We went diving only one day with Froggies
out of Hope Town. The first dive through the outer edge of the barrier reef. There was a 40 pound Grouper tame enough to hug,
and Carribean Reef Sharks we didn't want to hug. At one point I was looking at a 3 pound Grouper just below me when the divemaster came up, took the Grouper by the head and tail and swam away with it. Hey, where ya goin' with my Grouper?
The second dive was the most terrifying dive of my life. There was a group of 10 divers following the dive master through a tunnel under the coral. One skinny joker in the middle decided to take a short-cut out a tiny exit. Dawn and I are not skinny. I wasn't sure we could make it through, and being at the end of the line, I didn't realize that there was a larger way out, nor was I confident of being able to go back the way we came. However, after carefully aligning our tanks with the wide part of the exit hole, we both got through with only a couple of squirms. After all that, there really wasn't anything to see inside the coral anyway.
took a side trip to
Kyoto
where we saw the most beautiful landscaping at
Ginkakuji,
and
Kinkakuji/ Golden Pavilion.
Our one night in Kyoto was spent at a traditional Japanese inn, Sumiya Ryokan. The room was simple and elegant. The only decorations were a vase of 3 flowers and a Zen scroll.
The next day, we explored on our own to
Zen rock gardens at Diatoku Ji.