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| The Sheer Beauty of a Coral Reef |
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Let me tell you about the first time I ever came across the splendor of a coral reef. At the time I was going on a trip to Fiji. In fact, it wasn’t exactly a trip to Fiji but actually a prolonged stopover. I was traveling from Auckland to Los Angeles and they offered me a stopover in Fiji only for only $20.
I took the chance immediately because I realized that I will never again have the chance to visit Fiji for $20. I had spent six months in rainy New Zealand and I wasn’t prepared for Fiji’s whether. I just couldn’t stop sweating. It was hard for me to adapt to eighty-degree weather and ninety percent humidity.
I was planning to do basically nothing while I was on the Fiji Island. All I dreamt about was to see the coral reef. I was going to stay a couple of days and to be specific four days. For any case, I took my packable hammock and some books. I spent the first night in Nadi. On the next day, I caught a bus and then a boat to one of the far islands. When I got to the island, I was surprised when I found that they had the hammocks already set up for me.
The island was very small but it was wonderful. It was so small that it took only three hours to walk all the way around the island. Only two resorts were situated on the island and they were next to each other. Rainwater collectors made up for the majority of fresh water available on the island because it was scarce.
They switched off the lights at 10 pm and didn’t switch them on until morning because there was a single electricity generator on the whole island. I didn’t have a dive license and I was on the island for a short time so I had to choose a snorkel instead. I had heard many legends about Fiji’s diving but I had to give it up. I was so impatient to explore the coral reef. On the next of my stay on the island, I hired a snorkel and a pair of fins and I rushed to research the coral reef, which was in front of the resort.
I cannot describe how I felt when I dove into the warm water. It was wonderful. It was as if I was in a different world. I saw the coral reef! The coral reef was like an aquarium full of fish of all different colors and sizes. Oh, God, this coral reef was a mere miracle. I felt like I was in a full-sized model of a marine museum.
Little neon-colored fish went in and out the coral reef. Large fish were guarding the shelf of the coral reef. Parrotfish were trying to ground on the coral reef. I dived all day long. I explored the coral reef all around the island. In the evening, I had my back sunburned and I couldn’t stand my salty hair. However, I was convinced that the next morning I would be exploring the coral reef again.
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