October 22 – Rainbow Reef

October 22 (Day 11 –  Rainbow Reef): Off to the rainbow reef at 8:00 this morning with Robert. Wow! What a fun trip! We had a nice ride out about 40 minutes. He dropped us in one spot and we swam around, then he towed us further out to a better spot. Amazing! So much coral, so many fish! It was a bit overcast. We were out for two hours! It started to rain just as we were finishing. The ride back was a bit bumpy. We rinsed off in the outdoor shower and pool. Rod and Jim went on a quest for more samosas. They were gone a long time but found a woman who made them in her little roadside stand. Pam and I had our leftovers from last night. After a rest, rod and I walked back to the liquor store! I think we will eat in tonight.

Rod’s Thoughts: The first place we stopped on the Rainbow Reef was, frankly, a little disappointing. There was a lot of dead and bleached coral. There were several patches of beautiful coral, so it was bad. But the spot Robert towed us to was truly amazing, and definitely one of the top five snorks I have done to date. As Marg said, tons of beautiful coral and thousands of fish. No large fish, but thousands of small, colorful fish.

I believe one would have a better experience diving. Then you can see the Great White Wall, and go deeper. The dive boats go to several places and I think you could spend a week just diving around the Rainbow Reef. But snorkeling is good as well. For me, next time I will dive.