sand roll in and out with the tide.

After a couple of hours we realized that our lily white skin was becoming fried, even with spf 50. We headed home for the afternoon. Tonight we are headed out to the Junkanoo festival. Generally the festival occurs on Christmas eve, but they do a summer version for the tourists. Apparently the summer version involves a massive fish fry, but no parade. More on Junkanoo and some pictures when we get home tonight.

Peace,

Keri