One day as I was surfing the internet, I came across this great Caribbean travel website that had amazing pictures of a kaleidoscope of marine creatures seen through glass-bottom boats. Here I was, scared of the water, sick of being the butt of my friends’ jokes about my phobia. In school too, I was the one to watch over my classmates’ belongings as they had a great time in the swimming pool.

There was finally hope for me. So what if I couldn’t go diving or snorkeling to enjoy the rich marine life? Now all this be could seen from the safety of glass-bottom boats as mentioned on the site. On a whim I booked my ticket and hotel reservation online, packed my bags, and a book and left for Montego Bay in Jamaica.

The view from the plane was breathtaking………the blue sea everywhere and then lo and behold, this tiny speck of land grew into a picture-perfect island. Montego Bay on the northern coast of Jamaica is the second largest city in the country. MoBay as the locals call it is a tourist-friendly place with accommodations to suit all budgets, an assortment of dining venues, and shopping options. The beaches offer a variety of water sports and outdoor activities. There is always something for everyone here, even for laid back visitors like me. I could hardly wait to reach the hotel and get the tour desk to book me on one of the glass-bottom boats.

Armed with my camera, I was off to the Montego Bay Marine Park. Finally, I found myself sitting between a disgruntled teenage girl and her mother aboard a glass-bottom boat. I was thrilled just to be there. As we cruised along the bay, I saw a colorful array of exquisite corals swaying languidly in the water. I sat absolutely transfixed as myriads of tropical fish swam chasing each other among the sponges. Even the moody teenager was impressed by this parade of underwater participants.

My “underwater adventure” over, I went back to my room with a whole lot of photographs of my marine friends. The first thing I did was to upload them on my Facebook profile as though to tell them “Hey look, I too can have a good time, that too without having to get wet!” Thank you glass-bottom boats.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 6:02 pm and is filed under Adventurous Life, Best Travel Resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.