i managed to fit in another day of snorkeling .... i took a taxi to Anthony's Key Resort with the intention of snorkeling down to Gibson Bight ... i had forgotten that Anthony's Key has a Dolphin Show ... and i happened to get into the water right next to their 'enclosure' .... and i arrived as they were being fed, so i got to see some dolphins ...
they seemed really BIG up close and so personal ...
and they have a lot of teeth :(
the beautiful but dreaded invasive LionFish ...
and an unusual Cushion Sea Star ...
although not red or orange, ... still, very pretty ...
a look at this wall of this hard Blade Coral shows the importance of a Coral Reef in protecting the land ... it is very close to the surface of the water and provides a strong fortress against the surge of storms ...
that why it is so important that the reef not be destroyed to enable the Cruise Ships to come in closer to shore ... or to develop huge 'resorts' ....and this seems to be the controversy at many of these small islands that have beautiful reefs surrounding them ... protecting them ....
the decision to destroy the reef so the Cruise Ships can come in closer, or to build a new mega-resort, ....to bring in more tourists ... and in doing that, they destroy the very thing that protects what the tourists come to see ... it doesn't make sense ...
ok, off my 'soap box' ... :)
the Donkey Dung Sea Cucumber has a descriptive name ... because that's what it looks like when it's laying on the sand ... but the underside is actually very colorful :)
a Three-Rowed Sea Cucumber ...which seems to look a bit like the anatomy of a donkey :)
i noticed a large fish kind of wiggling through the water ... not the way a fish swims .... i watched as a large Scorpion Fish settled into the sand .... hard to see ? ... look for the red eye ...
since he just arrived he hadn't been sitting there long
enough to accumulate a coating of sand .... he actually had some pretty
colors on him ...
everyone seems to be afraid of sharks ... you don't even see this guy ... but step on him, and he'll send you to the hospital .... or possibly the morgue :(
and a pretty Sea Anemone as i was finishing up in the shallows ...
along with some scary Spiny Sea Urchins ...
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