Christmas Snorkel To Francis Bay
25/12/07 22:24 Filed in: Vacation
Tue 25 Dec (morning) - Merry
Christmas! I rented a wetsuit and bought a few
disposable underwater cameras. I snorkeled from
Maho Bay to Francis Bay this morning (Francis is
adjacent to Maho). It took me about 45 minutes
(I'm guessing) to snorkel over to the far side of
Francis Bay. I stayed there for maybe an hour and
a half, then I snorkeled back. I was on a mission
to find a sea turtle, but no luck so far!
Maho Bay
Francis Bay
The sea grass, rocks and coral at Francis Bay are the best, at least the healthiest, I've seen so far. I found out that snorkeling and underwater photography at the same time is really difficult. You're moving this way and that all the time with the currents, the fish are almost always moving, it's tough to get a fix on distance because you're trying to hold the camera up to your mask - and then, just when you think you have everything framed up for a shot, the sun dips behind the clouds, or the fish moves, or the fish and sun cooperate, but the current hits you just as you snap the photo, so it's all blurry. Not easy at all. If I get a few good shots, it will be sheer luck. It gives me a lot of respect for people that do this well.
I'm taking a little break now. If it gets sunnier this afternoon, I'm going back to Francis Bay and look for sea turtles some more.
(afternoon) - I went back out again... still no sea turtles. I searched and searched for another 3 hours, but the closest thing I saw to a sea turtle was a clump of sea grass that looked like a turtle's head. I'm going on another snorkel sail this Friday... I'll ask if they can help find one.
A cool thing happened though. I was floating along in shallow water above some sea grass when something huge splashed right next to me. I thought maybe a big fish jumped or something. I put my head above the water and just to my left, looking right at me, about two feet away, was this Pelican with a fish in her mouth. She looked at me like, "What are you doing in my space?" and flew away. There wasn't enough time to just pull out the underwater camera and take an above water shot, because the lens will still have water all over it. The Pelican was long gone shortly after I looked up anyway, so it wouldn't have mattered. Still, a Pelican dived into the water right next to me! Good times... good times...
(evening) - You should have seen the amazing Christmas dinner they made here. And it wasn't just pretty good food, it was really great, all homemade. Roasted acorn squash soup (maybe the best thing on the menu), turkey, ham, beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted sweet potatoes, peas, an orange cranberry sauce, salads, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie and truffle pie. I can't move now.
Maho Bay
Francis Bay
The sea grass, rocks and coral at Francis Bay are the best, at least the healthiest, I've seen so far. I found out that snorkeling and underwater photography at the same time is really difficult. You're moving this way and that all the time with the currents, the fish are almost always moving, it's tough to get a fix on distance because you're trying to hold the camera up to your mask - and then, just when you think you have everything framed up for a shot, the sun dips behind the clouds, or the fish moves, or the fish and sun cooperate, but the current hits you just as you snap the photo, so it's all blurry. Not easy at all. If I get a few good shots, it will be sheer luck. It gives me a lot of respect for people that do this well.
I'm taking a little break now. If it gets sunnier this afternoon, I'm going back to Francis Bay and look for sea turtles some more.
(afternoon) - I went back out again... still no sea turtles. I searched and searched for another 3 hours, but the closest thing I saw to a sea turtle was a clump of sea grass that looked like a turtle's head. I'm going on another snorkel sail this Friday... I'll ask if they can help find one.
A cool thing happened though. I was floating along in shallow water above some sea grass when something huge splashed right next to me. I thought maybe a big fish jumped or something. I put my head above the water and just to my left, looking right at me, about two feet away, was this Pelican with a fish in her mouth. She looked at me like, "What are you doing in my space?" and flew away. There wasn't enough time to just pull out the underwater camera and take an above water shot, because the lens will still have water all over it. The Pelican was long gone shortly after I looked up anyway, so it wouldn't have mattered. Still, a Pelican dived into the water right next to me! Good times... good times...
(evening) - You should have seen the amazing Christmas dinner they made here. And it wasn't just pretty good food, it was really great, all homemade. Roasted acorn squash soup (maybe the best thing on the menu), turkey, ham, beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted sweet potatoes, peas, an orange cranberry sauce, salads, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie and truffle pie. I can't move now.