It was the fifth day of the cruise. We were about to swim with stingrays and snorkel at Grand Cayman. I had snorkeled before, but I had never swam with stingrays. I was very excited, but a little apprehensive. It was December 26th, 2013 when the ship docked at Grand Cayman. We all had to wake up super early, and my older cousins, Spencer and Dylan, were really tired because they were out late the night before. I got off the ship with my grandparents, aunts, uncle, and cousins. My parents and brother didn’t go on the cruise, but the rest of my family and I were about to have such a great day.
We had to wait a while for a bus to pick us up and take us to where we would be getting on the boat. I remember when we finally got to the boat. It had “Captain Marvin’s Boat Tours” written on the side and two men from the island, wore big smiles and bathing suits.
“Welcome,” said the one with the longer hair. My grandma is a travel agent, so she had gotten us a private boat so there wouldn’t be anyone else on it. Once we were all on the boat, one of the guides started driving the boat. They didn’t talk very much, but my family sure did.
“Are you excited?” my grandma asked, happily.
“Yes!” my cousin Jessica exclaimed.
Jessica sat next to my Aunt Karen, who started cracking some jokes. She, like the rest of my family, has a great sense of humor, and makes us all laugh. Spencer was asleep and my cousin Connor was drifting off as well. I looked off the side of the boat and the waters were so crystal clear that you could see straight to the sandy bottom. I sat next to my cousin Michelle, who is 8 months older than me. I wore a tank top over my swimsuit and I squinted my brown eyes because I had forgotten sunglasses. My skin wasn’t extremely tan, though it looked so in comparison to Michelle’s. My brown hair was in a very messy ponytail, and was still really frizzy and wavy from the previous day. Michelle and I conversed excitedly.
“Do you think it’ll sting me?” Michelle questioned, half joking.
I laughed and said, “I doubt it, because they see people all the time.”
“True, true.” Michelle tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder. After about 15 minutes or so, we arrived. The water looked shallow and warm and the sun’s reflection made the surface glisten and sparkle like gold. I was about to burst from the anticipation. The guide with the long hair stood at the front of the boat, while the guy with the short hair dropped the anchor. The guide with the long hair turned to face us.
“Now," he began, “we’re finally at Stingray City. The stingrays are very friendly and you can pet them. They are very catlike, so they will rub against your legs; don’t freak out.”
He continued to speak, and tell us the rules, then finally, we were ready for the water. The first person in, after the guide, was my Aunt Jean. She had a huge smile on her face and her eyes looked as clear blue as the water. Everyone else got in, and my Uncle Peter was the last one. The water was warm and shallow, and even though it was warm out, when the breeze blew I got goose bumps. In the distance, you could see gray blobs swimming right under the surface of the water. I assumed that they were stingrays and I knew I was right when the guide effortlessly took one out of the water.
My family and I all made awestruck remarks like:
“Woah!”
“How cool!”
It looked something beyond description.
“You can kiss them and hug them,” the guide told us. “See?”
He puckered up and sure enough kissed the stingray. He also hugged it, and the stingray hugged back. Well, as much as a stingray can hug. He went around the circle so we could each get a chance. My grandpa and grandma had done this before, so they were professionals. I felt awkward attempting to kiss a stingray. It’s gray skin was slippery and smooth, and I wondered how it didn’t slide out of the guide’s arms. My grandma, of course, had her waterproof camera out, capturing the moment like a paparazzi. The guide went back to the boat. The stingrays started swimming around us and the guide was right: they were just like cats. The first time I felt one rub against my legs, I jumped because it was such a weird feeling. It was like a slip n slide but swimming around. My family and I were all cracking up. We got used to it and we swam with them for probably an hour or so. It ended up being my favorite part of the cruise, and it'd be so great to do again. It was a fun way to bond with my family, and I think this once in a lifetime experience really brought us closer.