NEW SNORKEL PLACE
spent all morning catching up on my blog .... i've been negligent .... :(
about 12:30 i needed to get in the water ... and i wanted to go somewhere different ... somewhere that most people don't go ... so maybe the coral won't be so damaged ... i decided to try the Reef in front of Georphi's where i stayed last time ...
... the 'Water Taxi Expressway' between West Bay and West End runs between the shore and the reef, so to get out to the reef, you have to swim through there, and sometimes the boats aren't watching for snorkelers in the water... when i got home from here last time, i ordered a 'Diver Down' float, bright red, specifically for this purpose. this is the first time i've needed to use it ...they should be able to see me with this ...
i stopped into Georphi's and asked if i could leave my bag there ... no problem .... got in the water and tied the rope to my float around my waist; and off i went ... it is a long swim, but there is some stuff to look at on the way in the Turtle Grass .... lots of Conch ... dead and some alive ... most dead
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| very large Conch ... alive :) |
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| TrumpetFish |
it was nice to see healthy Sea Fans here ... :)
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| Sea Fans |
this is that little fish that darts in and out of the coral so quickly ... i finally got a photo of it that isn't blurry :)
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| YellowTail DamselFish - Juvenile .... before his tail turns yellow |
what is this fish saying ?
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| Sergeant Major |
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| Flamingo Tongue |
i think this is a White Grunt, ...besides 'grunt' being a weird name for a fish, it's not all 'white' and has pretty markings on it ...
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| White Grunt |
i love a HogFish with it's long spiky dorsal fin !
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| HogFish |
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| 4 Eye ButterFly Fish |
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| Orange Spotted FileFish |
i love these fishes ...
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| Orange Spotted FileFish |
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| Caribbean Reef Squid |
this is an unusual fish ... it digs a whole in the sand and piles rock/coral around it ... and then stays close ...
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| TileFish |
if you come near it ... it darts into it's home ...it's also kind of unique in that it's a long slender fish and it wiggles it's body kind of like a snake ...
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| Sand TileFish |
i was happy to see this Ocean TriggerFish .... he was cruizing the area where i was snorkeling the whole time i was there ...
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| Ocean TriggerFish |
our path's crossed several times ... it's a pretty big fish ... 1.5 feet ... when it swims, it's top and bottom fins (dorsal and anal) move in opposite directions ... cool !
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| Ocean TriggerFish |
i was in the process of returning to shore when i saw this little brown 'thing' in the water ... i thought it was a leaf until i looked closer ....
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| Balloon Fish |
it was a cute little Balloon Fish ... look at it's little smiley face !
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| Balloon Fish |
they have these great iridescent green eyes !
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| Balloon Fish w/iridescent eyes |
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| Balloon Fish |
when they feel threatened, they can inflate themselves into a 'balloon' .. and then all those little spines stick straight up all over their bodies ...
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| Balloon Fish with spines |
i saw a snorkel that someone lost laying in the sand ... i picked it up to bring it in, and lots of dirt and sand came pouring out of it ... and then i saw that this little guy was in there too ... so i left the snorkel there ...
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| ??? i some kind of a Cardinal Fish ? |
in closer to shore, i saw this bright red object ...
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| Body of an Anemone |
and this is what comes out of it ... very cool and pretty !
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| Anemone, out of it's body |
as i was floating into the really shallow water, i saw this tiny little baby Barracuda ... it wasn't more than 2" long ...
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| Baby Barracuda |
that was a fun snorkel .. something different :)
