Our first stop was at the coral gardens, where there were nice clumps of coral and “aquarium fish” as they described them. There were 17 of us on the boat, and we snorkeled in groups of six or seven with a guide for each group. The water was placid and the colors beautiful when the sun came out from behind the clouds. The guides were patient and fun and identified different types of coral and fish for the group.
Our second stop was at Shark Ray Alley, a spot where sharks and rays congregate around the tour boats that feed them. I have a thing about sharks and was sure I wasn’t going to get in the water with them … right up until I did it. Still can’t quite believe it. Most of the sharks were pretty small though there was one giant nurse shark in the bunch. The rays are beautiful to watch. We had a tasty lunch of barbequed chicken with salads and fruit. And rum punch!
Our last stop was at a cut through the reef where there were larger fish and coral formations. We didn’t find that stop as interesting, though that may have been because it had clouded over by then and you couldn’t see the colors very well. On the way back we sailed through the Split where we were supposed to be giddy from rum punch. It didn’t really work out that way though there was one guy on board with some dance moves.
Please wear reef safe sunscreen!
It was a great day out other than the somewhat uncooperative weather. We had a good crowd; no one was obnoxious. The group was small enough that you could mix easily with other guests. There was a set of neighbors on the boat, a nice couple from Saskatchewan. Book early if you want to go. The boat was full the day we wanted to go so we had to wait for the next day! There’s no website, but you can call or stop by.
Below are pictures of some of the wildlife we saw.
