Tortuga Island

The other day Joey, Stacy and Melissa ventured to Tortuga Island on our first excursion. We were picked up at our apartment at 8 a.m. after having a nice breakfast together. We drove around Jaco for a bit picking up other passengers, three of which were girls our age from L.A. We arrive at a beach and see a small boat waiting and then a line of other boats waiting farther out in the ocean. We are told that 8 people can fit in the boat so we all pile in and get taxied out to our other boat.

Once we are all in the bigger boat we are ready to go. And by bigger, I don't mean BIG by any means. The boat was probably about 18 feet long, if that, and seemed to be made out of fiberglass, crammed with 17 people. So here we go on our 45 minute adventure across the waves of the ocean in a small ass boat! The small cushions on the plastic seat offered no protection for your bum when you were flung through the air while riding over a big wave and crashing back down again. After awhile we pull up to two different large rocks in the water. The boat stops and we are given masks, snorkels and flippers and sent on our way. Joey and I have never snorkeled before so we were expecting some sort of an explination. Nada...here's your stuff, jump in and don't touch the rocks. Once we are all in and feeling comfortable, still holding hands, we are able to see about 5 or 6 different kinds of fish around us and swimming around the rocks below. It was amazing and intimidating all at the same time when you look around and realize you are surrounded by fish of all different colors. Some of the blue and yellow colored fish looked fluorescent swimming through the dark murky water. The two guys driving the boat also swam down to the bottom of the rocks and grabbed a few bright blue starfish that looked fake.

After spending some time snorkeling we then drove the rest of the way to Tortuga Island where we were dropped off for a day of fun. When we got there it was nice and sunny and HOT! We found a small shaded area under a few trees with our new girls from L.A. We spent most of the time chatting, drinking beers and listening to live Calypso music. Our lunch was cooked by the locals right there on the beach. We had AMAZING fresh fish, rice with peppers, tomatoes and carrots, potatoes and bread. Everything tasted delicious!!!! We were then offered some fresh fruit that was so juicy it was dripping down our arms. After lunch we enjoyed a few more cervezas, swimming in the ocean and nap time.
It was a great day of relaxation on the beach with live music, the sound of the waves and great friends. When it was time to go we were all rounded up and sent back to the boat. When we all squish back into this boat, the man starts passing out large plastic trash bags for all of our belongings. Apparently the wind has picked up and we MAY get wet! This time we definitely needed more then a small cushion on the seat to protect us. We are not sure if the waves were really that large in the middle of the ocean or if they seemed big to us because we were in such a small boat flying across the ocean and crashing over waves over and over again. Every landing seemed to get stronger and louder as the boat thudded its was across the ocean, splashing us with salt water with every wave we passed. We even got to stop for a minute so another passenger could get sick overboard, without vomiting on melissa! It was a rough ride home but we made it back to land in no time.