telophase: (Default)
telophase ([personal profile] telophase) wrote2016-03-26 10:23 pm

(no subject)

It's late and I'm tired so I'm not going to go through all our photos from the trip, but I did do a couple of photos because they represent a nifty thing I found when snorkeling.

We were originally going to do an underwater submarine thing in Cozumel, but when the ship had to skip Grand Cayman because the port authority there closed the bay due to high seas, I decided that since what I really wanted to do with this cruise was snorkel, I'd be much happier if we went snorkeling instead. Toby was perfectly happy to do whatever. So we took ourselves, at the recommendation of friends, to the Money Bar Beach Club first thing in the morning, ate breakfast there, then rented snorkel equipment and a locker and (metaphorically) dove right in. (and literally, slowly made our way into the kind of cold water until we got used to it.)

We also had replacements for our decade-old point and shoot cameras that worked underwater, rather nicely as it turns out.

So! This first photo that portrays a piscine street gang mobbing Toby for lunch money (or, rather, lunch) is of Sergeant Major fish, so named because the stripes look like a sergeant major's insignia, Dr Google tells me.




They're probably pretty close to the 9" upper size limit Dr Google claims.

Now, closer to the shore where I swam, there was a school of smaller, probably younger, Sergeant Majors. And I spotted something that made me exceedingly happy and when Toby swam back my way, I made him go look. Can you see it in this picture?



Didja see it? Here's a closeup on the relevant part of the picture:



ITTY BITTY BABY SERGEANT MAJOR FISH! Presumably this spot is their nursery. The pic is slightly blurry because the tide was coming in so it was hard to hover in one spot and focus, and the waves kept pushing me closer and closer to the grating and I didn't want to disturb them even more than I already was, so I kept having to turn around and kick away from it.

All in all, a fun morning and I'd recommend the spot. I still prefer the Grand Cayman Eden Rock dive spot where we snorkeled the last time we were in the area, but I'd snorkel here again.
yhlee: Alto clef and whole note (middle C). (Sandman raven (credit: rilina))

[personal profile] yhlee 2016-03-27 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
Neat!

I'm glad y'all had a good time. :D

[identity profile] selenite.livejournal.com 2016-03-27 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
Pretty fish, in all sizes. Welcome back!

[identity profile] telophase.livejournal.com 2016-03-27 09:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you! :D

[identity profile] wordsofastory.livejournal.com 2016-03-28 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
This looks like so much fun! Have you been snorkeling much before? I'd love to try it, but I was wondering how hard it is to learn.

[identity profile] telophase.livejournal.com 2016-03-28 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
This as only the third time! I found it super-easy to pick up, and I think the key is that every time I had a mask that covered my nose so it was easy to just breathe through the snorkel.

The first time was at Eden Rock in Grand Cayman, and I more-or-less figured it out on my own. The second time was at Roatan, Honduras, and the snorkeling expedition we did there had a guy who gave a 15-minute Snorkeling 101 class where he showed us how to rinse out our masks with sea water before putting them on (and to rinse them periodically if they fogged), and how to go underwater and let the snorkel fill up with water, then blow it all out. I'm not sure *why* that was necessary, but maybe it was to show us what to do if we wanted to dive deeper.

I like using the fins, too, as they add to my limited swimming ability. :) Mom sent me to many swim lessons as a kid and pretty much--if you thrown me in the water I won't immediately drown, but I never got the knack of *swimming*. Perhaps it was always because I was too buoyant.

Anyway, this time as I was getting into the water, I felt a bit weird in the chest and I coughed a bit, but that went away as soon as I was entirely in. I think it was my body responding to the temperature difference, with a bit of psychological fear due to not being able to see where I was going or what I was stepping on--once I could see everything, that went away.

[identity profile] wordsofastory.livejournal.com 2016-03-28 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks!

I am a good swimmer, but the few times I've tried to play around with toy snorkels, I keep getting water in them and usually give it up because it's easier to just swim. But it seems not too hard to learn!