The great barrier to enjoyment of anything is unmet expectations, and the thing about expectations is they need to be managed. The day we were to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef started out like this.

And when we arrived at Green Island for the first bit of snorkeling before catching another ferry out to the reef, the rain had stopped, but the chop was still high and the water clarity was terrible. We first went to a less popular beach where Brittany and Andy had snorkeled in the past, but no luck, so off to the busier beach and saw a few beauties like this.

I took this photo at the Sydney Aquarium, since I didn’t have an underwater camera, but the ones we saw really were this extraordinary shade of blue. Then we caught the ferry out to the reef proper.

I had brought most of my own gear, but it turned out my ancient snorkel chose that day to fail. I was sucking in a bit of seawater with each breath and it seemed to be getting worse, which is not conducive to a stress-free appreciation of nature. I swam back to the platform, dragged myself up and out of the water, took off my fins, and went in search of a snorkel to borrow from the provided gear. Then reversed the whole process and finally was breathing freely and seeing glorious color and absolutely enormous fish.

I bobbed about with a hundred or so others inside the buoyed confines of our section of the reef until lunch, by which time the sun had come out. We dried off and warmed up on the upper deck, then went down into the little sub for a tour, choosing the wrong side for seeing most of the cool stuff–oops–but a few people let me cram in and I saw enough.

By the time we caught the ferry back, the day looked like this.

We ended the day laughing together in a place with a similar array of color…

So the day wasn’t perfect. So what? Am I glad I went? Absolutely! It was time with family seeing one of the great natural wonders of the world. Thanks, Brittany, for organizing it!

Wishing you a 2025 filled with adventure, fully enjoyed!