Snorkelling
Click on the photos if you want to see a larger version

A whole day snorkelling from a secluded beach at Cap d'Agde! The sky was blue and the sea bluer, and a blackboard by the ice-cream stall informed us that the temperature was 42°C and the sea temperature 21°C. Bliss! Remember, we're north-east-coasters, and the temperature of the North Sea rarely gets into double figures so this seemed like bathwater to us.

At first we were disappointed that we weren't being issued with flippers but we could understand the reason - if groups of children were given flippers, they could soon disappear over the horizon or dive too deep and would be impossible to keep under control! So we managed with our beach shoes (apart from Catherine, who'd brought her own flippers!)

We were split into two groups for basic instruction (the half not diving sunbathed and topped up their tans) and were then taken out to the rocks for our first dives. Both groups received enough instruction and practice to earn the BSAC "Resort Snorkeller" qualification, then after lunch those who wanted a second, longer session went off into the sea again whilst the rest sunbathed some more.

Our second session took us out round the rock groyne which bisected the beach, looking for fish: once the instructors had "crisp-bombed" our dive site the fishes appeared in huge shoals and swam right up to and around us. All we had to do was float there and let them come to us, while we took photos with our waterproof cameras. It was quite magical, and one of the truly memorable moments of the whole holiday.

---