Saw a nurse shark - it was beautiful as it glided right past me on to better places for a siesta. I don't even know how to properly describe watching it swim. Motionless. Effortless. Totally comfortable with all around it in the world. It looked like his tail had been through a battle or two but his shark skin was so beautiful and looked so soft. Don't worry, didn't try to touch it...
We saw two rays, just the regular sting ray type variety I think. Their underbellies are soft! That I know but not from yesterday. When here long ago with Howie and his family over on Grand Cayman we went to Sting Ray City where one can pet them and feed them. Sitting on sand and having about 30 swimming all around you and ogling their maneuvers and gliding through the water. So beautiful. Now, after what's his head got shot through the heard by a sting ray, I didn't venture to close to the wild ones we saw yesterday. In fact I didn't even stay behind it as it turned on a dime to sift through the sand for dinner. One has to respect these creatures and give them room - just swim by the side and watch them in their glory. They are a funny creature too. Eyes on the top of their bodies and mouth and nose underneath - makes for entertaining viewing.
Then there were the barracuda. We saw about 5 - 6 of them, all in one spot. One was probably 41/2 feet long. The smallest closer to 18 inches. They glide through the air with their chins jutting out and their teeth protruding, looking ominous. We didn't mess with them. You'd think that after all our time diving here we'd know it they actually bite or not, but we didn't. Last night we ran into Doug, our dive master and captain, and asked him. He said no, they're just very shy. Again, we will continue to watch and admire from afar though.
So this was all on a snorkel trip out at Jackson's Bay. Wow, it is still amazing to me how many fish there are here.
Last night we went to a free talk by the scientists who have been around in the Caribbean for about 15 years now studying Nassau Grouper. It was a cool talk. All about why their kind has come to be on the endangered species list, like polar bears, and how they are working to save them. I'll have to find a link to their site and find out more. The funny thing to learn is that they are just like cats - and this is just perfect to explain their behavior while diving with them. As we have dived Bloody Bay Wall in the past, one of them always seems to latch on to one of us and follow us around, sometimes getting curious enough to be petted and search us for food.
They are big and kind of ugly fish but I've decided to become part of their crowd. Apparently the older and fatter females rock at helping the population keep going. They have more eggs and their eggs are of better quality and develop more healthily - sounds good to me! Sure I could carry lots of them as I swam to the mating place at the west end of the island and carried on in a fantastical event of spawning during a winter moon. Apparently they (all of the grouper) release BILLIONS of eggs and sperm into the big blue over a few days and hope for the best - around 0.001% will actually survive the cycle to turn into a grouper. So cool.
The dive yesterday was cool too. I was in charge of the camera for the first time and it was eventful to say the least. I'm going to leave it there for now.
So maybe I should introduce you to my new friends here on little cayman! I have lots of pics that Howie has taken over the past several days, so they are originals. Some will be pretty crappy quality because the blues are hard to reconcile between ocean and camera and computer, and because some of them are pretty amazing at hiding in plain site.
May I introduce some of the fish and other sea life here on Little Cayman:
Today has been different. Howie went diving without me - at my request. There was an incident yesterday that freaked me out a bit but I'm not going to share yet. No worries though! Still in paradise here!
So Howie went diving and I tried to hang and read. That lasted a couple of hours. Then I showered and put on my suit and hat and went to scooter down to the dive place, hoping to meet up with the boat and hear of their grand adventures. Just missed Howie and Clare, but talked to Doug for a minute. Sounds like they had an amazing day - he even got to dive a site called Ron's Rocks that he's only ever dived once before. Only available on days like today - CALM. NO current. Couldn't wait to go home and see Howie's videos!
On the way I stopped to get a few meat patties and found a Red Bull. First one I've had in 8 days :) but certainly my last until we return home. Darn thing was 5 CI!
Since he's been home, we've downloaded the videos from yesterday and today and watched them. So fun to look and remember how amazing the dives are. Great selection of fish, super viz, something new every dive. The only problem is they don't look nearly as cool as they do in person. Hoping once Howie works on them on the Go Pro app we can spiff them up and give them some color.
Now, Howie is napping. It's his third or fourth while we've been here. I love it!!!
Think I'll go hang in the hammock for awhile and listen to the waves. Awwwww
Tile Fish
...and the hole he's about to dive into...
Brown Chromis (there are blue ones as well - I know, hard to tell color in this photo)
this is Howie's favorite - Sharp Nosed Puffer
they're just little guys - so cute!
Baby Grouper
he's so cute I added two pics :)
same baby grouper, different angle
Spotted Moray Eel
scary
great find Howie!
these guys are as yet unidentified... will get back to you
this guy is as yet unidentified... will get back to you
Sponge
Hawksbill turtle
Yellow-headed Wrasse
Blue Parrot Fish flying over a Yellow Ray
Spanish Hogfish
Burred Fish - like a puffer but with burrs :)
Queen Trigger Fish
Queen Angel Fish (notice her crown on her forehead!)
this guy is as yet unidentified... will get back to you
this guy is as yet unidentified... will get back to you
use your "I Spy" eyes to find the Puffer in this pic
Green Moray Eel
another Queen Trigger Fish - lovely frown from Her Majesty
French Angel Fish
Nassau Grouper
White Spotted File Fish
Tobacco Fish
Hawksbill Turtle and Rock Beauty
*disclaimer - these pics are taken right from Howie's Go-Pro, put onto an external hard drive then, as we watch the videos Howard has taken down below, we take a picture with my phone of a frame from said video off my laptop then from my phone I downloaded the pic onto this blog... once we get home, Howie will use a cool app to help these pictures look more like they did when we actually saw them with our beady little eyes ...
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