Another Dive and New Snorkel Site

Kathy and I were looking forward to do a shore dive. The plan was to dive Casuarina Point however, the South west winds had other plans for us. Checking the shore was getting rougher we decided to head over to our friends at Cobalt Coast. Conditions there were much better than the west side. A little surge coming from the Northwest Point area but in general terms pretty flat. Slight current going west once away from shore. Visibility pretty good.We encountered a friendly turtle that allowed us to observe her behavior for several minutes. Nice school of barracudas and an aggregation of Squid. The shallow hard pan is impressive with many Sea Fans and soft corals. Several Queen Triggers were feeding on the shallows as well as the Parrot Fish.
Kathy is a new diver but she is a fast learner and she seemed getting more and more comfortable as we spent time underwater. We need to work on some buoyancy issues that will also help with air consumption. After 45 minute of diving at about 40 feet we return to shore just in time as the current seemed to be getting a bit stronger.
After dropping Kathy back at her hotel, Tracy and I met Jesi and Tom for lunch and then we initiated our mangroves snorkeling adventure. We found a location with a sort of mangrove island protected from the strong South wind. Easy entry without having to disturb the bottom creatures too much. What a pleasant surprise! The area had many gigantic Feather Dusters (crynods), many bivalve shellfish, silver sides, baby barracudas and an incredible array of Orange, Silver and Black Sponges. Also many kinds of tunicates. Now our mission, was to find Sea Horses. Tracy found one brown Sea horse free swimming and Tom was able to take several pictures although lighting was not ideal. Tracy also found a beautiful nudibranch.We spent one hour and half snorkeling the canal! The place is full of life and brings us back to the great importance of protecting the different sound we have around the islands and the mangroves. I wish the builders have a chance to see how many creatures abound in the area and how important the mangroves are for us all.
Til next one!