Snorkeling at a Coral Reef
23 May 2009 | Pelican Cays Land and Sea Park, Abacos, Bahamas
The most incredible thing that we've done since we've come, was seeing the coral reefs at the Pelican Cays Land and Sea Park .
http://www.friendsoftheenvironment.org/seaparksofabaco.html
(cut and paste it into GOOGLE)
We anchored Gromit north of the park, on the west side of Tiloo Cay and tried, first time, to get there by dingy. This meant passing by a large cut (opening) out to the sea.There was a large swell and considerable waves coming in off the ocean due to the brisk east wind. 'Wallace', our dingy, can't handle that kind of wave action, especially with us all aboard. We decided to turn back to and take Gromit himself over.
Once in the park, we anchored behind a small island called, Sandy Cay.
From there, we took the dingy to the other side of Sandy Cay, where there are mooring balls to tie to.
Due to the waves and rolling swell, Michael tied a 70 foot line off the back of the dingy for us to hang on to. We flopped over the side of the dingy, wearing masks, snorkels and lifejackets. We floated towards the reef and hovered over a whole new world.
What beauty. It was breathtaking. There were so many shapes and colours that, at first, it was all very overwhelming.
At first, we didn't know where to look. It was like being in a candy store. Hundreds of glass jars to choose from and all that goes through your mind is, I want some of those and some of those and those and those and those - you don't know where to start.
I found that the best thing to do, in order to see more, was to just drift around. As we all drifted more and swam less, little movements would catch our eye.
Coral, that had looked rigid, was actually moving. It ranged from thin and delicate looking to thick and sturdy. One of the coral growths was shaped like a fan and textured like detailed lace. Despite its fragile appearance, it was fanning back and forth in rhythm with the current.
There was beige coral that looked like hands sticking up from the wrist and on the fingertips were dots of neon purple.
I named one of the coral; structures 'moose antlers'. It was an enormous growth of flat surfaces curving back and forth that gave shelter to all sorts of other coral reef creatures.
Fish were darting in and out of crevices and between coral structures. The neon colours were stunning. There were fish in all shapes, sizes and colours. Michael and I even saw a small shark. It was about 2-3 feet long.
We hope to go back and enjoy this amazing world again before we leave.