How many people can say they’ve been snorkeling in the south of France? Not many! But I’m one of the few who has been lucky enough to have this experience, and it happened to me this past summer in Beaulieu sur Mer, France.

One humid morning in France I woke up at 5 am to be driven to the top of Eze Village

to carpool for 3 hours to Port-Cros, an island in the Mediterranean, where Amanda, TJ, Avery, our French siblings and I boarded a boat to get to the island where we would spend the day snorkeling in the gorgeous cerulean water. It was a day I will never forget – the water was freezing, despite the warm air and summer heat, and swarms of purple jellyfish abounded. But we dove into the icy water and saw mountains of seaweed and tons of fish that were so used to humans they would swim right up to you.

Then after our first snorkeling point, we hiked through the trees on the island to the other side, the heat and sun beating down on our sweat-glistening backs, where we came to an even clearer lagoon. We all swam a little ways out to a boat dock and laid out in the afternoon sun before heading back to the boat and driving the long road back to Eze. It was a long and amazing day of sun and swim.

I’ve made life-long friends through this amazing life- changing experience. Thank you, Tempe Sister Cities!

– Maxine de la Houssaye, 2014 Student Delegate to Beaulieu sur Mer