A Snarkle of a Time

When choosing what tours to take in Alaska, I came upon one in Ketchikan that seemed so awesome I couldn't not do it. Snorkeling. Seriously, who says they snorkeled in Alaska. Now some might say I am mildly retarded or clinically insane. I told a guide what I was doing and she thought I was crazy. Even my brother, a trained Army Ranger, thought me to be crazy. But I could snorkel in Alaska - soo much cooler than snorkeling in the Bahamas or Bermuda.

So, when we arrived in Ketchikan, I was relieved that it was a nicer day than it had been in Juneau. Clearing skies with some chance of rain. Not that it would matter when I was in the water but the sun is always better than clouds. I got off the ship at the appointed time and met up with my guide. I ended up being the only one in the group that was from a Princess Ship. All the others were from the Zuiderdam - a Holland America Line cruise ship. (Side note: there are many other ships in port when we dock. There were four in Skagway, three in Juneau and four in Ketchikan. So many of the tours have people from all different cruise ships.)



Anyways, we boarded a bus and drove 10 minutes to the dive shop. Here we got a quick lesson on how to get dressed and then went at it. Putting these wet suits on is harder than pulling up spanx but it does the same thing. It's like a constant corset for your entire body. The suits are 7 mm thick and are made of nyoprene. Nyoprene is a substance that allows the water in to a certain layer. Then it lets your body heat the bubbles of water in the suit, keeping you warm all the time. If anyone knows me well, you know that I am cold all the time. My normal body temperature is most often lower than 98.6. So I was a bit wary about getting cold.

We put on the suits. Then the booties. Then the hood. Then we were zipped up and ready to go. Got our masks, snorkels and gloves and boarded the bus again. We went a mile down the road to Mountain Point - the place where we were to snorkel. We got out, suited up and then got into the water. It was about 59 degrees. It was....chilly. I wasn't cold all the time but in no way was I hot. I had to keep moving so I didn't get cold but by the end, my hands were freezing.

Despite all that, we saw some really cool things. Sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers. I held all of them and took pictures - with an underwater camera so don't expect any of those. It was sorta crazy to see that these animals survive in these cold waters.


Sunflower Sea Star

After about an hour in the water, I was ready to get out. I had finally gotten cold and needed some warmth. We got back on the bus and went back to the dive shop to change. Getting out of the wet suits is about as difficult as getting into them but it was nice to be able to breath once again. All in all, the tour was awesome. I recommend it to anyone who goes to Ketchikan or any part of South East Alaska that offers the tour. The people were great and it was an experience that I will not soon forget.

My parents, however, decided to gallivant by themselves today and headed off on a crab fishing vessel that was once used in the show, The Deadliest Catch.
But that story will be told in a separate blog. Til then..