September 22, 2013
We weren’t deterred by the cloudy sky when we first decided to snorkel at the Blue Pool, and this turned out to be a lucky thing. Under gray skies, the water had taken on a blue-grotto glow, making the area look even more exotic and magical.
We got into the water and snorkeled around the little island, the walls of which seemed to serve as a nursery for multitudes of baby fish, especially blue damsels. Next, we swam over to the sides of the pool. Here, we saw butterfly fish, fascinating transparent fish with bright blue eyes, and small damsel fish of all kinds.
The standout feature, though, was a rock shelf covered with coral that was shaped like mushroom caps, each about 8 to 12 inches across. It looked like these “mushrooms” had been scattered across the flat area of the shelf, nearly covering it. It was bizarre but not surprising that this strange and exotic place would look like a fairyland below the water with small colorful fish and mushroom-shaped coral. (We’ve never seen anything like this before or since.) Below, a few photos from this beautiful and exotic underwater world (click to enlarge on this or any photo galleries in this post).
After we finished snorkeling, I took some extra time to swim and get more photos. Of course the camera was now wet so the photos look a bit watery, but I like them anyway.
Of course we shot some video: below some footage of the Blue Pool on a cloudy day.
The time came to leave the pool and head back to the boat. As we motored out we passed a cave full of swallows darting about. This would not be our only swim here during our stay in the area, but it was the most magical one. – Cyndi
