Coral View Snorkel
it didn't look as windy today, so i thought i'd do some snorkeling ... i got an early start so i decided to walk down to Coral View ...
on my way, i stopped at EcoMarine Dive Shop and rented a weight belt and a 3# weight, so i'm not so bouyant when i dive down to take photos. ...hope it works !
Coral View is a resort that has a dock/deck that sits over the water, they let you use it, if you buy something, plus it's a bit more secure to leave your bag there .... it also makes for an easy entry to snorkel, meaning you don't have to wade through sand, grass, broken coral, and possible sea urchins to get into the water. .... the downside is that is about a 40min walk from where i live ....
the Coral View Dock is big and 2 story ... i walked up top ..... in this photo, you can see Utila town ... waaaaaaaaaayyy in the back ground ...
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| View from Coral View Deck towards Utila Town |
here is what the surface looks like where i snorkeled ...
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| Coral View Snorkel Site |
the dark brown areas are huge beds of coral and there is only about 1+ feet of water covering them, (you can see the wave breaking over the top) ... sometimes you can swim over the top of them, if you're careful not to scrape your belly on the coral; ... or you have to find one of the trenches that leads out to the deep.
this is a photo of one of the trenches, with the coral gardens on each side, you can see how close the top of the coral is to the surface ... and i know, it looks pretty dead :(
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| Brown Coral Beds line Trench to Open Water |
i got in the water at 12:50pm, the entry is shallow and the water is really warm :) you can see lots of small fishes here, up close and personal .... i immediately saw this TrumpetFish ... actually surprised to see it in such shallow water ...
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| Trumpet Fish |
after you make your way through the trenches, there is a steep wall of coral, and then it drops off into the deep blue .... it makes a nice background for photos ...
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| Sea Fan Coral |
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| Elkhorn Coral with fishes |
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| Brain Corals, Sea Fans, and Sponges |
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| Fire Coral, Sea Fans, and Vase Sponges |
i found this lobster in one of the crevices in the coral. the Lobsters here are few and far between ... and you don't see them on the menu here like you do in Belize. There is a "Responsible SeaFood Guide", posted everywhere, designed to provide information to restaurants, retailers and consumers about responsible and sustainable seafood choices. The program is aimed at steering people away from species that are already over exploited or endangered by providing alternative best choices. most restaurants are now 'on-board' with the program .... the over-fishing here is horrible!
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| Caribbean Reef Lobster |
i love the YellowTail DamselFish, especially when they are juveniles ... but they are almost impossible to get a picture of ... that is in focus ..... did i say that i usually took 8-10 photos of one fish before i got one that was any good? ..... i took 29 photos of this Yellow Tail DamselFish! ... this is the only one that turned out ...
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| YellowTail DamselFish - Juvenile |
these are Bearded FireWorms .... this beautiful brightly colored one was about 3/4" wide and 8" long ..... do NOT touch these guys !
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| Bearded FireWorm |
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| Bearded FireWorm |
came across another TrumpetFish
i'd snorkeled for awhile heading east towards town, but i got to a certain point and the waves really picked up, and i was getting cold, so started my way back in ...
then i saw another YellowTailed DamselFish and started watching it ... they are so pretty, with their electric blue spots on their tiny black bodies .... this is a younger one, and does not have it's 'yellow tail' yet ....they are even harder to catch in a photo .... one thing for sure .... i'll continue trying :)
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| YellowTail DamselFish - Juvenile without Yellow Tail yet |
at 1:53pm this fish caught my attention, it looked like it was standing on bright orange 'legs' ! ... funny ....
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| Blenny |
i realized it was some kind of a 'blenny' ... but i didn't know what kind .... it was about 3" long .... and i started taking pictures ...
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| Blenny |
i don't think i've ever taken so many pictures out of focus ... i am using a different camera (Canon D10), and i'm wondering if i need to re-read the manual :(
he actually posed like this for over a minute .... that is a LONG LONG time for a fish like this to stay in one place ... posing just for me ! ..... i took 12 shots, plus a video, and this is the only one that was in focus .... so many miss opportunities .... :(
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| RedLip Blenny |
but at this point, i was sure it was a RedLip Blenny ...i've never seen one, and not sure i've ever heard of one, ... but that had to be the name ... look at those RED LIPS !
the RedLip Blenny are herbivors, and feed on algae .... (and he was really ripping into it!) ..... but have 2 long sharp canine teeth, which you can see at the corner of it's mouth in this photo ... used against other fish to defend it's territory .... you can also see his little 'horns' ... and the 'curly hairs' under his eyes ...
the Male RedLip takes care of the eggs, and it does something non-typical .... it has an organ that produces antimicrobial substances; he rubs this gland over the nest's internal surface during spawning to protect the eggs ... more amazing fish facts :) ... they have a rather odd-shaped body ... more like an eel ...
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| RedLip Blenny |
towards the end of my photographing, i saw this Baby RedLip Blenny .... he was so tiny ... about <1" ...
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| Little Baby RedLip Blenny |
in all, i 'hovered' over the reef for 27Min, and took over 100 pictures of the RedLip Blenny ... that is a record for me ... perserverance should pay off ... i was excited to get home and see what i had ... unfortuantely i was a little unhappy with the results ... but, in my defense ... the waves had picked while i was in the water, and i was really being tossed about over the top of this reef. ..... i look at my video and i see just how much i was being tossed about ... i could not hold the camera steady .... my excuse and i'm sticking with it :)
here is a video of how quickly the YellowTail DamselFish and the RedLip Blenny move, and how difficult it was to hold the camera steady ... hope it doesn't make you seasick ! :)
2:23pm i called it quits and headed for the Dock ... i was getting pretty cold by then, ... at 2:35 i crawled out of the water, and the couple that was there, when i went in, said, "welcome back!" .... i was in the water for 1.5+hrs ... that's a long time for most people to be in the water, but about normal for me :) ..... it was really windy when i got out, ...but it was sunny and i sat behind the little building out of the wind, and warmed up ... ahhhhhhh yes!
i stopped to get another piece of Key Lime Pie, but she was out ... :(
the movie tonight was "12 Years a Slave" ... a true story ... i really debated back and forth on this one. it's nominated for Best Picture and it's supposed to be a very good movie, but a heavy depressing hard-to-watch one. i wanted to watch it, but knew how i would feel (disgusted, angry, sad ) ... and decided not to torture myself, and have go to bed with those feelings :(
...i think it was the right choice ...
a good day snorkeling ... finding a new fish ... RedLip Blenny :)
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