A Sea Horse that is a bit difficult to see if you aren’t familiar with how they look in their natural setting.
Rain last night and clouds this morning with a trace of rainbow leftover. It was hide and seek with the sun for a while, but mostly sunny with calm conditions. One sea horse before he was frightened by all the attention. Another eagle ray, turtle, stingrays, and fish of all sizes to include some very large groupers. No eels for us, although other people saw them. I found some tiny Pederson shrimp for my husband – creatures that he enjoys photographing. Angelfish and snappers, elongated trumpetfish, little juveniles that are brightly colored and flit about. Sand dwellers that forage for food, parrotfish that munch on coral and process sand through their bodies. A couple of Caribbean reef squid that are always fun to watch and seabirds wheeling overhead as we waited between dives.
It is a relaxed state by the third day on the water, stresses melting away for those who have intense jobs. It is another day to appreciate for those who have achieved retired status and choose travel as part of their lives, be it scuba related or otherwise. For the crew, it is a job they love or else they move on to other work. For most dive cruise operators the arrangement is three-four weeks on, and one-two weeks off, but while “on”, it is 24/7. Someone must always be on watch and there are many tasks to perform. That is the similarity between traditional and dive cruises; the staff that makes certain passengers are cared for, the chef and assistant who creates and provides the meals. Duck and snapper as entrée choices tonight, as it so happens. My husband loves duck and I will take the snapper. The sun has moved behind clouds so the chances of “sunset” are slim. There may well be clouds suffused with gold and pink though as blue skies relinquish to dark. I skipped the fourth dive of the day today and hear laughter from the dive deck as the divers come back aboard, reports of what they saw. Another good day that will end with dinner and wine for us as we do not do the night dive. We rarely night dive, notwithstanding there are people who prefer night diving over daytime. And that will be one of the subjects of tomorrow’s post.
Juvenile Spotted Drum
