SNORKELING AT CHEPES BEACH
i woke up several times last night to downpours ... i finally got up and shut the door, the wind was blowing the rain inside the apartment. and, since the door was closed, and it was dark, i just kept sleeping in the morning ... :(
sun is shining this morning, but it's still cool with clouds in the distance ... but as the morning went on, it looked pretty nice. so i decided to walk down to Chepes Beach, (the public, free beach), and snorkel there. yesterday Paco suggested that i just go out from the beach and didn't have to walk the extra 20min down to Coral View to snorkel.
on the way i stopped at Bush's to see if they had a boat to Water Caye today. not today, but tomorrow, .... so i signed up.
since it was a Tues, the beach wasn't very crowded, ... local kids in school :) ...and that's good, less people to steal from my bag that i leave on the beach .... that's not very nice .. but it happened before, so i'm wary :(
when snorkeling through the shallows and saw this dead Sea Biscuit ... i don't think i've ever seen one of these alive here :(
and a few small coral heads with all these Christmas Tree Worms on them ...
i got excited when i spotted this small Queen TriggerFish ... i LOVE these fish ... just look at the eye makeup 'she' is wearing ... so pretty ! .... but she bolted when she saw me ... gone..!
i was thinking i made a mistake and should have walked further before i got in the water ..... the corals were few and far between and as i got out deeper, they were further away from the surface ... making it difficult for me to dive down and hold my breath long enough to take any photos. but i kept searching ... and finally came to an area of larger coral colonies and lots of fun fish to 'pit my wits against' in this fun game of ..... can i take their photo before they swim away .. it's challenging ... they definitely have the advantage ... i only have luck :) ...
and it seems today, i had some pretty good luck .... or maybe it is just perserverance ... i probably take 8-10 photos of a fish for each one i keep ... not very good odds ... but it keeps me busy ... and as it goes on, i'm able to hold my breath longer and longer ...
it's amazing what you DON'T see when you are snorkeling ... i never noticed the red along the edges of the Rock Beauty's fins, until i saw this photo ... ! ...they are a 'beauty' !
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| Small Blue Tang over a healthy Brain Coral |
i don't know my Corals and Sponges very well ... i found a reference on line, but i wouldn't bet any money on this ID :)
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| Elipitical Star Coral ? ... it was so perfectly round ... |
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| Vase Sponge and Christmas Tree Worms |
i wonder what happened to this Brain Coral to make it change it's pattern part way through it's development ??? ...strange ... so many questions, so few answers :)
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| Orange Spotted FileFish ...and i don't see any orange spots either :( |
and this Brain Coral with Christmas Tree Worms, notice each worm has 2 "Christmas Trees" ..... they actually are WORMS ... but
this was interesting ... the photo below shows the calcium-carbonite tubes which are the protection and home for the worm ... you usually don't see them ... the worms usually bore a hole into the coral head before secreting/making it's tube ... (or sometimes i am looking so intently at the Christmas Tree that i don't see them) ...
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| Christmas Tree Worm tubes on top of Star Coral |
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| Christmas Tree Worms just emerging from their tubes |
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| tube on the right: one "Christmas Tree" is exposed, the other is partially out ... and the tube on the left is just starting to peek out |
if you get close to the "Christmas Tree", it quickly retreats back into it's tube ... then, slowly emerges again ... it's fun to watch .... each spiral has feather-like tentacles, which trap and transport prey to the worm's mouth. although they are primarily feeding structures, they are also used for respiration, so sometimes are called 'gills'
i followed this Squirrel Fish around for-ever ... and this was the only shot he let me take of him ... i think he was daring me with those HUGE eyes ...
in contrast, this Blue Head Wrasse, was darting in and out of all my photos ....
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| Blue Head Wrasse and Flamingo Tongue on Fan Coral |
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| Yellow Head Wrasse showing his tiny teeth |
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| i chased this Spanish HogFish around many coral heads... and only got half of him |
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| Indigo Hamlet |
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| Barred Hamlet |
i really was impressed by the health of the reef ... yes, it was mostly dead or destroyed; but there was a lot of new growth ... colorful growth ... i'm optimistic ...
love the free-flowing Anemones
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| Giant Anemone |
here are some very tiny fish ...
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| Three Spot DamselFish , less than 1" --- the 3rd spot is under the pectoral fin |
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| BeauGregory ... about 1" |
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| i've never seen a tiny Sand Diver ... about 3" .... usually 12" |
and not so tiny ...
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| Gray AngelFish - up to 14" |
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| again, i did not know the Gray AngelFish had a pretty blue outline on it's fin, until i saw this photograph ! |
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| the ever-present Invasive Non-Native LionFish :( |
these are favorites of mine too ... the Flamingo Tongue ... aren't they awesome looking !
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| Flamingo Tongue on Fan Coral |
this is actually a Sea Snail, it's about 1" long ... the hard shell is actually white, but is covered in mantal tissue which is yellow with orange spots that are circled in brown. this living tissue also acts as 'gills' so it can breathe. the mantal can be retracted, usually when disturbed ... but this one was partially retracted when i found it ... honest, i did not touch it ! ....
in this photo you can also see a small tube on the right side, outlined in black .... this is the Siphon and it is a part of the Mantal which is rolled into a tube and draws water into the mantle cavity and over the gill for respiration.
the Flamingo Tongue scrapes the purple polyps off of the coral, leaving an easily visible black feeding scar, which you can see in this photo ....
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| Flamingo Tongue, showing black "feeding scar" on Fan Coral |
the ingestion of the coral's toxins causes them to be distasteful, which discourages predatory fish. ...the corals can regrow the polyps, so predation is generally not lethal to the coral.
this is a photo of two Flamingo Tongues mating ... it will last 3.5hrs ... seriously ... i just read about it ! ....sorry it is out of focus, had i known what they were doing at the time, i would have been more persistent in my efforts :(
they are becoming uncommon because of collection by snorkelers and scuba divers, who think that the bright colors are in the shell ... only to find, after they get them home, that they are just white ... and also, now sadly, .... dead :(
ok, that was probably more than you wanted to know about Flamingo Tongues
...and this is my favorite photo from today !~~~~~ save the best for the last ... so comical !
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| Rock Beauty --- what a funny looking nose for a FISH ! |
when i got out of the water, i was approached by a nice looking young tourist. he was asking me about the snorkeling ... he is from Traverse City :) ...Utila is a popular place for a Michigander in the winter ..
i packed up my things and walked next door to ReHab ... cute name for a bar/restaurant, huh? it sits over the water
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| ReHab Bar and Restaurant |
and as you walk up the steps .... the dock walkway is painted "Step 1 ... Step 2" etc ... cute !
Jungle was there with several others. one is a chef at the Chinese Restaurant that i haven't been to yet. i'll go there Wed nite.
after getting home, i ate a quick sandwich as i was getting ready for the movie of the night, Gravity, with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney ....
the movie was exciting, but .... it lacked something ... and i don't really know what .... ...i did hear an interview with a real astronaut who said the visuals were realistic. ...you really didn't even get the advantage of looking at George Clooney, you could hardly see him inside that space suit !
when i got out of the theater, it was raining ! ...it sure didn't look like rain earlier ... it's not too far home from there, but i was pretty wet by the time i got home
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