Papá teaching me to snorkel

I don't know exactly when this was. I must have been about nine.

Papá taught me to snorkel at Escambrón. We had one of those rubber masks that covered your eyes and nose and smelled terrible. I was scared to put my face in the water because breathing through the tube felt completely wrong.

He held my hand and told me not to look ahead, just look down.

I remember the moment I finally did it. There were little fish right underneath us and suddenly I forgot I was scared. I wanted to stay in until my fingers got wrinkled.

For years I thought the water had been incredibly deep. I went back much later and realized we were probably standing in four feet of water.