May 20

On Friday, we woke up early and got ready for our boat tour day. 10 minutes before we were scheduled to be picked up, I got a phone call that they were waiting for us in the driveway. Whoops! I guess they said 8:20 and not 8:30!! We were pretty much ready, though, so we hustled downstairs and got onto a van that shuttled us over to the dock. Apparently, the reason they canceled the trip yesterday was to put up new clear window screens, which looked pretty nice. It was a pretty small boat, but quite a few people on it. We cruised over to a look-out of Whitehaven beach, hiked up the hill and saw the gorgeous clear waters and white sands. This inlet had swirls of sand and turquoise water, really beautiful. And you could even see sting rays swimming along the bottom! We took some photos and then back to the boat where we went to the far end of Whitehaven Beach and my boyfriend and I swam to shore. It's a lot harder to swim in the ocean with waves. I'm not sure that I've ever done it before... Anyway, so we swam and then laid out towels and tried to dry off in the little bit of sun. I carved into the silica sand. Then who should I see walking down the beach, but a tan girl, with a brazilian cut bikini, big hair, a redheaded boyfriend and a big camera - Gabby!! I ran up and said hi to her and we chatted for a quick second about the craziness of running into each other on a random beach. If her boat had come any earlier, or ours any later, or if she had just stayed down at the other end of the beach, or if we had gone on different days, we never would've run into each other! But as luck would have it, Bucket Crew members will always run into each other if nearby!! Haha Our tour set up a BBQ on the beach and a storm was coming in, so we went to go see about the food. We sat down with a plateful of meat and fruit and it just started POURING. We stayed, hoping it would let up in a few seconds, but it kept coming down. My boyfriend ran to get the towels and backpack, and I took cover under the one shelter, huddling with everyone else, trying to finish our lunch. It didn't really stop for a while, so we packed up the BBQ, and waited for our guides to take us back to the boat. Our towels were heavy with sand and rain, so we washed them out in the ocean and wrung them out. Back on the boat, I used my clothes to towel off and we headed for a snorkeling spot up in Mantaray Bay. The journey to get there was VERY rocky and the boat was swaying back and forth. A few people got sick off the back of the boat and my boyfriend was concentrating hard on the horizon. It was a bit scary at times, but all I could think was, If I could handle that one boat ride in Thailand, this is cake! We made it to the snorkeling area and I didn't really want to go in, but was convinced to go check it out. I swam out to the area and in the murky waters, I could make out some schools of fish and barely some coral beneath. It was OK, but mostly like the other snorkeling I've done in Thailand. I was tired and not snorkeling very well, water kept getting in my mouth... So I headed back to the boat. My boyfriend stayed out a little longer and then came in before most people. Even with the boat anchored, it was still rocking violently. I enjoyed the view from the top deck and my boyfriend came up, but immediately started looking very pale and feeling sea sick. So much so that he had to go downstairs and sit on the edge with his feet in the water. On the way back, I hoped it would be better and it was, but he was already over the edge, trying to keep food down. haha So, he was pretty silent for the rest of the trip. I enjoyed the cheese and cracker snacks and paid for the drinks we had consumed, then back ashore on the mainland, safe at last! We got a shuttle ride back to the hotel in time to relax in the jacuzzi and shower before getting a massage in town. It was a very nice way to relax! We got subway (gave up on the dining options in town) and some drinks and headed back to the hotel for a nice quiet evening in and watched a terrible movie.