this one goes out the BCB and all my marine eco kids - SNORKELLING THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

let me just say it was absolutely stunning. think of the pictures and movies you have seen of reefs where it is bright, colorful, vibrant, and fish everywhere. that's what i always hope to see and am always somewhat disappointed when i don't see that. here i saw that.

on the boat ride there i saw two sea snakes swimming on the surface. both were over a meter long. when we arrived at eddies reef the first thing i noticed was the stunning colors and contrasts - the green and brown of the reef from the surface, the turquoise over the sandy areas and the deep blue where it is deeper - my photos don't do the colors justice. the whole way there i talked to a fabulous lady named linda from england - another fabulous babe on the road traveling by herself - i aspire to be her when i reach her age. we got on really well and i coached her through some basic marine bio and first time snorkleing. she loved it as much as me.

so here is the laundry list of cool things i saw. three different kinds of sea cucumber, all of them over a foot long. a trumpet fish. a school of juvy barracuda. clownfish in anemones. tons of giant clams of all sizes. a yellow spotted nudibranch. batfish. parrotfish. remoras. at least 6 different cleaner stations with cleaner fish giving the bigger fish a once over. potato cod. a feather star. wire coral. blue sea stars. sea fans. green sea turtle. i could just go on and on. i was worried about jellies but i decided that i would take on a kyree-like mindset and kill any jelly i saw. or powpowpow it like steven would. you know how we do (like peter) :) i love my kids.

after lunch i decided to give my digital camera a go. it was so beautiful and so perfect and i knew my photos would be great. and it is a waterproof digital camera. or so it says. after 15 minutes the screen went blank and it hasn't turned back on since. :( i am ANGRY with it. i took my camera back to the boat, left it to dry, and continued snorkeling in amazement at all the fish, coral, and inverts.

i loved it so much, i have decided that i am going to go again. i mean seriously. how often are you at the great barrier reef? the motherload of all reefs. the largest living organism in the world!