We headed up to another hotel for breakfast and were treated to this view:
We felt like we were off to a pretty good start! From there, we hung at the rad Tree D for a bit longer, then went to Fish'n'Fins, the dive shop that Ocean Hunter is out of. Everyone was totally excited to see the boat and meet the crew and get wet.So, we make it to the shop and then on to the boat after much filling out of paperwork and such... And such being the important things... shopping in the dive shop! "Well, of course, we must get cool matching rashguards!" (And we did - they're black and camo - verrrrry sexy.)
First dive and we're treated to a wreck (complete with live munitions), and tons of fish!
And clams... I've become slightly obsessed with the clams - they were so cool! And Clam City (much later in the trip) was probably my favorite part - even though it was free diving! I'll post pictures from it later, but it was so about 50 or so giant clams (like 6 feet across!) about 20 feet under that you could touch! It was amazing!!! I can't even describe the feeling of 'playing' with them! It was grown-up playtime - seriously, just a mask and snorkel - no fins even!
Dinner anyone? Yum. Many giant grouper to be seen - and maybe one or two to be eaten. That's a fish I can handle eating... unlike, say, parrotfish - they're just too cute! I feel terribly guilty eating them! Handsome Hub thinks I'm a nutter for it, but I'm not sure he eats them either!
If you looked closely, you might see a lionfish. They don't move so much.
One of about a million species of starfish - they had some very cool ones!
This kind of coral is called Christmas tree coral - one of the few green things you actually see down there - oddly enough. The little black fishies are a species of damsel fish. On one of the dives, one that was about as big as your pinky fingernail decided to check me out as I hunkered down to watch a couple of them in another type of coral - and then defended his coral from me! He'd get all brave and dart towards me, then wiggle back into the coral - then dart at me again! It was the sweetest thing! These guys really don't get huge, maybe 2 inches long or so.
Then there's the top of the food chain - reef sharks! They really were everywhere - much to my dad's dismay - "You mean to tell me you swam with sharks the whole time!?" "Yes, sir, they really didn't even pay any attention to us! I promise!" "Suuuurreee... That's insane." But, really, they paid no attention to the noisy fish on the reef (us) and went about their business of patrolling, etc.
For my Nemo lovers - no actual Nemos (tons of Doris and Gils), but these anemone fish were pretty close and pretty freakin' funny! We saw tons of these guys too!
