August 28, 2013
Today we went out to explore the snorkeling in the area, deciding to start with the beautiful blue pool we’d discovered earlier. It was just a matter of landing on the beach nearby and carrying our stuff since the walk wasn’t very long.
I didn’t think that pool could get any bluer, but today the breeze would catch the water and send a cascade of neon purple-blue ripples across its rich blue surface. With the low tide, there was plenty of white sand to set off those shades of aqua, cerulean, and electric blue. I’d put this on my “Small Wonders of the World” list, places which lack size and grandeur but are still remarkable. I could have watched the show of blues all day, but we were here to snorkel and headed into the water.
In the pool we found some large butterfly and surgeon fish, but they were pretty sparse. We decided to check out another pool further up, and while there were more fish there, we thought we could do better. There was a gap in atoll, and right outside was the large, well-protected area of water between the atoll and the reef that surrounds it. We expected that area to be teeming with life, but it would be a challenge to get there: we’d have to swim against the incoming current to get through the gap.
We tried and found that by staying under the ledge at one side, we could just make our way through. Outside, the water was well protected, dropping to maybe 10 feet deep. There were lots of coral formations, but most of the fish seemed to enjoy living amid the rocks along the wall of the atoll. They were large in size and number, including the biggest Picasso triggerfish we’ve ever seen.
We drifted along the outside wall of the atoll, not worried about getting back in because there were more gaps ahead. We soon spotted a large gap and headed that way. There we discovered the sort of snorkeling we’d hoped to find: a beautiful area with large rocks, huge coral formations, canyons, pillars and a lot of fish. (There was one pillar that looked like something out of a Disney fantasy, not like anything I’d ever seen.)
We let the current carry us in through the pass, and it felt like flying over a cliff above a small canyon full of fish and rock formations. The fifteen-foot depth made for darker blues and greens here, its own magical world. On the bottom rested a nurse shark, and from then on we called this “Shark Pool.”
Of course we wanted to go though this pass again and again; so we found a spot where we could find handholds in the coral to pull ourselves through the strong current of incoming water. It took some effort, but once we were through we could turn and ride the current in again, me flying over the pool from above while Rich went deeper, close above the canyon floor.
We got some video which doesn’t come close to doing this place justice, only getting snippets of the experience, but you can get the idea. I added on a bit of video from a small batch of coral in the lagoon. Mostly that area has sand bottom, but any patch of coral has its own fish community, much like this one. –Cyndi
