Alright here it is Part 2…enjoy!

The next day Philip was ready to burn the rest of his body, so we decide to head out on the “4 island snorkeling tour”. We rode out about forty-five minutes through the bluest greenest sparkling waters I have ever seen.

Silas, Philip and Zeb jumped right in.  Arlo and I were a little more timid. I love the ocean but it’s kind of scary..there is so much unknown, it’s takes a leap of faith to just glide uninvited into “their” world. When we slid into the warm green water it took a minute for Lolo to figure out how to breath through the snorkel  but once he got a hang of it we swam off-hand in hand mesmerized by the coral, the fish, the strange purple things that gave the impression of a Colorado wild flower blowing gently in a spring breeze. I don’t know how to express this perfect moment with Arlo so I will just say it was a supercalifragilisticexpialidociously -peacefully-spiritually awesome experience!.  I will never forget his pure unadulterated excitement squeaking over and over as each new creature would greet us.  I remember a similar amazing experience snorkeling  with Zeb in St. John when he was about 4. We went on to 3 more places and had lunch on a beautiful beach. It was an amazing day. Many times motherhood has more downs than ups but that day was a great day to be a mom.

The next morning Philip and Silas were off to dive.  The first time for both and they went down 12 metres!! Zeb was too young but they said he could come along and snorkel so they all left early.  Arlo and I had the day to ourselves. We walked the beach, played in the waves and drank banana smoothies while Jack Johnson played over and over at the bar. The boys came back that evening with a sparkle in their eye’s-  they were hooked. Silas and Philip loved every minute under the sea and Zeb befriended one of the boat crew who took him around to the best snorkel spots. They even saw some black tip sharks and a sea snake. The highlight for Zeb I think.  Another great day topped off with another amazing sunset…is this place for real?


We had a couple more days of unbelievable snorkeling, even swimming 80 meters through a dark cave to the inside of a hidden volcano, a tuk tuk ride to a Muslim fishing village, great conversations with some beautiful Thai people. Even some bittersweet stories of the Tsunami. I was so paranoid might happen while we were there that I checked the earthquake map daily and stayed up each night going over my “plan”  (and yes I realize I am a freak and probably need to be medicated or at least self medicated with a drink or two each night)..Here’s a glimpse into my thoughts…. To rescue my family from a tsunami  first grab a life jacket , next Philip’s computer ( losing all that Astral info. would be a nightmare) , passport’s check,  hmm, should I put shoes on  the kids because there could be sharp rocks…no that would take to long okay barefoot is fine. Then I spend about 15 minutes figuring out how to get to the “safety zone” 700 metres away they say we have about ten minutes to get there this is usually when I fade out because trying to convert metres into miles is more than my sun soaked brain can handle. As I drift off to sleep…. my body becomes a little fishing boat gently bobbing among the waves floating through the deepest blues and emerald greens. Colors that I’ve never seen in any Crayola box. Colors there are no words to describe … Just me and the sea, the fish and waves rocking me into a deep and peaceful sleep with not a Tsunami in sight.

Saturday comes and it’s time to go. We’re sad to leave. We’ve made some friends and fallen into a relaxed routine. I’ll miss the friendly greeting; a bow and a long happy “Swa dee kahhhh” to me and “Swa dee khrapppp” to the boys, I’ll miss the Pad Thai and the banana pancakes, the sounds of Jack Johnson floating out over our drinks, the sunsets, the bright colors of the muslim girls head scarves passing me in a blur as they ride by on their motorbikes  and of course the colors of the Andaman sea although I think I’ve taken those with me. I still fall into the colors of the sea when I close my eyes, floating with the fish under the reflection of the sky.

We hit the airport early which gives us time to treat the boys to Subway. It was actually quite good. Funny how something like Subway can feel like an old friend when you haven’t seen one for 6 months!  Next door to the Subway was a Dunkin Donuts tempting us with it’s decadent yumminess sitting so perky in it’s plexi glass case open for little fingers to come up and grab it…I was mesmerized by the coconut smile face one as i saw Arlo’s hand swoop in for a delicious looking chocolate donut with pink frosting…”Keep moving we aren’t giving in to that” I said. So he leaned in and took a nice big sniff. That will have to do. Time to go home…

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