Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Coral Reef (plural)

I never know whether to call them coral reeves or coral reefs.  With a degree in English, I should know.  Either way, when I first laid eyes on coral, I was in love.

Growing up I was not a swimmer, and the idea of getting in the water was less than appealing to me.  However, following a car accident, I was encouraged to learn to swim to improve my mobility.  So I did.  Now I love the water.

Typical of me, I did not expect to be a fan of snorkeling.  But, I am....  I never used to trust the idea that you could breathe through the pipe... turns out you can.  And the goggles are so much less annoying than swimming goggles.

The first time I went snorkeling was in Vanuatu.  Being told about the friendly coral fishes, we had to take a look.  The first time my head went under the water to see coral just there, by my feet, was amazing.  The photos never look as good as when the sun suddenly creates a beam of light through the clouds, illuminating the wonders below the surface.

The fish come out to play, in their own backyards, sharing their homes with the swimmers. 

When swimming over the coral, surrounded by tropical fish, I am a mermaid.  So where am I?  Underwater of course!


Totally awesome purple coral in the Loyalty Islands

12 comments:

  1. lovely corals..... I wish I could see them underwater for real..... I cant swim!!!

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  2. Can't swim so I really admire your courage. Your piece is quite inspirational...about what motivated you to start swimmming...and reading it...I may just be inspired to swim one day too.

    http://adura-ojo.blogspot.com/2011/11/c-in-catwalk.html

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  3. I also love the underwater world of the coral reef. Great job on conquering your fears and finding this treasure. Oh to be a mermaid. Great post.

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  4. How pretty! The purple coral is stunning!

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  5. We love snorkeling, too. It's relaxing as can be, isn't it? And so colorful.

    =)

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  6. scuba's next, no? I thought I had seen it all snorkeling, but then I went scuba diving! Oh my!! So amazing!

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  7. I swim well, but I've never snorkelled. Great that you overcame your fears to be able to discover such beauty. I'd love to see a coral reef for real.

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  8. I had never even heard of Vanuatu until about a year ago. What a beautiful place it is! I, too, would love to see a coral reef up close!!

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  9. my husband snorkels and plan is to get him an underwater camera for Christmas - i love your shot! the color is good for underwater - you never know what to expect. what an opportunity you had! now, off to see the rest of your blog :)

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  10. The wonders of what is beneath the surface. I don't even know how to swim so I'm jealous.... but not enough to learn obviously otherwise I would have right?? I have tried a little surface snorkeling but that's just not the same:-)

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  11. Oh, awesome eye candy you've shared!

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  12. Wow. What gorgeous pictures. Maybe it's coral reefi! ha!

    Okay, probably not!

    This was a lovely link to the letter "C".

    Thank you for sharing it!

    A+

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