Snorkeling Off Lovina Beach
I had imagined my first snorkeling trip in Bali beginning peacefully with coffee by the pool, ocean air, and underwater photography. Instead, it began with someone pounding on my hotel door while I slept through my departure time.
Before going to bed I checked my underwater camera goggles one last time. Everything seemed to be working fine, and I was excited about finally trying them out while snorkeling the next morning.
My snorkeling trip was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. I figured I would wake up around my usual time, grab some coffee and breakfast, and still have plenty of time before the boat arrived.
I settled into bed with my book and eventually fell asleep sometime around 11:30.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I woke up to someone pounding on my hotel door.
Still half asleep, I stumbled out of bed, grabbed my robe, and opened the door to find two hotel maids standing there ready to clean the room.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“It is 10:15. Shall we come back later?”
10:15?!
I could not believe I had overslept.
Trying not to panic, I explained that I had a snorkeling trip scheduled for 10:00 and asked if they could give me just a few minutes.
“Oh yes,” one of them said calmly. “He is down there waiting for you.”
Somehow that made me feel both relieved and even more rushed at the same time.
I scrambled to get dressed, grabbed my goggles, hurried downstairs, and stopped only long enough to gulp down a cup of coffee before climbing aboard the boat.
The captain was there waiting patiently for me, along with his cousin Dion, who would be snorkeling with us. Seeing another person getting into the water made me feel much better than the idea of jumping into the ocean alone.
Within minutes we were heading back out onto the water.
Not exactly the peaceful morning start I had imagined.
Once we reached the snorkeling area, Dion climbed into the water with me while the captain tossed bits of food into the sea to attract fish.
Almost immediately the water came alive with movement and color.
Bright tropical fish darted around us in every direction while I tried to operate my underwater camera goggles. I could hear what sounded like photographs being taken and thought to myself, “Great! This thing is working!”
Unfortunately, it was not.
What I later discovered was that the batteries were nearly dead. The sound I kept hearing was actually the camera shutting itself off every time I tried taking a picture.
So much for my fantastic underwater photography plans.
To make matters even more entertaining, I could not seem to get the snorkel mouthpiece adjusted properly. Every few minutes I would accidentally inhale a mouthful of salty ocean water and have to surface coughing and spitting.
Despite that, I still enjoyed myself.
The fish were beautiful, and at one point Dion dove to the bottom and brought up a bright blue starfish for me to hold. I remember thinking how strange and delicate it looked in my hand before he carefully returned it to the water.
It was fun, relaxing, and memorable, although I still think the best snorkeling experience I ever had was years earlier with my son Sean on the island of Samed in Thailand.
Sometimes the experiences that go slightly wrong are the ones we remember most clearly later.
Bali Wallpaper Collection
These wallpapers were photographed during my travels across Bali, from the quiet beaches of Lovina to the streets of Ubud, the terraced rice fields of the countryside, and the tropical coastline of Sanur.
Each image is connected to moments, places, and experiences shared throughout the Bali Stories series.
