What a wild and crazy week it has been! I returned to Dallas early this morning, around 1230a.m. I still haven’t caught up on my sleep, but I have caught up on my laundry. I will be writing and posting about the events in St. Lucia this week, and in the interim, please enjoy these photos of a beautiful week spent above, and below, St Lucia’s surface!
I am presently in St Lucia with REEF, doing fish surveys on the coral reefs, which are not well documented. The last time St Lucia was surveyed was 2009. There are eighteen of us, so we’re doing our best to see what is living here. For those of you who think I am a total fish geek, think again! The REEF folks have amazing skill at identifying fish! I love learning, so I will be more of a fish geek than ever! Enjoy the photos!
Do you love animals? The ocean? Terra Firma? Do you have a conservationist in your family or friend group? If so, consider these gifts which will not only please the recipient, but give a priceless gift to our fellow creatures. Did you watch RACING EXTINCTION last night on Discovery? It premiered, and it has the power to change the terrible outcome that awaits us and future generations. What one thing can YOU do to help? #STARTWITH1THING
It takes one small thing to start a revolution. What will you do to help?
How about adopting something really BIG??? Like a Whale Shark or a Manta Ray? The person it is gifted to can name it as well, and sightings of the animal will be reported to them! check out http://www.marinemegafauna.org/support-us/adopt-a-giant/! The team at Marine Megafauna knows how to give a BIG gift opportunity! Here is my BIG girl! 
Daenerys Targaryen, the Stormborn, Princess of Dragonstone, Queen of the Andals and First Men, Queen of the 7 Kingdoms, the Unburnt, and Mother of Dragons! We just call her Dany for short!
I was given the wonderful gift of naming this beautiful Manta in the Revillagigadoes Islands. The Manta had not been seen since 2003 until I photographed it in 2012 and turned put it in the database for the Pacific Manta Research Group. I decided on JEDI with the help of Karey Kumli at the Pacific Manta Research Group! I had two names, and Karey said “I like Jedi, it has a positive and powerful message. Keepers of Peace & Justice in the galaxy.” Isn’t that what we are trying for? Peace and Justice for the creatures that populate the earth?
JEDI
Manatees and Dugongs are endangered by humans and their boats. They are such sweet, friendly creatures. Remember them this holiday season! Donate here: https://secure3.4agoodcause.com/save-the-manatee-club/gift.aspx?id=2 or adopt one!
A Little Fun Rolling in Crystal River, FL
Join the fight for a healthy ocean and ecosystem! Join the Ocean Conservancy! http://www.oceanconservancy.org/the-ocean-matters/
Let’s not forget our other friends: African animals http://www.africanwildlifeconservationfund.org/
With the death of Cecil and so many other lions, they have become critically endangered. Can you imagine a world without Big Cats? I can’t. Help by High Five Give Five! http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/big-cats-initiative/get-involved/
Black Rhinos are almost extinct in the wild…and the Northern White Rhino is on the verge. There are three left in the wild. Yes, only three. They are in such desperate shape. They truly need all the help they can get. http://www.savetherhino.org/
and don’t forget Pelagic Life, http://www.pelagiclife.org. From studying animals to assisting sharks who have been “hooked”, this group is always active in the cause of saving our Pelagic Life. Nurture YOUR soul in the open ocean!
Give a gift of life and conservation for the holidays, and help humans preserve not only wildlife, but ourselves.
PS: Please don’t forget when you travel, fly airlines that do not carry endangered species cargo. American Airlines just announced it will no longer carry shark fins as cargo! They join, just to name a few, Air New Zealand, Air Pacific, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Jet Airways, and United Airlines. Many, many carriers are joining the crusade to stop transporting ivory, rhino horns, shark fins, manta fins, sea turtles and other endangered species parts. Choose your airlines and hotels and even shipping companies based on this kind of criteria. If they contribute to the shark fin trade, do not fly them. And let them know why you won’t fly them. Use social media to chastise any transport of these endangered species parts!
Happy Holidays to one and all! Let’s all help make this a friendlier planet!
Yesterday we discovered that a very close friend of ours had a “mini stroke”, and had to have his carotid artery operated on to clear it out. That news made our blood pressure go up (thank goodness we both have low blood pressure). The symptoms were worrisome enough that he and his wife, who is a nurse, sought medical care right away, and it is a good thing they did! The older we get, the more our bodies throw crazy, unheard of, health issues at us! My husband ended up with a double lung transplant two years ago (he was never even on oxygen!) and now Tom had a “Transient Ischemic Attack”, also known as a “mini stroke”. He is doing very well, and probably will get out of the hospital today or tomorrow. Scary, you know? I mean, this is the stuff that is supposed to happen to our parents, not to us! Of course, these things did happen to our parents…both of mine are gone now, but I still think of myself and our friends as young. Certainly too young for strokes and heart attacks and lung diseases! Get better FAST, Tommy Boy! We love you.
The symptoms of a clogged carotid artery are the symptoms of a mini stroke…apparently that is how most carotid artery disease is discovered. At your annual check up your doctor could pick up a “whoosh” sound in your carotid artery, but I’m really not sure how many men go for annual check ups. (I found this guide online for checkups every guy needs, for each decade of life, because once there are symptoms, the disease has already advanced).
Stroke and mini-stroke symptoms may include:
So, I take this as another warning that we cannot take anything for granted. I’m always anxious to do everything NOW. My 90 year old uncle and 79 year old auntie have not been to Dallas in many, many years for a family event. I finally just bought them airline tickets and said, get on the f#%king plane! (Yes, I did use the “F” word.) I pick them up tomorrow. My uncle really wanted to come, he told my aunt, “this may be the last time we see the kids”. You know what? He could be right. So do it now, folks!
Oh, this makes me want to eat fruit and go scuba diving!
Come on, scuba dive with me! So many of my readers say they could never dive, but actually…you can, at least vicariously! I am so happy that many appear to enjoy my photos and my endless enthusiasm for all things aquatic, but on this wordless Wednesday, enjoy the dive with me. Take 2 minutes and sit back. Relax. It’s all good, I guarantee it!
Villa Blanca is a reef north of the cruise ship port, and one does not see many dive boats in the area. Most of the “dramatic” dive sites are in the south, so Villa Blanca gets much less credit than it deserves. Villa Blanca is a wall dive, filled with sponges and soft corals rather than towering mountains of hard coral. There is abundant life on the reef…if you look closely!
So don’t be afraid to venture out of the “usual” reefs…the dive boats like to go to the more familiar spots that everyone asks for, especially Palancar. I can assure you that Villa Blanca is worth the dive off the beaten path, and the best news? You’ll probably be the only boat there, and that is a rarity on Cozumel’s dive sites. Enjoy the leisure of this unusual wall dive…and by the way, it is an incredible night dive.
