Cayos Holandases, San Blas Islands, Panama, Caribbean Sea
The view most people have of the San Blas Islands is of small, low-lying islets covered with coconut palms, ringed by beaches of white-pink sand, and surrounded by clear, turquoise water. Many of the islands have thatched roof houses – homes of the Kuna people who still wear traditional dress, sew beautiful molas, fish, grow coconuts, and travel by dugout canoe. There are over 300 islands in the San Blas archipelago, and the waters between them are every shade of turquoise and blue imaginable.
Those images are accurate . . .but are only, as they say, “the tip of the iceberg.” The beautiful, crystal clear waters cover another world. Slip beneath the surface and there are hard corals, soft corals, colorful sponges, algae, fishes, urchins, crabs, lobsters, dolphins . . .and all of the behaviors and activities that go along with a complex, layered ecosystem. Here, the underwater world is far more complex than the one above the surface.
Most of us snorkeled today, and we found schools of fishes feeding on plankton, other fishes being groomed at “cleaning stations,” fishes grazing on algae . . . and under ledges and in caves the night shift waited until dusk. After dark, the scene at a reef is completely different. The ubiquitous wrasses are nowhere to be seen – they spend the night safely burrowed in sand. Parrotfishes, so bold and gaudily colored in the daytime, lay down and “sleep” on the bottom. Some change colors to be better camouflaged, while others produce mucous “sleeping bags” which help contain their scent. The red fishes that were so shy in daylight are out in plain view; their color is very difficult to see in dim light. The above photo was taken at night, and shows a typical reef scene of sponges and fire corals.
The view most people have of the San Blas Islands is of small, low-lying islets covered with coconut palms, ringed by beaches of white-pink sand, and surrounded by clear, turquoise water. Many of the islands have thatched roof houses – homes of the Kuna people who still wear traditional dress, sew beautiful molas, fish, grow coconuts, and travel by dugout canoe. There are over 300 islands in the San Blas archipelago, and the waters between them are every shade of turquoise and blue imaginable.
Those images are accurate . . .but are only, as they say, “the tip of the iceberg.” The beautiful, crystal clear waters cover another world. Slip beneath the surface and there are hard corals, soft corals, colorful sponges, algae, fishes, urchins, crabs, lobsters, dolphins . . .and all of the behaviors and activities that go along with a complex, layered ecosystem. Here, the underwater world is far more complex than the one above the surface.
Most of us snorkeled today, and we found schools of fishes feeding on plankton, other fishes being groomed at “cleaning stations,” fishes grazing on algae . . . and under ledges and in caves the night shift waited until dusk. After dark, the scene at a reef is completely different. The ubiquitous wrasses are nowhere to be seen – they spend the night safely burrowed in sand. Parrotfishes, so bold and gaudily colored in the daytime, lay down and “sleep” on the bottom. Some change colors to be better camouflaged, while others produce mucous “sleeping bags” which help contain their scent. The red fishes that were so shy in daylight are out in plain view; their color is very difficult to see in dim light. The above photo was taken at night, and shows a typical reef scene of sponges and fire corals.
