Tag Archives: trumpetfish

Monday at Caracasbaii

Caracasbaii, CuracaoSunday was a strange day. We had a nice long sleep and woke about half past nine. We had a nice cup of coffee, a leisurely breakfast, then got our stuff together for a swim. By the time we got to the car, there were a few drops of rain. By the time we got to Caracasbaii, visibility was about ten feet! The monsoon was on! And it kept up pretty much all day. There was a brief respite about one, but it quickly came down again. So the first day was a big write off.

The beast! Monday morning we got to Caracasbaii early and had a wonderful swim. The water was warm and delightful. Sometimes after a bad rain, the water is cloudy but it was crystal clear. We’ve been in this bay before so we know what to expect, and basically got what we expected! The one fish that really stood out for us was a trumpetfish. We’ve seen lots of trumpetfish, all over the Caribbean. But this guy was the King of Trumpetfish! He was sooo big we called him The Beast!

Juvenile tangThere are a couple of wrecks here, now teeming with corral, and surrounded by lots of fish, small to large. From the mighty tiny Juvenile tang, in yellow with a band of his future blue color rimming his body, to the porkfish with his bright yellow and black banding, to flounder skittering along the ocean floor, to larger needlefish, houndfish and trumpetfish, this site has it all.

thewrecksIf you look at the big picture of the beach, I’ve added a big black arrow to indicate where the wrecks are located. They are very close to shore, and you can easily reach down and touch them, but NO TOUCHING! I think one used to be a tug, but maybe not. There are a number of other parts to the ships, like the anchor chain, the motor etc strewn across the area. It’s a great first dive, with lots to see, in an easily accessible beach, within a ten minute drive of our hotel.

Sand diverWe had a nice lunch at “Papa’s” a beach side restaurant, where there was a local family celebrating their anniversary. There was live music, speeches, dancing and song. It was really great. The food was outstanding, too.

Like always, we have a gallery set up of all the pictures from the trip. I don’t reference all the pictures in each story, so take a look at the Curacao 2012 gallery to see all the pictures.

This is a short movie of some fish around the wrecks. It gives you an idea of the variety of life around it. Hope you like it.