That Time When I Almost Drowned in Puerto Rico
Happy Friday!! I’ve decided to dedicate Fridays to sharing light hearted stuff; well, sometimes - let’s see how long it lasts. Hope you’ve had a productive week so far. Anyway, before I digress - I'd like to tell you about how I nearly drowned in Puerto Rico.
So, it was the year 2014. One of my best friends was getting married, and we decided to take an all-girls trip to Puerto Rico. I was still in the United States at the time, and San Juan was only one flight away from Houston, which was three hours away (by road) from where I lived.
I recall staying up late the night before my first trip to Puerto Rico with my friends. We stayed up all night jisting, laughing, and packing. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 6 a.m. the following morning.
As soon as I got on the plane and found my seat, I knocked out and immediately began snoring. When we landed in Houston after the first leg of the trip, the man who sat next to my friend said, “she must be pretty exhausted, huh?” I laughed embarrassingly, when my friend told me. But that sleep was sweet! Falling asleep on a plane is one of my favorite things to do.
Four years later, I suggested that we return to San Juan. I enjoy visiting places where you can immerse yourself in culture. The street markets, the smiles on people's faces when they greet you, the relatable food, and so on reminded me of home.
On arrival, we got into our taxi to begin the journey to the resort. We stayed at an exquisite resort called La Concha Resort in San Juan. There was always something to do around there because it was right on the beach. After eating lunch and resting a few hours, we hit the streets and found a spot where they did salsa dancing. We joined in on the fun and danced the night away. When we got back to the resort, some of the girls still went to the club on the property while the rest of us went back to our rooms.
The next day, we began with breakfast before heading to the beach where we saw some girls on a banana boat. When their ride began, they screamed with delight. Like a little child, I wanted in on the fun. I needed four people to sign on, so I had to do the convincing. “It looks like fun,” I began my pitch, “look at those girls screaming and laughing.” After a few minutes of pleading and persuasion, I was able to convince the last person to join us.
I love anything water sports related. One of my most enjoyable birthday celebrations happened at a water theme park. I would choose going to a water park than a regular theme park any day (Six Flags scarred me). The banana boat ride cost about $20 per person, which was pretty affordable. While the tour guide began handing us our life jackets, the last person who I convinced backed out. Another person, however, decided to take her place.
Then the tour guide began with the safety talk - you know, like the ones they lecture you on before a flight takes off, that one that no one listens to; yes, that type of talk. The tour guide went through all that talk, and I remember thinking in my mind: this talk don do, let's get on the boat and move. God will protect us.
The way the banana boat ride was set up was that they hooked two inflatable banana boats to a speed boat, which was going to carry the tour guides and the lifeguards. Then each banana boat would carry five people. When it was time to get on, I quickly ran to the boat and took my seat in the middle. Who wants to sit on the first seat or on the last one? Definitely not me! I am not as adventurous as I am in my mind.
Now, tell me why five Nigerian girls who did not know how to swim, decide to seat on one banana boat? When we should have mixed with the oyinbo people who were on the other side? Anyway, that is how we sat down oh, with an iron handle demarcating each person, which we were supposed to hold onto for dear life.
When we started moving, I could feel the tinge of excitement in my belly. I heard my friend who sat behind me scream - “faster, faster!” But that was the last thing I remembered before we took a huge turn and all the Africans plunged into the ocean. Before you begin laughing at us, let me back track for a bit. Remember that safety talk that we refused to pay attention to?
The instructor had said, “when the speed boat makes a right turn, tilt to the left. When it makes a left turn, tilt to the right, so you guys don’t fall off the boat.” Nigerians and not hearing word, go hand-in-hand. While in the midst of the fun, we were supposed to be on high alert. However, the exhilaration we enjoyed had managed to numb every cognitive ability we had. So, straight down to what seemed like the bottom of the ocean we went.
To say I panicked, would be trivializing what my heart felt in that moment when I went down. It was like dropping a stone inside water, and how the stone just goes straight down to the bottom of the container. I began to wrestle with the water; trying to find my way to the surface, gulping water as I tried to scream for help. Each time I managed to come up, I muttered, I can’t swim and went back down. That happened a few times before I latched onto the person beside me who was also struggling. She fought me off vehemently, screaming: “leave me! Leave me!”
All this while, the speed boat kept on going before they realized that we had fallen off the boat. They couldn’t hear the white girls screaming that we were no longer on board. That thing they say about black people and water, is true. Then the boat turned around and came back to where we were. One of the American girls jumped into the water and helped one of my friends. The life guards did the same. They put us on the speed boat and it was with agreeance and a sober spirit when we said, “please take us back to the beach,” ruining the rest of the ride for the other girls.
All that time in the water I thought - “I did not tell my parents that I am in Puerto Rico, I can’t die now.” Come to think of it; my parents also did not know about my Mexican trip. I need to stop moving in this manner (haha). The life guard told us that we should have relaxed because we had life jackets on. Apparently, there was no way in God’s blue sea, that we were going to drown. Ignorance is not bliss oh, when knowledge can save your life. Thank God the situation did not take a turn for the worse.
When we got back to the beach, no one was smiling. The other girls were curious - “what happened?” They asked. As we narrated the ordeal to them, the one who backed out last minute was grateful to God. The others burst out laughing. And we didn’t hear the last of it. Hey, at least we tried something different. If that experience didn’t happen, you wouldn’t be reading this post, now, would you?
Have an amazing weekend!
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