Back Over the Reef

We love new things! A few weeks ago, while Josh was in KS with his family, I went to the a beach on the south end with some of our friends. The snorkeling was alright, but the water was really shallow and no one was having much fun. This is Rachel and Kara trying to find a deeper area to snorkel.

 So the guys decided to explore a little. They knew there was an outlet through the reef but we weren't sure exactly where it was. Well, they found it! There is a fissure about 5 feet wide with a rope running through to the other side.

The current can be a little rough, making it difficult to cross over or back but if you use the rope as a guide it makes the whole process much easier. No matter how hard the journey, the destination is more than worth it. The open looks completely different than what we see in the lagoon.

NEMO!!!

Flippers!! Thanks Amanda!!

Those black dots are fish, way down below. It was maybe 30 feet deep here.

On our way back over the reef we found the little cuttlefish that was just hanging out, bobbing back in forth in the waves.

We also found a flounder!! This was the first time we'd seen a flounder out here. I'm not gonna lie, it scared the crap out of me. I first noticed it swimming directly beneath me, it was about a foot away from my face at that point. Come on, admit it, it would freak you out too if the "ground" was suddenly moving closer to you...

 It looked a little like this when I first saw it: very camouflaged!

These cool stripe-y fish are quickly becoming a favorite of mine. They hang out in areas with decently strong current and eat up the little bits of junk that float by them. 

Amazing coral formations just before you cross over the reef. There's no telling what could be hiding out there. We're still waiting to see something big. There are a number of creatures still on the list to be captured by the underwater camera before we leave. We're constantly on the look out for eagle rays, sharks, which we've seen, just not photographed, and sea turtles! I want to ride a sea turtle, it can be done... 

 

Beyond the Reef

We went over the reef!! It's awesome out in the open ocean. You get a totally different view of ocean life compared to what we usually see in the lagoon. More to come later, but here's one picture to show some differences.