Water Works

Even if you don't like swimming, you'd love it at Stone Labs… There’s this awesome gravel beach where you walk straight into the waves, or jump off an overhanging rock that juts out over the water. There are cliffs all around, and larges rocks just off the shore. There is even one spot where the cliff has sort of a doorway affect; it’s like passing through a cave. Whenever my friends and I went swimming we always headed straight for the cave. One girl at camp continued past the cave, and went a third of the way around the island (very dangerous if you ask me, the waves are quite intimidating). One day my friends wanted to go swimming, but my swimsuit was still wet, so I just walked down to the swimming hole to watch my friends swim. When I got there, however, I decided I couldn’t just sit there, so I walked out with my friends… My hat got wet :-(

Here is a picture of a small rock, which I dub ‘Gibraltar Jr.’

Snorkeling off the coast of Gibraltar was one of the most liberating experiences I’ve ever had (and DEFINITELY the most exciting time I had at Stone Labs). Using flippers allows you to maneuver through the water with ease, even if you aren’t a great swimmer – which I’m totally not. The whole breathing under water thing makes you feel as free as a fish to swim forever. The goggles let you see everything that you can’t normally see from the surface – from little fish swimming out of your way to bizarre plants and algae-covered rocks. At one frightening moment I was actually engulfed by a giant plant that I swam into and when I fought my way back onto shore I immerged looking rather like the jolly green giant.