Smith’s Reef is in the Turtle Cove, and it totally lived up to its billing today! The reef was filled with turtles, all kinds of turtles, from greens, to hawksbills, to maybe even a leatherback! I say maybe on the leatherback, because this turtle was the biggest one I’ve ever seen. Check out the movie, and you’ll see the hawksbill to start with, then I get sidetracked by the big guy…

The first thing we noticed on entering the water today, was a big barracuda. He was about four, maybe five feet? Quite a way to start the swim! When I swam out to the green buoy and saw the two turtles, there was an even bigger barracuda. He was just enjoying the sun, like the rest of us!

One thing we’ve really noticed, is how the clear the water has been. What a boon that has been! I’d have to say that only the Cayman Islands has come close to being as clear as these waters. Even when the current was strong, visibility was extremely good. One of the “problems” with the great visibility though, is that you can get easily distracted by something twenty or fifty feet away!

One ultra cool thing we saw today was a pair of ocean triggerfish. These trigger’s are large, about three or four feet tall, and although we’ve seen them in the past, they’ve usually swam away before we’ve gotten a decent picture. Well, not today! I saw a big one, digging in the sand, but he took off. I swam over to Pam and told her I’d just seen one right over there, and pointed. We swam a little ways, and he was back! I’ve got a movie of him digging in the sand. It’s a tad jerky to start, but watch through the early problems and you’ll be rewarded with a good closeup of this terrific looking fish. Kinda funny to see him spitting out the sand!

But turtles were the story of the day. We saw at least eight, probably more! Two of them even met up for a meeting at the bottom! It was unreal. One young couple were out swimming with their five or six year old, and we pointed out the turtles. Well the little guy was in a tizzy to see the turtles! He got to see the two of them meeting, and it was a lot of fun to see his exuberance. Afterwards, we met them on shore, and they couldn’t stop thanking us for showing them the turtles!

For our last dinner here in Provo we decided to check out the resort’s restaurant called the Mango Reef. It’s right on the ocean, completely open air. The stars were twinkling, and the waves were gently washing into shore. It was a very romantic setting. There was a duet playing, all romantic songs. It was a terrific setting. And the meal itself lived up to the billing. We started with some coconut crusted butterflied shrimp, served with three sauces, ($14). They were delicious, but one sauce would have been fine!

For an entree Pam had one of the daily specials, tiger prawns served with an asparagus risotto ($34) She pronounced it very good, but I thought the risotto was a little thick. I had the Mee Goreng ($24) a very good mixture of julienne vegetables, angel hair pasta with chicken and shrimp. It was very tasty, but might have had a little too much pasta (although I did eat the whole thing!)

Dessert was tiramisu for Pam, and chocolate coconut pie for me. (Both $8) The pie was more cake than pie, but tasty nonetheless. Pam enjoyed the tiramisu, but I thought it was a little small, being served in a small martini glass.  Total bill with drinks was $109, without tip. It seems a little high, but still, we both thought it was well worth it. The music, the setting, the service – all impeccable.