Roatan

The Roatan Island Coral Reef is in full bloom right now and sporting a host of colorful coral, sea fans, reef creatures and schools of young Roatan tropical fish.

Last weekend my husband, Bob and I enjoyed a long leisurely snorkel at West Bay Beach. It was 7:30 in the morning on a beautiful day with clear blue skies. The light was perfect and the water crystal clear. The Roatan reef was dazzling. We quickly spotted bright green brain coral, new stagg head coral growth, red coral, purple hues, and waving polyps. Sea anemones were beautiful with young fish swimming in and out of its tentacles unscathed by the stinging nematocysts. Various marine plants were in full bloom attracting a variety of sea creatures to hide in their branches. The Candelabrum-shaped coral sported a number of orange and yellow sea snails feeding on them. A close look revealed intricate patterns and designs over the body.

The most encouraging part about our Roatan snorkel adventure was the number of fish that we witnessed. I love to snorkel down through schools of Jacks and Tangs and mingle with them. They remain relatively unaffected by my presence and let me experience the schooling effect for a moment or so. The sheer numbers of fish were fantastic! We saw lots of young fish in intermediate stages which just baits me for another Snorkel in a few weeks or so. Blue Angles, French Angles, and Gray Angles were easy to spot and quite large in many cases. I always love the variety of Butterfly fish that adorn the reef but must hold out for the Jewel fish that play about the crevices and dimples of coral heads as my favorite.

A pair of large ice blue parrot fish we have watched for many moons were an old welcome site. They swam by us as if to say that the reef is as it should be - abundant and well.