The reefs that we explored within the lagoon each had a different character: our favorite was close to the outer reef and snorkeling was like flying in between fairy castles built of multiple different types and colours of coral. Others were like little flat-topped mountains rising out of the depths with steeply sloping coral walls. One day we snorkeled on the outside of the reef on the lee side of the island – it was a mission to find lobster, which remained elusive. But the coral reef formations were different here, forming more gullies and caves – and the sharks were a little bigger and less shy than inside the reef. Very exciting!
Not far from the anchorage was a shallow bank home to giant manta rays, including one huge entirely black one with a wingspan of 10 feet or more. They would often hover around a particular coral head which is a ‘cleaning station,’ full of little cleaner wrasse fish that nibble away at parasites on the ray’s bodies and even swim right inside their gaping, toothless mouths. The rays seemed to be completely unconcerned by human visitors, just circling lazily around with graceful, langorous flaps of their wings, swimming within a few feet of you if you dove down.