Ri di cu lo so

Morning snorkel. Some current, so we hop out of the boat and swim to shore. Walk down the white, sandy beach (yes, I’ m trying to torture you!) and paddle into the water where the current is not so strong. At first, sporadic dead coral. Then everything explodes! I scan the landscape, or rather, seascape, and there is a bed of a wild variety of corals as far as the eyes can see. Patches of white sand provide perfect contrast to all the shapes and colors. The water above it all is filled with schools of fish and little dudes darting in and out of the coral branches. Visibility pretty good, but gets cloudy often due to the current. I have to go to the dive shop to learn the names the coral I don’t recognize. Like the  the gray green mound about fifteen feet across and 8 feet high with the shocking violet tips that look like someone took a huge pile of antler horns and stuck them into the ocean floor – but not stag or elkhorn coral. These were single spikes coming up parallel to one another all over. Tucked all in the nooks and crannies was a blanket of anemones filled with a couple dozen clown fish of all sizes.  And as I floated and searched, I saw my favorite little box fish [ only with yellow spots instead of the usual black and white. Lots of big trumpet fish with dark bodies and white fluorescent spots on their tails (except for the ones that were all yellow). Moorish idols skittering along, parrots gnawing on coral and squirrels hiding in little caves. Queen angels, batfish and rabbitfish. Wrasses and tangs, and hundreds of your basic generic fish! The little blennies sitting on rocks like they think they are frogs. Huge groups of bright lime coral that’s shaped like large wavy leaves of lettuce, but sculpted out of clay. A large flat coral head with a couple of huge fish peaking out from underneath – cool psychedelic pattern with shocks of yellow amongst the blue lines. I was sure I could describe it all, but it’s really impossible. The coral head that’s shaped in a wavy pattern and covered with 2 inch long pale brown finger-like things (soft coral? anemone?) with bright yellow tips; I am transfixed watching the current make the fingers move back and forth in the stream kinda like watching someone’s hair underwater. As the King of Siam would say “etcetera, etcetera, etcetera” (who gets the reference?). This afternoon will be a dive, I think I have the guide to myself, but if snorkeling is an indicator, won’t work well. But I am going to take a little Vitamin S first, bad girl that i am. Speaking of diving, though, this appears to be the best run, most professional dive operation I’ve been around (except maybe Vatulele, but who can afford to go there anymore?). Will know more as the days progress. The divemaster comes around to all the divers during cocktail hour (dinner not til 8 pm) to see if they’re diving the next day, which dive they’d like to go on, etc. Usually  five boats going out. Two for two/tank morning local dives. One boat that makes the whole day trip to go around to Lembeh (muck diving) or Bunkanen marine park. One tank afternoon dive at 3:30, the Mandarin dive at five (even sometimes see them mating), although I guess the current has been too strong the past couple of days. And a night dive at five thirty or six. Excellent for the dive nazis. Had a great briefing yesterday about their procedures and diving options. And do I want them to set up all my equipment on the boat or would I prefer to do it myself (right down to the rinsing off part)?  Aaaah. Just hope I”ll be able to enjoy some of that, but after today’s snorkel, no crying if I can’t. Will just have to come back again, I suppose.