This morning I went out on the boat with Chris, Sally, Aure and ERB to explore potential new dive sites. Our first stop was in the channel between St. Martin and Anguilla. The seas were choppy, so we hopped in quickly. While the exact location of the site is top secret, I can tell you that we descended to the bottom at 74 feet and did a 35 minute drift dive. The landscape was what I refer to as a reef prairie: a long, flat underwater plain sprouting with corals and sponges. At one point, we crossed paths with a large school of sardines. The photos below are from this site, which we christened Fisherman’s Reef.

Next, we dove off the point to the north of Anse Marcel. Exposed to the current, the visibility was worse here, but there was plenty of life. We started at 55 feet and worked our way around the point to finish in the shallows. At the end of our dive, we were surprised to find an octopus sitting out in the open on the ocean floor. It studied us for a while before turning white and shooting off into a coral refuge.

Our last dive was at the rock in front of Anse Marcel. Similar to Creole Rock, the waters were quite shallow. We maxed out at 27 feet. This site was probably the best of the three, with many coral overhangs. Beneath one, I found an adult spotted drum and a small nurse shark. On the higher points, there were large coral heads. As we came around the southwest part of the rock, the reef gave way to areas of sand and sea grass with intermittent corals. Probably a great place to see rays. The cutest thing I saw on this dive was a young queen angelfish, less than two inches long, but still gloriously colored in blues and yellows.

After my morning excursion, I decided to try snorkeling the west end of Grand Case Bay near Molly Smith Point. By the afternoon, the wind and waves had picked up, making for tricky snorkeling and low visibility. I did explore a little, though. The underwater topography consisted of numerous sandy valleys between rock outcrops providing plenty of hiding places for fish. The area was not dense with life, but did feature a decent variety of corals. I would say it is worth further exploration on a calmer day.

On the way back I took some photos of the cemetary, the remains of Sebastiano (presumably an Italian restaurant) and a shot of the sea and a dog (a sea dog, I suppose) seen through the remains of an abandoned shack.

This morning I took a walk to a pond ringed with mangrove on one side down at the west end of Grand Case. I found several birds, including a black, duck-like bird with a red bill, an egret and a dove. I also noticed a large iguana on one of the mangroves.

After circumnavigating most of the mangrove, I went up the hill on the west end of the bay, starting from a small cemetery. At the top of the hill, I found the exact same tree that was at the top of Goat Mountain, and so far, those are the only two I’ve seen. I’m not sure if there’s a natural cause for that, or if they are purposely planted at the top of hills.

From my vantage point, I could see that the beach directly beside the cemetery holds considerable promise as a future E.S.S. location. Perhaps I can explore that this afternoon. A small sailboat is wrecked on the shore there.

Other life I encountered on my walk included some sort of weevil, crabs with one big pincer arm, a land snail and le champignon. Some of the photos from today aren’t that great, particularly some of the longer shots using the 70-300mm zoom.

The winds from Tuesday and Wednesday brought crashing waves to Grand Case Bay, and either swept in or uncovered quite a bit of shipwrecked boat in the bay. With the waters calm again, I investigated and found a small clay pipe, perhaps a year old, perhaps a hundred. I also found the sea floor full of the little sandy volcanos that perplexed Jacques Cousteau for so many years, apparently built by small mantis shrimp. In the photos below you can also see what happens to rebar after some time in the water.

Yesterday morning I went up Goat Mountain for a little look see and saw a pretty amazing capture. A large (4-5 inch wingspan) sphinx moth was caught on a long spider web that stretched probably 12 feet between two trees. It was still alive and tried to fly away a few times, attracting the attention of a monarch butterfly. Also pictured below are a baby lizard that was on our front steps and a lensbaby photo of the town of Grand Case.

Also, the goat skull I retrieved a couple days ago was missing from our balcony last night. Were the staff concerned about Obeah (the local voodoo-type religion)? No, it just got blown off the balcony by the wind.

Last night I found an interesting insect whilst walking to the beach. I forgot what they are called, but I feel like it might be mole cricket. If that’s not what they’re called, it should be. I also tried taking some long exposure photos. On the water side, you can see Grand Case on the left and the photo taken to the right is Grand Case Beach Club. In the distance, the lights are from British-owned Anguilla. The last photo is Goat Mountain, as seen from our back veranda. If you look closely, to the left of Orion’s belt you can see a shooting star.

(Update: it is a mole cricket.)

Yesterday afternoon I decided to climb the mountain behind our house. Maybe it isn’t exactly a mountain, but it was a pretty good hike. On the way up I encountered many interesting things. In certain sandy areas near trees there were numerous funnels, and when I stepped near them, causing sand to fall in, something started flinging the sand out. I’m guessing they are some sort of spider that uses the funnels to trap insects. I also encountered a green caterpillar with a big yellow head and a pair of brightly-colored moths.

At the top of the mountain, there were many goat skeletons and a special tree with white flowers. Perhaps they died of natural causes, or perhaps they were used in Obeah ceremonies. It is hard to say. The view from the top was pretty impressive. Looking back towards Grand Case, it was easy to see the whole bay as well as the local airport. On the far side of the mountain I looked down on Anse Marcel. I again took the Tokina 35mm macro lens, which I think was a good choice to capture landscapes in decently wide angle as well as macro shots. I came back down the mountain very much scratched up and covered in little seeds.

Monday was moving day, so while we waited for our new room next door I took the Tokina 35mm macro around the neighborhood to see how it works topside. My experience was very similar to using it underwater. It’s not quite as good for really small stuff, especially if you don’t want the shadow of the lens in the photo, but it’s quite versatile and much easier to use for normal shots. These virtues combined make it a very useful lens, especially if you are just bringing one lens along.

Today Madam J and I went out on the boat in the afternoon with Aure and Matt. We alternated dives so one of us could keep an eye on the boat at all times. Madam J dove Chico and I dove Japanese Garden. Both are dive sites on the far side of Tintamarre. Today was my first underwater experiment with the Tokina 35mm macro lens. I think there are definitely some benefits to this lens versus the 60mm macro that I normally use. I think it may be somewhat better for portraits of medium to large fish, which can be hard to get with the 60mm since the field of view is so small. Also, it is easier to track a moving subject because it doesn’t get out of frame as easily. Today I used the 35mm macro under a flat port, so I look forward to trying it under a dome in the future. The best thing I saw today was a spotted eagle ray, but I was too busy looking at it to get a decent photo. I would definitely love to get a nice shot of one while I’m here.

Today was the first time we didn’t go out snorkeling in the morning. It’s hard being so busy.

We undertook the second day of diving on la Grande Expédition yesterday, visiting a couple of our favorite dive sites – The Tugboat, a small wreck off the coast of Tintamarre and Creole Rock. For our Creole Rock dive, we did a drift dive starting on the back side and finishing on the front. Highlights included a strange starfish, large schools of goatfish kicking up sand with their fu manchu whiskers, french and gray angelfish and a large porcupine fish. The back side of Creole Rock is an oasis of coral fans. Today I took up the nice camera with a 60mm macro lens so all the photos are of small stuff.