Ollie, what are your favorite things about the trip so far?

Um, that’s a hard one. There are so many cool things, but I really like meeting new people. It is my favorite thing of the trip. One person that we met was Pancho. Pancho would bring us stuff like fishing poles and tortillas. He lived at San Rafael beach. Then we met Max. Max was from Vancouver Island. I think that is in Canada. Max liked soccer. He really liked soccer and played with his soccer ball everywhere. I like to swim and ride on the paddleboards too, but it’s kind of scary because the ocean moves and you think you are going to fall off.

Here are the words I’ve learned in Spanish so far: si=yes, gracias=thank you, por favor=please, papa= dad, mama=mom, me llamo=my name is, and alto=stop. I can count to ten in Spanish too.

Fin, what do you think about the ocean and what have you learned about it?

I’ve learned that you might be afraid of it, but if you are you don’t have to go in it. Especially in the deep parts. Miles was scared too, but he eventually got in. Well, my mom nudged him in. I’ve gotten in the ocean and with goggles it is really cool. You can find shells and see fish. There are some that look like tigers and some are yellow. I like being in the shallow parts, because it is not as scary, unless you come across a manta ray or crab covered in sand. My wetsuit keeps me warm so it’s not as cold. Your body heat warms you up. The waves at San Rafael were really fun because you could jump in them and swim. Some were taller than Ollie. It would be scary because a big wave would tumble you and then another big wave would hit you when you were trying to get up. Overall, the ocean is both scary and fun. The fun part is swimming and it’s warmer than Redfish Lake and you can have fun in it without freezing. The scary part is that I don’t know what is under it. My dad told me it’s the unknown. Like, people seeing a deer for the first time might be scared of it and I am scared of sting rays because they are new to me. And something that I learned from the ocean is to do the sting ray shuffle and have fun. I really want to learn a lot more about the ocean. Like how the tides work and the why the moon has a strong pull. I want to learn about the fish too. There is still a lot for me to learn.

Miles, what have you done to overcome some of your fears on this trip?

One fear I had was swimming in the ocean because I was afraid of what I didn’t know. Sometimes I just think about the bad things and that prevents me from seeing the good things. I was scared of sting rays and sharks and weird fish so I was reluctant to go into where those creatures flourished. But, when I saw the world around me when snorkeling, I soon realized the good things too like all the colors and cool animals. Even though I was and am still scared of those sharks, rays and fish, the things I was afraid of were cancelled out by all the cool amazing things I found and realized.