Saturday, January 15, 2011

Tour Guide

Yesterday, for the first time in over a month, HB and I had a day off together. We had planned on exploring new parts of the island, but when the water went out again, we decided to just head to our usual beach at Brewer's Bay and check out the snorkeling there. As you may remember from a previous post, we had tried snorkeling at Brewer's Bay before, with little success.

Yesterday, though, we swam further out from shore, and got out of the murky, sandy water caused by the waves on the beach, to discover an exciting, underwater world, filled with angel fish, goatfish, and a few parrot fish. The variety of coral and activity of the fish kept HB and I fascinated for well over an hour, but my favorite part of the swim was my tour guide.

About twenty minutes into snorkeling, a small fish, about the size and color of  a goldfish but with light yellow spots, swam inches in front of my mask. I cupped my hands in front of me, and he nestled into my palms, then darted off to my left. I followed him, and soon saw an enormous brain coral in front of me. About five minutes later, finding myself over empty sand, having lost the reef, the little fish appeared again, swimming inches from my mask for a few moments before darting off to my right. Following him again led me back over the reef, and I playfully imagined him my little underwater tour guide, showing me the best sights, and leading me back to the path when I strayed too far.

Amazingly, this little fish stayed with me for over 40 minutes of swimming and snorkeling. Every five minutes or so he would check in on me, darting just in front of my mask, swim in my palms if I offered my cupped hands, and then take off in one or another direction. I think he must have found a cozy niche in the ties on my swimsuit, or something, because I cannot conceive another reason why or how he would stay with me over the hundreds of yards I must have swam. Even as I headed in to shore, he was with me, and I caught my last glimpse of him as I finally took off my fins over shallow, sandy seabed.

2 comments:

  1. I love this blog and I can really relate. Snorkeling is my favorite...Aren't you lucky to live with such beauty right in your backyard. I have had fish stay with me for long periods of time, but not one that would "nestle in my palms"...what a blessing!!

    ReplyDelete

Search This Blog