Free time on Kwaj

I've now had two weekends on Kwaj, and so had a chance to experience some of the recreation options. On my first weekend here we got invited out on a boat to see the lagoon and some of the other surrounding islands. It was a cool experience for me because I'd never been on a small boat before... ever.

So once I got over the feeling that I was going to puke, it was an absolutely beautiful trip.  Seeing the smaller islands around the atoll was really cool, as most of them are undeveloped and so look like something out a national geographic magazine.

Once we got out on the water, I had a chance to try snorkeling for the first time. I'd actually never once swam in deep water before, so I chickened out a bit and wore a life vest this first time out. But once I got over my deep water nerves a bit, it was a really cool experience. The coral and various schools of fish were amazing to see, and we even spotted a shark about 50 yards from us.  All in all, it was a really neat experience. I want to try snorkeling some more, but will probably practice a bit off the beach to get more comfortable with it first.

The following weekend we decided to take in a movie instead of venturing out much because we got seriously roasted on the boat trip. I thought I put enough sun screen on, but I was wrong. Very, very wrong. So a movie seemed like a good bet and the theater is neat because it's an open air building.

It was a cool experience sitting in the theater, but the picture and sound quality left a lot to be desired. Maybe it was just the movie itself, so I'll give it another try - but it was hard to enjoy with the low resolution picture and tricky to understand sound.

But the time for fun and relaxation will be ending soon, as the school year starts in just a few days. We have one more teacher work day, and then the kids start on Wednesday, so summer is basically over. Once I start going to work every day, this will probably feel a lot less like a tropical vacation... oh well.