Fagatele Bay by boat

Some of you readers out there may think we have it rough here in the tropics; the mosquitoes, the hazardous marine life, the cockroaches, the rats, the heat and humidity. Well, I'm here today to let you know weren't not doing so bad. We also have whales, dolphins, and great friends to go diving with. A couple weeks ago, we chartered a boat to take us to Fagatele Bay, a national marine sanctuary on the island. It was phenomenal, mainly because in between our two dives, we were entertained by a young humpback whale and a pod of spinner dolphins. Unfortunately, I was enjoying the show between severe sea sickness episodes and didn't have the strength or desire to get the camera out. The whale breached a number of times relatively close to the boat. He was definitely showing off. Marine mammals are truly a wonder of nature. It was absolutely beyond words, an experience to treasure forever. There are some great pictures of humpback whales Paul took on one of his whale expeditions posted on his site.

The seas were particularly unkind to me this day though, I spent most of my time over the side of the boat and the entire ride back nearly dead on the floor. The diving was awesome despite the trouble with my equilibrium. Here are just a few of the pictures from our day at sea.

Carol and Deepa

Parrot fish

Anenome and skunk clown fish

Pyramid butterfly fish

Brushtail tangs (and some others)

Giant clam