On the Wednesday of our vacation we had booked a steal-of-a-deal online for a water adventure day. According to what the online brochure said, we’d be jet-skiing, banana boating, fly fishing (no it’s a ride, not actual fishing), snorkeling, making a trip to turtle island, and of course, the most exciting adventure of all…parasailing.
We woke up bright and early on Wednesday and headed down the beach to begin our adventure. When we arrived, we were greeted by a young man just waking up from sleeping in a bed of lifejackets (what?!). We must have come even before they were open, so we sat around and watched them prepare for the day. The plus side to being the first ones there is that we got to do everything first! No lines, no other people, and best of all, I had a guy babysit my camera and take pics of us. :)
I’d say 99.9% of these activities I’ve never done before, so I strapped up my bravery boots and was ready to enjoy the day! The first activity was jet-skiing and it was pretty was fun. The water was really choppy, so it was quite the teeth chattering ride. I had a guide/instructor behind me, by he let me drive most of the time! I could tell Derik was really was enjoying this activity, he was in front of me doing crazy moves and jumping big waves.
Next, we got on the banana boat, and enjoyed a crazy, high speed ride. Our instructor was perched on the front of the banana, spraying a constant stream of salt water right at our faces making it hard to see!
Third activity? Fly fishing. This is one of the craziest things we did during the day. You lay down in this big inner tube, and wrap your arms around two handles. You’re not strapped in or anything. It starts out really really bumpy and uncomfortable, then once you catch some air, it’s like you’re flying! Hard to describe, looking straight down thirty or so feet below you, and you’re just hanging on to a couple of handles. AAHH!! the landing’s real rough. You basically slam down on top of the water, and it gives you quite a jolt. Derik loved this ride.
This ISNT us…thank you google images for the pic. But this is what the fly fish does!
The fly fish got us ready for parasailing. We had a glimpse of being airborne, why not do it all the way? Im not gonna lie, I was more than terrified. Not only do you go way the freak up in the air, and you’re only held down to the ground by a single cord/rope, but you’re held by a moving boat! AAAAND…you go solo. No instructor, no partner, just by yourself. A very, very brief instructional course of what to do, and how to land (oh yeah you land yourself on the beach) is given , then before you know it, you’re running down the beach and then…whooosh! You’re up. And you keep going up…and up…and then the boat only appears as a tiny dot the size of you’re thumb nail. I’d be lying if I said I didnt hyperventilate just a bit as I was dangling in the air, held up by a harness. After gathering my bearings (and my breath) I started to relax and enjoy being up above everything. Before I knew it the ride was over, and I was pulling as hard as I could on the cords of the sail, trying to head to the right and land on the beach. The landing went alot smoother than I thought, I had 4 people waiting to catch me!
Me…looking definitely worried!
Derik’s landing
I guess our personal photographer decided to take a pic of the dogs?
My turn!
Yep. That’s me!
Landing!
de-harnessing
Derik went before I did though, and even though it was his first time parasailing, did it with such professionalism and ease. He was ready to go again after I was through! Unfortunately we didnt get the chance, and headed out for a brief snorkeling trip. The water wasnt the clearest, and the sun was hiding behind the clouds. Thankfully, we were given some bread, and had a few brave fish swim right up to us to take it!
Then it was off to turtle island. Turtle Island is a sanctuary/farm that hatches sea turtles and then sends them out of captivity when they’re old enough and strong enough. Derik and I were able to hold a couple of the turtles, and they’re soooo much softer than I thought! Turtle Island also has quite a few other animals to look at, pet, and hold.
All in all, the day was a blast. I felt very accomplished being able to do a bunch of new stuff that I’d never had a chance to do before! That night we went on a sunset cruise with one of my very good South African friends (Harriet) that is also teaching in Korea…along with her bestie who met Harriet in Bali for vacation. Stay tuned for the cruise blog post!