The Unknown Down-under

We're not serious or particularly knowledgeable snorkelers, but we did enjoy donning our masks to take a look at what laid beneath the surface of the sea. For a few days we had had unfavourable winds and high surf but eventually things turned around for almost ideal snorkeling conditions.

Local conditions always vary from leeward to windward, beach to beach, and reef to reef. So before venturing out, we tried to learn about the winds, surf, currents and of course the sea life, whether there were urchins, aggressive barracuda or sharks, and the like in the area.

It was nice when we showed up at our chosen spot and could chat it up with another snorkeler or diver to find out what we were likely run into. There's nothing like a little local knowledge and experience.

The Cayman Islands are famous for their diving and snorkeling opportunities, so we were pretty anxious to get out. Around the Brac, there are about 15 official snorkeling sites, some of which are serviced with washrooms and a shower for convenience, along with easy entry ladders into deep water to keep us off the sharp coral.

We went out a few times to different locations, and as always saw more than we could photograph. The display on our cheap camera is difficult down-under. While being sloshed around in the waves, all we could do was generally point and click, then take a look at the results when we got back.

Here's some of what we saw ...

And here's a couple of things we hadn't expected ...

These are the trophy shots ... I got the stingray  which was about 30" across ... and Marlene took the barracuda which was about 3 feet long ...

Fortunately we didn't have any bad encounters. The snorkeling was not only fun but felt a little adventurous facing the unknown down-under.





For the next story in this series:
Featherstone House, a Paradise in Paradise