Dazzled by the Deep
Like undersea bird watchers we searched for Nemo while treading carefully over delicate coral, spiky urchins, and schools of multi-colored fish.
Pemba Island, in the Zanzibar Archipelago, is an island in paradise! With a lush, hilly, green interior and a mangrove fringe it was naturally the perfect spot for Marc to get his first glimpse of what lies beneath the sea.
A quick snorkelling tour in the shallows beachside(holding hands so not to lose each other) we opened our eyes into an aquarium of fish and coral life that almost took our breath away.
But, that was just the appetizer. By noon we were all kitted out in our scuba attire, fumbling with our regulators and weighted down with iron bars. With Nancy the dive instructor we practiced mask and regulator clearing proceedures to keep safe during the descent. Now, Marc was holding Nancy's hand (tightly I think!) as we plunged into the underwater coral garden that surrounds the tiny "Gilligan's Island" of Misali.
We floated with anemone fish, angelfish, and the blue and yellow groupers. We saw tuna in schools in the distance. The striped and spots of the butterfly and damsel fish surrounded us and the schools of tiny silver fish shone like silver coins descending in the sunlight.
Giant molluscs held their ground along the sandy slope between clumps of multi-colored coral. Layers of thin fan coral waved up at us as we graced by. We were careful to stay out of the path of the jelly fish...however tiny.
When we surfaced lunch was ready and we still had time to enjoy an afternoon on a deserted beach and even spotted a lion fish during a relaxing late afternoon snorkel.
Pemba Island, in the Zanzibar Archipelago, is an island in paradise! With a lush, hilly, green interior and a mangrove fringe it was naturally the perfect spot for Marc to get his first glimpse of what lies beneath the sea.
A quick snorkelling tour in the shallows beachside(holding hands so not to lose each other) we opened our eyes into an aquarium of fish and coral life that almost took our breath away.
But, that was just the appetizer. By noon we were all kitted out in our scuba attire, fumbling with our regulators and weighted down with iron bars. With Nancy the dive instructor we practiced mask and regulator clearing proceedures to keep safe during the descent. Now, Marc was holding Nancy's hand (tightly I think!) as we plunged into the underwater coral garden that surrounds the tiny "Gilligan's Island" of Misali.
We floated with anemone fish, angelfish, and the blue and yellow groupers. We saw tuna in schools in the distance. The striped and spots of the butterfly and damsel fish surrounded us and the schools of tiny silver fish shone like silver coins descending in the sunlight.
Giant molluscs held their ground along the sandy slope between clumps of multi-colored coral. Layers of thin fan coral waved up at us as we graced by. We were careful to stay out of the path of the jelly fish...however tiny.
When we surfaced lunch was ready and we still had time to enjoy an afternoon on a deserted beach and even spotted a lion fish during a relaxing late afternoon snorkel.
posted by Portfolio at 12:49 AM
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