A Week In Grand Cayman

Hey guys,

Me, snorkeling

Keep your friends close, anemones closer. Get it?

SQUID!

I just came back from spending five days snorkeling in Grand Cayman, and let me tell you - it was so wonderful to get out of freezing cold Boston and into the hot sun! I thought I would share with you some pictures of the fish I saw and a little bit about the trip.

On Monday, we arrived in the afternoon and went for a quick snorkel to check that all our gear fit and was working properly. We didn't see that many cool fish during this particular swim, although we did see a grouper and a puffer fish as well as many smaller fish. That evening we went on a night dive. It was really different and super cool. We saw six or seven Caribbean lobsters, two spotted moray eels, a multitude of sea anemones and sea urchins, a very friendly squid, two green sea turtles and an eagle ray. Since it was nighttime, we were able to see some really awesome bio-luminescence created by plankton-like creatures. These tiny animals light up like a firefly to scare, confuse, or distract predators, as well as attract and call out to friends.

On Tuesday, we put on our flippers, grabbed our cameras, and swam out to a reef. Wow! The coral was so pretty and bright and the fish were amazing! I kept trying to get a picture of one really pretty rainbow fish. I chased him for five minutes because I couldn't figure out what kind of fish it was, and I wanted to get a picture. Unfortunately, the fish did not want his picture taken and hid inside some coral. Anyway, We saw more caribbean lobsters, a ton of beautiful fish and even another turtle! I was exhausted by the end, but it was worth it!

On Wednesday, we swam out to Governors' Reef - more awesome fish, coral, and the most beautiful colors! Some of the fish we saw included a rainbow fish like the one from Tuesday, a barracuda, a grouper and a school of very curious and friendly purple fish. This was our last snorkel trip, and we wanted to have as much fun as we possibly could!

All in all, the trip was awesome, and I learned a ton!!! Just the kind of warm getaway that I needed, plus - the Marine Biology aspect made it the best possible trip! I cannot wait to go back!