After a long, early day of traveling, we arrived at the Cobalt Coast Resort. The welcoming atmosphere and wonderful weather made a great beginning to our stay. Carlo Pier and I promptly jumped into the ocean for an afternoon snorkel to acclimate ourselves to the water.
During the afternoon snorkel, the depth was constantly around 10 feet with a visibility over 50 feet allowing us to see the ocean floor which teemed with life. The first fish I encountered were Banded Butterfly fish. The white and black striped fish was very apparent. I noticed that they stayed very close to the ocean floor and to pieces of coral. While swimming over them they didn’t seem to flee and instead remained calm. They were almost always by themselves and seemed to mind their own around the coral. This was almost opposite from the what I believe was a Blue Tang, a vibrant blue fish which I saw to travel in groups. The Blue Tang I saw seemed quite timid and swam away almost immediately whenever I encountered it. Finally, the most exciting fish we saw was a Flounder. On our way back we barely noticed it through it’s camouflage. It was near the dock and blended in perfectly on the ocean floor, despite all the kicking above it, the fish remained unaffected and calm. These behaviors are specific to each fish, and by observing them we can learn more about the ocean life and how to act carefully around each fish.
In closing, our first day, although very long, allowed for us to delve into the basics of the Caymans and laid a strong foundation for the rest of the trip. Tomorrow will be our first dive and allow us to see even more. Hopefully the experiences tomorrow will be even better than today!
