This trip has certainly been highlighted by the number of turtles we have seen! It’s been a rare day we haven’t seen several turtles. Tuesday and Wednesday were no exception with another half dozen or so sightings each day. The turtle grass we’ve recently discovered off of Boca Catalina had another four or five. Big ones and little ones, greens and hawksbills. It’s amazing how big some of them can get! The greens are usually between 250 and 450 pounds, and a couple we’ve seen have been on the high side.

While swimming toward Malmok Beach, there is a small reef. One green turtle was tucked under a chunk of coral, in fairly shallow water. When we started taking pictures, he started to swim around, quite unconcerned with us. He went for a long, lazy swim, towards Malmok, then circled back toward Boca Catalina in a big circle. The amazing thing was, there was no one in the ocean with us! Eventually we swam by a Dutch family of four, who had never seen a turtle. They were delighted when Pam told them we were following a turtle. The turtle took us on another big circle of both beaches. Eventually, other snorkelers joined in, and it was quite funny to see the turtle leading a pack of his own!

At Arashi Beach we came across a hawksbill in really shallow water too. I was swimming between two rocks whose peaks actually go above the water line, and coming toward me was this hawksbill! He took a gander at my ugly mug and turned and swam away! We followed him for a time, but he swam straight out to sea in almost a straight line. He wasn’t interested in leading the snorkelers on a conga line.

We saw some interesting stuff in close to shore at Arashi Beach. There were lots of little guys that have been tough to photograph because they dart in and out of the coral so quickly.

But today, once again the ocean was very calm and we were able to remain stationary over a single point for a long time, so we were able to get some of the more elusive guys, like the brilliant blue speckled juvenile yellowtail damselfish.

In the ocean, we often see fish cleaning other fish. The long needlefish getting cleaned by a juvenile french angel is one we see quite a lot, but they will not let us approach close enough to get a clear shot. Today we were able to see a smallish blue tang getting cleaned by a tiny French Angel. He was barely bigger than your thumbnail! The movie is fairly brief, so give it a look. It’s quite interesting.

Pam got a great shot of the mutton snapper. It even shows the blue streaks near his eyes.

We spent some time in the Glitz casino here at La Cabana. It’s a small intimate casino, with slots, almost all penny slots. There are a few gaming tables, that were quite busy. The drinks are free, and I’ve never been in a casino where the girls are so attentive! Not even Vegas keeps your glass as full as these gals! We had some pretty good success on Tuesday, so we didn’t mind going again on Wednesday.