Wow, it was warm and sunny when we went down for our first dive this morning, and when we came up 50 minutes later, it was cloudy, windy and spitting rain! The cold front has arrived from Florida! 20-25 knot winds forcasted for tomorrow. Yuck.
But we did have 2 kool dives and here are some photos.
The first pic is of a crinoid - a relative of the sea star, but with 10 arms on its pentagon-shaped body. Sometimes we see them swimming with their 10 arms moving in all directions.
I always peer into sponges as I pass because you never know what you are going to find in them! Here are a pair of peppermint shrimps swaying from side to side. Don't they look like a tasty treat at Christmas time?
Less common but also cool are neck crabs. They are decorator crabs so attach hydroids and other organisms to their legs and bodies to avoid detection.
Happy Boxing Day!
crinoid on soft coral
Critters that hide in sponges
sponge brittle star and peppermint shrimp
sponge brittle star and neck crab
Back to the north side dive sites!
The wind died down enough today for us to be able to dive the infamous Bloody Bay Wall and Jackson's Bay on the north side of Little Cayman. It is supposed to get increasingly calmer over the next few days so we should have a flat-sea blue-water Christmas this year!!
Here are a couple of shots from this morning's dives.
A brittle sea star living safely within the convolutions of a sponge
Rachel and Matt from Corpus Christi, TX at the top of the wall at Nancy's Cup of Tea
The increasing influx of Cuban refugees
On the way back from diving just after noon today, we noticed a small dishevelled boat in front of our resort, Paradise Villas, and people walking on the coral towards shore....
And, upon arrival at our dock, we found yet another Cuban refugee boat tied up. There were another 18 Cubans on shore sitting in the shade of the sea grape trees, with the police there keeping an eye on them. They were of all ages from young children to older adults.
I hear that 40 Cubans had left the Brac, en route to Honduras, but had stopped here for whatever reason (it is approximately a 15 mile journey from the Brac to where our dock is).
I really wonder why there is such an increase in the number of Cubans landing in the sister islands (Brac and Little) in the past few months.... any ideas?
Is it increasingly more difficult to live under Castro's dictatorship?
The latest Cuban boat
Another great day of diving
We had a couple of great dives on the south side of Little Cayman in the marine park today.
One of my favourite fish, a spotted eagle ray was quite content to dig for clams in the sand as we watched nearby. Could this be the return of Kinky, a resident eagle ray that disappeared nearly a year ago? It could be as the kink in her tail and her friendly demeanor suggest.
This lettuce sea slug was the largest one I have seen here - a whopping 4 inches long!
We also saw a cool pipefish and watched two tiger groupers brawling as two Nassau groupers cheered from the bleachers.
Enjoy!
same
Spotted eagle ray
Lettuce sea slug
Cuban Refugees
Over the past year, the number of Cuban refugees arriving on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac has grown enormously. Last month we had approximately 7 boats and 60 Cuban citizens arrive in the south sound of Little Cayman.
The boats are mostly handmade, overcrowded and offer little shelter to the occupants.
Most say they are in transit to Honduras, so water and fuel is offered, but some of the boats have become non-seaworthy and the people must be flown back to Cuba. None of the refugees are able to remain in the Caymans.
La Esperanza
