Snorkeling is Easy and So Much Fun - By: Prem Chadeesingh

Snorkeling is a great sport for almost anyone who can swim. I am not a strong swimmer, and I started snorkeling fairly late in life. It's an undemanding sport with enormous rewards. Best of all, Silver Sands Jamaica provides a variety of snorkeling experiences for the novice as well as the more advanced snorkeler. Just off shore is a small discontinuous coral reef, and further off shore but easily accessible by boat (or by swimming but why waste your energy getting there?) is a larger more continuous reef.

Snorkeling equipment consists of face mask, snorkel, and flippers. While your pleasure at pursuing any sport is directly related to the quality of your equipment, never was that more true than in the case of snorkeling equipment. A leaky or improperly fitting mask or a leaky snorkel means that you spend all your time treading water vainly adjusting your equipment rather than looking at the fish. If you're near sighted or don't wear your contact lenses in the water (which you are not supposed to do, but my daughters always have and it's never been a problem), you'll be happier if you purchase a face mask with your subscription in it. If you are just a bit nearsighted you probably won't have a problem because water magnifies, but if you have much of a prescription, order a customized mask (which may take up to 6 weeks, so don't try to make this a last minute purchase). They are surprisingly cheap considering what normal glasses cost and make all the difference.

Seven or eight in the morning is a great time to snorkel because it is usually calm then, and you don't have to worry about sunburn on your back and arms. Also you can snorkel, take a shower, have a luscious breakfast in your Jamaica villa, and have the rest of the day for whatever else you choose to do. If the sea is calm enough, you can snorkel anytime, but later in the day you must protect yourself from sunburn with a lot of lotion and/or a tee shirt.

It is very easy to simply walk into the Caribbean Sea from the shore and casually snorkel for as long you wish. The "startup costs" only involve putting on your snorkeling equipment and a pair of beach shoes, modified flippers, or regular flippers (in which case you have to walk in backwards to make any progress).

Never touch the coral. Besides the fact that you'll damage the ecology of the area by doing that, you could get stung or have a piece of coral embedded in you. Don't go close to or among the coral until you've learned how to handle your body in the buoyant salt water, and keep your distance particularly when it is rough.

Never snorkel alone. It is so easy to swim in salt water and the whole experience is so enthralling and benign, after a time or two, it is easy to lose your natural sense of caution. Make it a never-to-be-broken rule to never snorkel alone.

Wear a life jacket if you're going some place you haven't gone before, or if it is rough, or if you just want to be a bit lazy and not have to move to stay in place.

Never touch or provoke the fish or other animals.

Fire coral, spiny fish, anything really ugly. If it's really ugly or has spiky things coming out of it, stay away. Without exception, none of the sea creatures is eager to take a "fish" of your size on. They will only attack if you mess with them or corner them.

There are some little things that look like jelly fish (transparent) but they do not have tentacles and don't sting. There are very occasional jelly fish, mostly when the water gets warmer, but they are very rare. You just have to be careful to stay away from tentacles, and leave the area. With all the snorkeling I've done I've never been stung.

Snorkeling while staying in our Jamaica villas is definitely a must-do activity, and Silver Sands Villas provides snorkeling right off the Silver Sands Beach.

About the Author

Prem Chadeesingh is an authority on vacation rentals in Jamaica. He writes for Mysilversands, a company dedicated to providing quality Jamaica accommodation in villas, cottages, and Jamaica apartments by the sea. Prem lived at Silver Sands Jamaica for over seven years.

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