Dolphins and Turtles and Lizard Fish, Oh My!

Day two of our tropical adventure was full of sea adventures. After indulging in our morning mango and banana pancakes, we rented Flippers, snorkels and masks and hopped on the big diving boat for a day out at sea. We were joined by a French family living in Hong Kong, two diving guides (for the French), one snorkel guide and one boat driver. Within 10 min of being on the boat we spotted dolphins in the distance. The boot immediately turned toward them so we could catch them in action. We saw a whole pod- including some babies who were fond of doing flips and spins. This was really incredible because apparently there is only a 50/50 chance of seeing dolphins on the boat. Not only did we see them but we got to get up close and watch them play.

Our next stop was a small island 3km away from our beach called Pescador Island. The island is surrounded by small fishing boats and other divers as it is a haven for manta ray, sea turtles and other cool sea life. The divers descended to the depths and Lindsay and I put on our shoddy snorkeling gear and began our circumnavigation of the island's coral reef without guide. We saw masses of coral and every type of fish buried within it. Right as we jumped into the water a seaturtle swam by and headed for the far depths. It was going to be a good day. Our guide showed us lots of types of fish including a weird iguana looking fish called the lizard fish. We chased down schools of fish and tried to get crabs to come out from hiding.

We all piled back on the boat and conferred on the creatures we saw as we headed to our next snorkel spot- Kasai Wall. This area consisted of a coral reef wall full of sea life. Lindsay and I headed out with our guide again and spotted two sea turtles and many more of the same fish. After about 30 mins of snorkeling we got back on the boat to rehydrate, take some photos and play around on the arms of the boat. Concerned that our fitness is EXTREMELY lacking, we tried to do some pull ups on the boat arms and felt sore the next day. We truly are pathetic.

We returned back to the beach to find lunch waiting and our skin slightly burnt. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading in the shade and hanging out with our local friends (more on this in the next post).

I have now spent two hours in the sweaty internet cafe and haven't finished all the blogging I wanted to do but will have to stop here and head up to Hilary and David's house where Lindsay and I will spend the next day and a half getting ready for Thailand. More later!