My Backyard

For those who had their doubts about whether I had really up and moved to the Caribbean, I present irrefutable evidence: real live photos. (Granted, one could argue that I could have just swiped the pictures from somewhere else and called them my own, but that's not how it happened. I am therefore out of the country.) Today was my first day off, so I spent it wandering the streets of Jamestown, the largest town and tourist trap in Arrecife, with my friend Thales. The town was closed up for the most part since there weren't any cruise ships in port, but we still got enough of a feel for it that neither of us will feel compelled to spend significant amounts of time there again. (Think Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey - a nice place to visit every ten years or so.)

After hitting up the grocery store on the way back to Port Royale, we decided to go for a snorkel in the reef behind PR, so here's a first look at the local wildlife:


These are Bluestriped Grunts, along with what I think is a goatfish (I'm not sure on that one, though). There are always some variations in pattern within a species based on location - a Beaugregory in Florida may look significantly different from a Beaugregory in Bermuda, making identification somewhat difficult at times.


Speaking of not being able to identify a fish... I haven't been able to find out what this one is, which is a real pity since I managed to make such good friends with it. These fish are apparently quite curious about divers, as this one demonstrated by following me around for a few minutes, getting as close as a few inches from my face, arms, legs, or whatever else was handy. It didn't seem like a territorial behavior, as it didn't seem to be actively trying to drive me away, but I still didn't want it quite so close for a few reasons: 1. I didn't know what it was, 2. It has a pretty serious-looking mouth (not quite parrotfish level, but it still has to hurt a bit), and 3. That fish is huge. It was about 2 feet from tip to tail, and pretty fast when it needed to be. I'll find out what it is and then we can cuddle. Or not.


This was Unnerving Mystery Fish's partner-in-crime. It too seemed intent on following me around, but not quite as closely as UMF. This one is a Mutton Snapper, and was even larger than UMF, at about 2.5 feet long and 8-10 inches wide.


Anything look odd about that rock? The waters around Arrecife are very clean (I still haven't seen any floating trash at all!), but there are always exceptions to the rule.


There is a juvenile Spotlight Parrotfish in this picture. It's a bit easier to find with the color correction, but they were definitely harder to see in person. There were a few of these fish hanging around, and they would virtually disappear when they clung to the bottom and stopped moving.

Today also marked my camera's maiden voyage into the underwater world, and I'm pretty happy with how the pictures turned out. Looks like we'll be enjoying large, fuzz-free pictures from here on!