The bottom of the ocean is pristine white sand littered with sea cucumbers. They look like giant slugs, but the closer I look, the more I realise they’re kind of pretty. Some have horns all over their sides, some are purple, some are green and some are spotted. We can see the reef looming in the distance. It’s massive. I’ve only scuba-dived in Florida and the scale of this reef compared to the Florida Keys is blowing my mind. It reaches from the ocean floor almost to the top of the water. It must be thirty feet high. I’m in awe.

When we reach it, we swim around the wall slowly. There’s coral everywhere. Mushroom, staghorn, bottlebrush and brain. Some of the staghorn coral is a brilliant, electric blue. I’m so overwhelmed by it that I pause to stare, and Miguel has to nudge me to keep up with the group. Vanessa shows everyone a type of coral that retracts its bright purple petals when she claps her hands in front of it. It looks like a magical underwater show made just for us, and I’m thrilled.

There are bright yellow, pale pink and neon shades of green. It feels like every surface is a different type of coral. My brain can’t make sense of the amount of texture it’s trying to take in – some corals are soft and spongy, some are spiked, some have sprouted circular orbs that dangle on the edge of what looks like tentacles. There are shelves of coral that look like interlocking spiderwebs. There are forests of coral whose branches look like dozens of trees. There are rolling fields of coral that look like swaying sea grass.

We swim over a giant clam that’s as long as my body. It’s cracked open, and I can see the water slowly pumping in and out of its purple membrane. We pass an anemone, and two orange-striped clownfish guard it. Miguel sticks his finger towards the anemone and one of the fish swims at Miguel with what looks like anger. I giggle, releasing bubbles that float up towards the surface.

We continue swimming in a giant circle. Derek is looking at everything through his camera, which I feel must take away from the experience. I see Hugh give Derek a couple of looks and wonder if he’s thinking the same thing. Andrew and Pippa are excitedly pointing things out to one another, their hands flailing in all directions as they take everything in.

We stop at another giant wall, comprised of all different types of corals, and everyone seems to find something different to focus on. For the first time, I force myself to look at the fish and the coral. I am overwhelmed in the best way. I can’t remember the last time I felt like this.