Tues, 18 Jan
did a little work in the am then grabbed my snorkel stuff and Darren and i headed for The Split. i took my Panasonic camera this time. i bought an underwater housing and am using it for the first time. if you will recall last year, i vowed, i would get one of these before my next adventure. so let's see how it works! The tide was going out and it was pretty strong. we decided not to go out where i was yesterday, because it is so much work to get back in against the current. so we just hung out in the shallows. i found several Batfish. i saw one of these last year at Madi's beach. they are still the strangest fish i've ever seen:
The first time i've ever seen a green sea star!
and an orange one in the sea grass.
Darren cut his finger on a piece of coral and went in, but i stayed out. i started free diving down and looking under the pier. there were a lot of fish hanging around the pier.
i found a Lionfish ! Lionfish are one of the most beautiful fish in the seas. they have long spines that flow from their body and look like a lion's mane, hence the name, and range in color from reds, corals, to purples. they are an invasive fish from Asian waters. it is theorized that some of them escaped from someone's aquarium during a hurricane and they are infesting the waters of the Carribean. their spines are poisionous, they have no predators, are incredible reproducers, and are eating all the fish. there is a strong movement to eradicate them, and they should be killed when seen. they are beginning to get them on the menu in restaurants. this would encourage active fishing of them if it became profitable to kill them. i haven't tried the meat yet, but i understand it is mild and quite good. you won't see them swimming around, ... they hang out under ledges. it was quite dark down under the pier and try as i did, time and time again, to get a good photo of it, i wasn't very successful.
i also found a Pufferfish, or Porcupine fish under a rock ledge. i spent a lot of time diving to get photos of this one too and i had a little better luck. they have a cute face and huge eyes:
i was in the water for hours (nothing new); and my fingers were wrinkley and i was getting cold, so i quit for the day. i walked up to the bar at the Lazy Lizard and there sat Darren and Ishie, making new friends. then back to Madi's to do more work before the day was over.
Starla, mother, and Rachel, daughter, arrived today from Iowa. they brought a lot of supplies for Madi and will go to the school tomorrow to do an 'educational' trip to the school tomorrow on 'animals as pets'....
Darren, Stephanie, and i went to Wish Willy's for dinner tonight. it is an out-of-the-way location. way down by The Split, down a side road on the back side of the island. Maurice, reportedly a world class chef owns it. i'd seen it last year, but never been there. all dinners are $15, and include a rum punch. the tables are all outside with tablecloths and lights strung. Maurice, or more commonly known as Wish Willy, is not what you would imagine. he's a big dark guy, kinda intimidating. but he's really nice and has the sweetest smile ... it just doesn't go with his body. i had lobster :) it was wonderful and we had a great evening. this might be our new favorite restaurant.
more fishes enjoying the coral:
then we headed to Shark Ray Alley. this is where the stingrays are accustomed to being fed, as well as the nurse sharks. nurse sharks aren't really 'sharks' at all, ... they have no teeth. they are bottom feeders, and just suck/suckle their food in, hence, the name 'nurse sharks'. i've experienced this before, but for the others, it was an exciting experience. Wilbur was feeding the fish, sharks and the rays.
this is a Bally Hoo fish ... it had really pretty tail fins and it swims very close to the surface.
