On a shallow white, rather boring looking flat sandstone reef off Conception Island, we saw our first barracuda just hovering ten feet away from us while snorkeling in the morning. The fish was probably only 24 inches long with a prominent large eye that he kept focused on us. Unlike most other reef fish that swim quickly away when we approach, the barracuda stood his ground and didn’t swim away. Not wanting to provoke him, we kept our distance and all parties were happy.
Here’s where the 2 foot shallow cream colored waters transition to to 8-12 feet Bombay Saphire Gin turquoise blue, which meld into deeper Tidy-Bowl turquoise blue waters that might be 65 feet deep, and then a deeper navy blue as the depths drop precipitously to seven thousand feet deep such as the depth between the Conception and Long Cays - our destination for the afternoon. Try as we may to describe the colors of the seas, words just don’t do justice to the many beautiful shades of turquoise blue water that we see here every day. Interestingly, the bluest waters appear so blue and clear because there is nothing but sand below them. And while the turquoise waters looks so appealing to us, we imagine it must be just the opposite to most marine life. For when the water is such a beautiful blue, the ocean bottom is nothing but sand and is devoid of most larger marine life. The coral heads and rocks provide food and shelter for fish. These appear black or dark greenish- brown amidst the sea of turquoise. So while we can enjoy the turquoise waters when we are above the surface, we also enjoy the brownish-green patches when snorkeling. Speaking of enjoyment, today we enjoyed our first substantial desert - Duncan Hines brownies. So although from a mix, they were pretty good.
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