Stormy Snorkeling at Baie Maria and Molly Smith Point
With new snorkeling gear in hand, Yann and Marie came by yesterday and we set of for Baie Maria and Molly Smith Point despite a rising swell that was already tossing the seas quite a bit. Entries and exits were tricky, and the visibility was less than ideal, but we did manage to make a number of interesting finds. A small octopus was determined to extract a large snail from his shell, so he was bothered by my presence, but not willing to leave without his lunch. Out of curiosity, I tried to take the shell from him and he pulled back on it with surprising strength. He was apparently not strong enough, though, to extract the snail. After snorkeling elsewhere for a bit I returned and he was no longer trying to open his lunch.
We also found a couple scorpionfish, which despite their excellent camouflage, are often spotted by an alert snorkeler noticing a patterned fin on an otherwise cryptic body. West Indian sea eggs, a type of urchin which often grabs bits of algae to camouflage itself, apparently does the same with whatever is around, be it small stones or limpet shells. The last great find was a starfish that Yann discovered clinging to a loose piece of sponge with an anemone attached. A closer look revealed a cleaner shrimp inside the anemone. Another portable menagerie!
The bonus for the afternoon was seeing the iguana that lives in the large rock at the end of Molly Smith Point.
