Arenal Volcano Costa Rica

Monkeys Faces of Costa Rica

Thumbs Up for the Blenny.

Toothless and tiny but with oh so much character this little spiny head blenny is so funny to watch.  Always darting in and out to eat a morsel of plankton its antics are almost comical.  If you hang around it will become comfortable with you and stick out of its worm hole.  Being so tiny it needs to be ever so watchful; notice how it rolls those big eyes, in the photo below, to keep tabs on what is going on around it.  Notice something else in the first photo.  The coral looks similar to a human hand and thumb, complete with fingernail, which adds even more character to the photo.  Thumbs up for the blenny!

Belize - Off the Beaten Path With Alia and Brandon

Mary and I had the pleasure to dive with Alia Statham and Brandon Hill on the Sun Dancer II in Belize.  As we boarded the flight home Alia and Brandon were heading off on another adventure in a remote village in southern Belize.  Called a "home stay" you live for a few days with a family, eating their meals, sleeping in their house and learning about each other.

Brandon wrote me an e-mail of their experience that is both funny and informative so I asked Brandon if I could share it on my site.   These are the experiences that separate a traveler from a tourist.  Mary and I are enriched by meeting folks like Alia and Brandon and we hope you enjoy the story of their Belize "home stay" experience.

Color of Emotion

Little is known about the color patterns of the octopus. They will change their color and shape to hide from predators. A close observation tells us that some patterns seem to display emotion as in this photograph. Is it fear, bravado or surrender? Who knows, but we do know that the octopus displays intelligence so perhaps this is their communication to us but we are not intelligent enough to understand it.

Radisson Pier Belize City After Hurricane Richard

Our Sunday afternoon meal was interrupted by the General Manager of the Radisson Hotel in Belize City with an announcement that Tropical Storm Richard had indeed turned in to a Category 1 Hurricane and was headed directly for Belize City.  He expected it to reach the Radisson around 3pm and gave us a briefing on what to expect.

To our surprise the restaurant was full of people as a group heading to Turneffe Island was forced to take refuge in the hotel.  As soon as the General Manager began speaking a buzz of conversation filled the room and folks started heading to the buffet to take food to their room.  You would have thought this was their last meal as the buffet was cleaned out in a matter of minutes and everyone dispersed quickly to their rooms.

Hello Lionfish - Goodbye Reef?

Consider that in 2003 Mary and I stayed a Lighthouse Reef Resort in Belize and did not spot one lionfish in over twenty dives and then in 2005 and again not one lionfish, yet, last week in 3 ½ days of diving aboard the Sun Dancer II we spotted over 50.

Mary and I observed that the lionfish has a tendency to huddle and hunt in groups of three to four. The group will pin their prey with their pectoral fins before swallowing them whole. Recent research by Dr. Mark Hixon and his team from Oregon State University with support from NOAA’s Undersea Research Program (NURP) found that lionfish reduce the net recruitment of coral reef fishes by an estimated 80%. The consequences to the Caribbean eco-system cannot be overemphasized. Dr. Hixon’s team observed one lionfish eating 20 small wrasses during a 30 minute period. Recent studies have disclosed that the small fish that are consumed by the lionfish, (stomach content analysis has documented predation of cleaner fish), if reduced significantly will impact the abundance of reef fish by one-fourth and diversity by one-half.

Happy Halloween!

Sailfin Blenny

 

 

 

The Sailfin Blenny is only about 1-2 inches and very hard to get a photo of because it will dart from it's hole and then dart back. We found this little guy at a dive site called Tormentos in Cozumel. A little patience allowed me to photograph the rarely seen but distinctive sailfin.

 

 

Magnificent Feather Duster

Perched on the tip of a giant star coral head this large crown of radioles offset beautifully with blue water background. Although magnificent this is really a worm. The appendages, radioles, act as both its gills and a way to capture plankton, that are then moved to its mouth located in the center of the feathery crown.

Reef Scorpionfish

Nestled in a crevice we found this timid looking reef scorpionfish. You will notice the black spines of a long-spine urchin hanging over the scorpionfish. These long barbed spines are needle-sharp, just the right protection for a skittish little fish that needs to get some rest.

We tried several times to get a better shot but the reef scorpionfish kept moving around and every time my flash went off he moved to a different spot. You can’t see it but the wall was covered with long-spined urchins and every time I moved in closer the spines would rotate and point toward my hands making for a very unpleasant experience on several occasions.

I have rarely seen a reef scorpionfish that was not using a long-spine urchin for protection. I believe this may be a symbiotic relationship called facultative commensalism, which means that the scorpionfish gets a safe place to rest (smart little bugger) but the long-spine sea urchin receives no benefit from the relationship.

I really like the color and texture of this sponge. Notice the reef scorpionfish in the background.

Tipping Point

Perched precariously upon dead coral the barrel sponge (It may be a leathery barrel sponge) has grown so rapidly that it has overgrown its host. Any unprotected surface on a damaged coral head will permit a sponge to colonize it. This is one reason that dive guides ask us to be careful to not touch or hit live coral with our fins.

Overshadowing the coral the barrel sponge prevents light from reaching it and as boring sponges burrow into it from below they will eventually erode and destroy the whole coral head.

Warty Corallimorph

Below me was a large mat of beautiful underwater flowers. I put my hand over the golden wart like tentacles that radiated out from the center and felt the rubbery texture. Puzzled, I could not identify what this critter was. It looked like an anemone but the pattern told me it might be something else. I motioned to Mary and pointed, she gave me this I do not know shrug and placed her hand over the tentacles. I took out my slate and wrote “anemone?” and she shook her head with a look of uncertainty so I took a couple of quick photos to identify it when we got home.

We were diving with Kay Wilson of Indigo Dive St. Vincent at “The Steps”. This dive site is next to the shore of St. Vincent at an ancient (relatively speaking) spot where islanders would come to bath and throw their trash out. You might find a treasure of trash sunk into the sand like old bottles but more than likely, you will find a wealth of critters on this dive.

Diamond Rock

At a certain point in the day the rays of the sun glisten off this diamond shaped rock and you can literally see how it got it's name. On closer inspection the substance reflecting the rays of the sun is bird poop.

The World Looks Very Different From Up Here

Why do I stand up here? Anybody?...I stand upon my desk to remind yourself that we must constantly look at things in a different way.

Back Side of Middle Cay

Concentrating on framing a shot of a sand diver I heard a faint yet familiar sound off in the distance. Looking around somewhat bewildered about where it was coming from I looked over at Mary but she was busy searching for a critter with the beam of her light. Then I heard it again, louder yet still distant. I got Mary’s attention and pointed my finger to my ear and she looked at me with a puzzled look. I swam over to her and wrote on my slate “whale song”. She beamed a smile and began searching the abyss for any sign of the behemoths.

Sharptail Eel

Slithering along the bottom bobbing its head side to side as if sniffing a scent the sharptail eel hunts its prey. Oblivious to our presence it charges forward at a fast speed apparently sensing or smelling a meal. I move my leg as it dodges under me, it is fully intent on catching some invisible prey. Stopping abruptly just below me it sticks its head, with those tubular nostrils, in a small hole but quickly loses interest and slithers on toward another opportunity.

I Love Grouper Fingers

I like grouper fingers! I don‘t think you understand how much I REALLY like grouper fingers. There is nothing better than sitting at a table in some remote Caribbean location with a beautiful view of the ocean and a big plate of grouper fingers and French fries. YUM!

Now I am a carnivore, after all my father was a butcher, and I love to eat meat and fish but I have come to understand that many of my eating practices are not sustainable. We are over harvesting certain species that are critical to the health of our oceans and the grouper is one of them.

My Brother James - The Great Lionfish Catcher

I spoke with my brother James this week about the recent dive trip he led to CoCo View Resort in Roatan. Liz Wayne the long time manager left in February and Mitch and Deb Karlson from Texas have replaced her. James was very impressed with Mitch and Deb and he says they are doing a great job of making guests feel at home.

Pin Cushion Seastar

What do politicians and sea stars have in common? They are both bloodless, brainless critters that will eat you alive. Okay, I couldn’t resist the joke but it is true that the sea star has no head, brain or blood. Yet the politician has a head and blood but no brain, go figure.

A sea star is an echinoderm, which means “spiny skin” and literally uses water as it’s blood. The fluid within it’s vascular system is seawater with some cellular and organic material thrown in. It uses this fluid to move its tube like feet, transport food and supply oxygen and carbon dioxide to it’s body. Quite an amazing critter especially considering it’s ability to regenerate a lost limb.