2 Mar, Wed.

Wed, 2 Mar. i walked into town to try to get some cash. i tried yesterday and the ATM was out of money ... payday... i got my money and ran into Chris and Nicole. they picked up their snorkel gear and we went to Rudy's coz they were hungry. i had a 'mile high' mango smoothie ... i swear it stood up a good 3" over the rim of the cup, like a soft serve ice cream cone. it was fresh mango with a little bit of cinnamon. yummmmmmm we grabbed our snorkel gear and started walking south to West Bay. there are some areas where you have to walk across the rocks, but mostly it's sandy beach. it's about a 40min walk and as we were walking we were wondering how we would know when we were there. all we knew was that it was the longest sandy beach on the island. ....and it was all a sandy beach where we were walking .... as we rounded the corner of a large rock outcropping .... we all gasp!!!!!!!! OMG, this was not what we were expecting! i thought we were on the beach in Cancun!!!!!!!! people people people everywhere, lounge chairs lined up, parasailing, slides in the water .... commercial tourist attraction! the beach was beautiful, but we were not prepared for all the people. .... then it dawned on us ... cruise ships ! we made our way all the way to the end where it looked like people were snorkeling. it didn't look like good snorkeling to me, but it was so hot, i grabbed my gear and headed for the water. WoW, i was pleasantly surprised! the snorkeling was great! it started sandy with a few coral patches, then the coral got denser and i found a path out to the great blue yonder ... the wall. i just love snorkeling over that wall .... it's like i am flying ... nothing below me, and the wall to the side of me, with lots of fishes and coral. i took lots of photos .... surprise surprise ... while i was in the deep blue i saw this guy carrying this HUGE fish ... i can't believe he could carry a fish so big :) i guess catching a fish this way is legal. a hundred Blue Tangs swam around me until i was 'bored' and left them. another Blue Tang, but such a faint blue color ... more Christmas Tree Worms in the shallows. and a nice purple Fan Coral. i saw this fish in the shallows ... notice the color and the 'beard' ... more like 2 spears coming out of it's chin. i watched him for quite awhile. it is a Yellowtail Goatfish. then he started swimming away ... and ... he turned white with a yellow stripe! you can still see the 'beard' ... and i read in the book that they can change their color dramatically given their surroundings ... i'll say ! eventually i got cold and found Chris and Nicole on the shore. they were ready to get something to eat and a cold drink sounded great ... did i tell you that it was hot? i know i keep saying that ... but it really is hot here :) so we headed for the closest palapa bar, where we were told that 'this is just for cruise ship people' ..... oh sorry :~ ..... so we walked what seemed like a long way down the beach to where we could get something to eat. it was good and then we went back down the beach to snorkel. before coming to Utila, Chris and Nicole had not snorkeled before, and neither of them took to it easily. they'd get in the water, but really were not comfortable; and had never gone very far out into the water. i told them about the 'wall' and how cool it was. they said they would try it, but i could tell they were intimidated just by the idea. i lead, and they followed, reluctantly. but i eventually got them out there and they realized what i was talking about. we were out quite awhile and saw a large Porcupinefish that was down quite deep. i did some free-diving down to try to take photos, but was not successful ... he was deeper than i thought. then Nicole spotted this Nassau Grouper. what a great find! i love these Groupers and they are on the 'threatened' list. Groupers are one of the large fish that might one day eat the Lionfish, so we need to keep the species strong. while we were out in the deep i drove down and took this picture of this purple sponge coral. and then we spotted this Rainbow Parrotfish .. notice how brown-red his head is and his tail is so blue. typical of this fish. he was a big one too ! check out the teeth on this Blue Tang ! i saw another Indigo Blue Hamlet .... i saw one of these when i was diving and never thought i'd see one again, nor get a photo ... yeahhh i think they are cool looking fish. a 'family' of sea urchins. i love the way you can the pectoral fins on this Blue Parrotfish ... they look like wings ! we snorkeled around for awhile and made our way back into the shallows. after we were finished, Chris and Nicole both commented that this was the first time that they felt comfortable and were really able to enjoy it, and were glad that they experienced the 'wall'. i saw Nicole's Facebook page today and she said "conquered the fear and snorkelled right out to the drop off! And stayed afloat! Amazing. Getting the hang of this flipper malarkey after all" maybe i will be a good "Snorkel Guide" :) i went home, showered and captured this sunset as i was walking to met them again at their hotel. we had some rum and cokes and then had dinner at the Argentinian Grill. it's a very well known, recommended, and expensive restaurant. unfortunately, i had the worst meal i've had yet. i ordered Wahoo and it was dry and tasteless; the twice baked potatoes looked and tasted like they were made in the morning and reheated several times ... :( Nicole and Chris both enjoyed their meals ... sometimes you just order the wrong thing. i might go back there again, but only for that Flan that i saw them serving for dessert, ... it looked awesome! after dinner i said goodbye to my last 2 friends, and wished them safe travels :(