Snorkeling at Zampa Beach

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Snorkeling at Zampa Beach

James and I went snorkeling at Zampa Beach this afternoon to test out our new wetsuits and enjoy God's creation. James' wetsuit fit him perfectly and it was neoprene free so he didn't experience an allergic reaction to it. Last time James went swimming he had a pretty severe allergic reaction to the neoprene boots and gloves he was wearing so he had to order a specially made wetsuit from Fourth Element that was neoprene free. There are certain chemicals used to cured and harden the natural rubber in neoprene wetsuits and when the wetsuit is used, these chemicals leach out from it. From the research James did online, he told me it's actually a fairly common allergic reaction.

Anyways, his wetsuit was really awesome! It had a fleece-like lining making it super soft and it was the perfect size for him. It was tremendously compact and everything he had (shirt, pants, booties) could be put into a small stuff sack. After we got out of the water I was a bit nervous that he was having a reaction to the suit because he had some little red bumps on his arms. James told me not to worry as they were only from being a bit chilly and after a few moment they disappeared. It was such a great joy to know that James had found a way to explore the underwater world with me now. We have been wanting to snorkel and scuba dive together for quite some time now.

My new wetsuit was terrific as well. I finally decided to stop using the ridiculously oversized one that I had bought last year. I don't know what I was thinking when I got it because it did not fit properly at all. Well the new one I have is Aqualung's Aqua Flex 3mm jumpuit. I managed to snag the last on in the store and I'm very glad I got there when I did. This suit was on sale and instead of paying $200 for it, I got it for $150. Saving money is sweet! This is by far more flexible then other types of suits out there that are 3mm, making it really easy to put on and peel off. It can be folded up (try doing that with other 3mm suits...laughable) and is very compact.

We were the only people crazy enough to enter the water today. It was rather windy and the ocean had a significant chop to it. It was nothing life-threatening by any means but we were just really pumped to try out out new gear. Some people in the parking lot where we suited up gave us some funny looks but whatever...the missed out on the fun!

When we entered the water it was pretty cold. We looked at each other with raised eyebrows and then proceeded forward. Not even the chilly water was going to stop us! When we got into some deeper water we strapped on our fins and starting kicking out the the reef. The tide was coming in so we had to kick pretty hard to get out. As soon as we stopped kicking, we immediately began drifting back to shore; nevertheless, we both enjoyed the workout.

Because the reef here was pretty limited there wasn't a very large array of fish. Some of the interesting things we did see however included 2 lionfish, a pretty big puffer (I tried to catch it but couldn't...darn), lots of Blue Damsels, and several Picasso Triggerfish.

Overall, the snorkeling at Zampa Beach was a success. We got a workout by kicking around for about 40 minutes, James didn't have an allergic reaction to his wetsuit, and we were able to enjoy checking out the fish in the area.

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Photos

Kim and James at Zampa Beach
Yep...we were the only ones crazy enough to enter the water.

Kim Snorkeling at Zampa Beach
Unfortunately none of the photos I was taking came out...the current was too strong for me to steady my camera to get a clear shot.