27 Feb, Thurs

DON'T LET A GOOD DAY PASS YOU BY ...

i stopped and picked up a pineapple to take to the nice folks where i snorkeled; they said they were talkin about having Pina Coladas today ;)

i was in the water by noon today :)
and spotted probably that same Smooth TrunkFish that lead me into the FireCoral reef last time i was here ... but it didn't trick me today ...

Smooth TrunkFish

still in the shallows i saw this very common fish ... i haven't posted before because it's very fast, and also ... i wasn't sure of the name ... and ... you're gonna laugh when i tell you what it is .....  a Slippery Dick ...  told you so :)

Slippery Dick  :)

this is a fish i don't remember ever seeing before this year ... it's a RedBand ParrotFish, in the Juvenile phase ... i am seeing a lot of them this year

Red Band ParrotFish - Juvenile

and the RedBand ParrotFish in it's Terminal phase ...

Red Band ParrotFish - Terminal Phase

i moved out into deeper water, it's clearer out there because the sand isn't being 'kicked up' ... and you can see a long way down ... through this crevice you can see a very large unidentifiable fish ...

Looking down the crevice

this is one of my favorite fishes ... you don't see very often, and usually they are solitary.    today there was a big one and a little one ... and i've never seen a miniature one before ...  it's called Black Durgon  or  also a Black TriggerFish; and called a Humuhumu'ele'ele in Hawaii.   

Black Durgon

Black Durgon

it looks all black with distinctive white lines at the base of the fins ... the lines are actually a pretty blue .. and the fish itself, actually has some colors in the right light.

Black Durgon

a whole 'herd' of Blue Tangs passed by me ...

Blue Tangs

and way out in the distance i spotted an Ocean TriggerFish ... yes another TriggerFish ... this one is pretty big .... and was far away ... but you can see how they are similiarly shaped with their fins ...

Ocean TriggerFish

it's usually very difficult to get a photo of a Queen AngelFish ... much less TWO of them together  .... that's a bonus !

2 Queen AngelFish

Queen AngelFish

they have such beautiful colors  ....

while is photographing them, i looked down and saw this Black Grouper .... although i saw quite a few of them in Belize, i don't see too many of them here ... and they are in the 'red' column Responsible SeaFood Guide list to avoid....

Black Grouper

this Dog Tooth Snapper was out in the deep and he's big too ... he actually has canine teeth like a dog ! ....

DogTooth Snapper

i snorkeled around 3 Dive Sites today ... it was great going with the current ... returning was more of a challenge .... but it warmed me up ...

i passed this 'field' of Sea Fans on the way back, they were dancing in the sunlight ...

Sea Fans

variations in color of the TrumpetFish

TrumpetFish

TrumpetFish

back in the warm waters of the shallows i was absolutely SHOCKED to see this Sea Cushion StarFish  .....    don't remember ever seeing one here in Utila ...

See Cushion StarFish

Sea Cushion StarFish

i had to take advantage of another Queen AngelFish that was partially willing ...

Queen AngelFish

this is a SharpNose Puffer Fish ... very tiny ... about 1"  ...

SharpNose Puffer Fish

this little beauty, <1", with the spots with rings around them is a Juvenile Dusky Damselfish ... first one i've seen .... 

Dusky DamselFish - Juvenile

for some reason ...  this reminded me of an Indian Burial Site ...

The Sea's Artwork

and, my 'find' of the day ... a Peacock Flounder ... do you see it ?
i actually put this photo in the 'trash' the first time around, because i couldn't see it ...   look for 2 eyes, (stacked), in the center of the photo ....

Peacock Flounder

here you can better see 2 eyes sticking up ...
--their eyes are raised up on short stumps like radar dishes
--can move in any direction independent of each other
--one eye can look forward while the other looks backward at the same time

Peacock Flounder

--baby flounders have one eye on each side of their bodies like ordinary fish, and swim like other fishes do, but later on, as they are becoming adults, the right eye migrates to the left side, and flounders start to swim sideways, which gives them the ability to settle down flat on the bottom.


they are masters of camouflage .... with pretty turquoise colored spots on them when they are over grasses ...

Peacock Flounder

but their faces are always so sad looking   :(   ...a close up of 2 eyes and a mouth ...

probably the same Smooth TrunkFish  ....

Smooth TrunkFish

i've never seen a Flamingo Tongue that was not on a Coral ...until today ...

Flamingo Tongue ... on the rocks  ?

i was in the water a record 2.5 hr today  :)

got cleaned up and walked down to EcoMarine Dive Shop where they were having the Thai Friday dinner.   i met some new people and had some very good food.   one of the guys i met wanted to go to the movie with me ...
we watched "Saving Mr. Banks".    finally, this was a pretty good movie.   it's the story of Walt Disney's 20yr quest to get the rights to make a movie of the book Mary Poppins.   the author really did not want her book to be made into a Disney-type movie; but she now needed the money.    it was good, there were many flashbacks to her childhood.