Day 9, Tuesday March 3, 2009: Whale Shoal Caye Snorkeling

Whale Shoal Caye is a remote reef in the middle of the sea. It is a pristine reef that is a good 10 minutes from the closest island. The coral formation here was spectacular. There was much more diversity and a higher density of corals. There were literally fields of fan corals. With their purple and gray colors, they swung in the current collecting food. None of the other reefs compared. You could easily see fifty plus species of coral in a ten-foot stretch. Whereas on other reefs, you may have to search the whole reef. It is interesting to see that this reef will actually develop into an island. The reef dies off, sand builds up, and an island is created. Some of the highlights were schools of Queen Triggerfish, French Angelfish, and Grey Angelfish. We also saw shoals of fish (mixed species) swimming together which we did not see at the other reefs. There were also huge schools of Blue Tang. Finally, what took the trophy was a four to five foot Barracuda that was easily ten inches in diameter.

- Ryan A.