Back in clear water, we are spending much of our time underneath the surface. It’s been a while, but once the ears clear for the first time it also feels like we never left. All you have to do is look under a ledge and the residents living under there will pop out to greet you.
Banded coral shrimp, Lobster, Reticulate moray eel
Porcupine fish
Rosy blenny
The weather has been so calm that you can see plenty of fish and coral from the surface, like the baby squid and bait fish that hang around the shade of the boat.
I usually snorkel in the 5 to 20 foot range reefs that are good for sunlight and easy to freedive for multiple shots. The water is warm (85*!), so a few hours in the water is very comfortable. A bonus is when I can swim to them from right off the boat and even better, to go exploring with a friend like Jaime right next door.
Armed with my Panasonic TS4 underwater camera (a little finicky after disuse, but still working), I'm re-enlightening myself on reef creatures 101.
Corralimorphs
Zoanthids
Tunicate
Yellowprow goby next to tunicate
Giant anemone
Hidden anemone
Branching anemone
Especially with the anemones, don’t forget to look closer to see its residents!!
Sun anemone
Sun anemone shrimp (can you see all 4?)
Banded clinging crab
Knobby anemone
Red snapping shrimp
The reefs of the San Blas islands contain an amazing diversity of reef animals. Whether the area looks like a pretty garden or a scrub-reef I now know where and how to find their micro-habitats. Sometimes even the rubble contains interesting critters.
These inner reefs are very much a nursery for small reef fish and being near ocean cuts there are also juvenile pelagic fish. Adult fish come to visit these areas for a cleaning by the gobies, cleaner shrimp with their long signaling antennae and juvenile reef fish who diet on fish parasites in their early days. As I hover over a cleaning station, these guys sometimes swim up to try to clean my hands or camera.
Banded coral shrimp
Juvenile queen angelfish at cleaning station
Juvenile queen angelfish
Juvenile yellowhead wrasse
Coming across a rock with a pile of shells strewn around outside a hole, I had a good idea who was living inside. This octopus was a little nervous when I showed up during his meal of small hermit crabs and turned all sorts of colors. Then I came back later and he stayed light colored, realizing that I was friendly.
Common octopus eating lunch
Common octopus
Same story with this beautiful, mature conch who knew he was my friend and that I wouldn’t eat him!
Queen conch grazing with proboscis
Queen conch
Needless to say it is good to be back in an underwater jungle!