Travels with Tam

Macro Thrills in Cozumel!

July 15, 2015 By Tam Warner 4 Comments

I have always loved looking at macro photos of the tiniest creatures in the ocean. I have a few dive pals who take exquisite macro photos…one of them, Diana Paboojian, was featured on this blog as one of my Wednesday’s Amazing Women. I finally went out and bought a macro lens, and while I cannot compete with Diana, I am enjoying learning to use it, and training my eyes to seek out the smallest creatures.

Have you ever seen Conch eyes? I love them. They are on stalks, and can look in all directions, which can have amusing results. The Conch is one of the first creatures I’ve tried my macro luck with, then I moved on to Hermit Crabs. Hermit Crabs also have stalks for eyes, and some crabs have bright blue eyes. I came upon an active, moving group of tiny hermit crabs, and enjoyed the milieu! They were in the process, it appeared, of finding new shells. These shells are so tiny! They were perhaps 3 or 4 inches long. As they grow they abandon their shells to find bigger ones. There was quite a lot of consternation in this scene! These were tiny little hermit crabs, and their eyes were a midnight blue. They resemble spiders when they are out of their shells, don’t you think?

A hermit crab in search of a shell to call home. He is tiny, tiny, tiny!

Another wonderful encounter was with a baby Pygmy Filefish. To even see a Pygmy Filefish is rare because they are small and blend in perfectly with their surroundings, but a baby! This little one was about half the size of my pinky finger…and I have small hands. The Pygmy showed no sign of nervousness and had no intention of leaving its soft coral surroundings. It took looking through the bifocals in my mask to even see it!

And there is one of my favorite mollusks, the Flamingo Tongue. Flamingos are mollusks and feed on gorgonians. Their shell appears to be white with orange spots, but actually it is the slug itself covering the shell with their mantle! This sea slug covers its shell with its body as it eats. I am not sure why, but the result is gorgeous.

This Flamingo has less of its mantle out.

This little shrimp was barely visible, and the pipe seahorse tiny, tiny as well!

Look at the size of this tiny shrimp! Isn't it cute? — Look at the size of this tiny shrimp! Isn’t it cute?

My dive guide points out the Pipehorse...so tiny! — My dive guide points out the Pipehorse…so tiny!

Sometimes the small things can be just as exciting as the big ones!

Photos: Excitement on the Reefs of Cozumel!

July 9, 2015 By Tam Warner 11 Comments

Not only dives! The snorkeling has been amazing as well. The little stuff has been incredible! Diving isn’t all sharks and huge pelagics, it is also the tiniest members of the ocean community that fascinate.

Randy and I have been snorkeling every day for the first time since his double lung transplant almost two years ago! He has been thrilled to be back in Cozumel. We have really been enjoying our time here, and on our snorkels we have seen several reef squid hanging around. I didn’t know if they were cuttlefish or squid, and a couple of readers let me know they are squids…Caribbean Reef Squid or Inshore Arrow Squid, they are still fascinating, even magical, creatures. On Tuesday, July 7, we were doing our usual route over the reef system in front of our house, and I saw a few squids. After looking around, I realized it wasn’t a few, it was an aggregation! They fly in the water like a squadron, and they were everywhere. When I swam between them they separated into groups, then regathered. They are intelligent, and you can see a lively curiosity in their large beautiful eyes. Like an octopus, they change colors, white to lavender to iridescent. I wanted to stay and watch them for hours, but finally Randy dragged me away.

Since the hurricane Wilma in 2006, sea horses and pipefish are hard to find. On Palancar Gardens on July 6, the dive guide, Yasser, found a pipehorse! It was so tiny, even for a pipefish! So tiny, and so precious! Again, I could have spent the dive observing it, but I had to move on.

Incredib le Pipehorse. — Incredible Pipehorse.

Prior to this trip I replaced my prescription dive mask, which was at least 5 years old. I feel like I am seeing a whole new world! Nothing like being able to see! For instance, I have always loved Christmas tree worms, but now that I have my new prescription I realize they have a body, or tube, which is also quite pretty! It is so easy to miss things…I could spend 24 hours a day for years on just this one reef and never see it all. It changes minute to minute.

A Hydromedusa — A Comb Jelly, non stinging. We see this often in the summer here.

2015-07-05 18.44.16 queen triggerfish — A gorgeous Queen Trigger teen turning into an adult.

The entire trip has been Squid Fest! It must be time to breed.

Look at the color of this Cuttlefish! — Look at the color of this squid!

2015-07-05 19.05.52 cuttle — Squid are very intelligent.

I do not know what they are doing, but their colors are amazing!

As I said, even the small creatures can be exciting!

Want to enjoy Cozumel? Check it out! http://tamtravels.wpengine.com/category/midlife-journey/transplant-an-unexpected-journey/

Dive Cozumel: Paradise at Night

July 4, 2015 By Tam Warner 12 Comments

A funny looking crustacean...a Slipper Lobster! — A funny looking crustacean…a Slipper Lobster!

Diving at night is a remarkable experience. The fish of the daytime hide and the animals of the darkened reef come out. There are huge crabs, lobsters, octopuses, eels, and the colors are glorious when illuminated by camera flashes or torches.

On Cozumel, the best place to night dive (in my humble opinion) is Paradise Reef. It is named Paradise for a reason. Paradise is a shallow dive, usually without much current (except for tonight when the current was crazy and strong), and is extremely colorful and busy.

Look carefully at this crab face! Alien, indeed!

Pretty little baby Octopus...or juvenile. — Pretty little juvenile octopus.

The blow up! A protective device to make them look bigger.

The most awesome event of the night was a Spotted Moray hunting, catching, and eating a fish. I felt sorry for the poor parrotfish, but holy sh#t! Eels move FAST, shake up and bite the fish, then swallow. I had never seen an eel actually eat before…it was my first time, and yes, it was very memorable!

Another fascinating day in Cozumel, Mexico!

Diving Cozumel: Casa Blanca?

July 1, 2015 By Tam Warner 8 Comments

When the dive guide told me we were headed to “Casa Blanca” to dive today, I said, Huh? Look in any dive guide book and you will see that no such dive site exists. In front of the reef El Paso de Cedral (Cedar Pass) is a large white house named Casa Gordon, and that is the only “Casa Blanca” I could think of. Apparently, “Casa Blanca” is a new term used to describe diving the end of La Francesa (one of my very favorite dives) and the reef area between Cedar Pass and Cedral Wall. It’s a new one on me, and I’ve been diving Cozumel for almost 30 years!

Like Cedar Pass, “Casa Blanca” has a swift current, so taking photos is not the easiest thing to do. I had decided to experiment today…instead of using strobes, I manually set my white balance during the dives. The first thing I saw today was a shark…the photo is sort of watercolor-ish. I think they turned out rather nicely, see what you think! The colors are amazing on some of the photos, so obviously, I plan to keep experimenting!

2015-07-01 10.40.34 cb nurse and green moray — Cuddle time for Nurse shark and Green Moray.

Barracuda on "Casa Blanca" — Barracuda on “Casa Blanca”

2015-07-01 12.11.16 big black grouper — Black Grouper

2015-07-01 12.45.55 yuc christmas tree worms — Christmas Tree Worms on gorgeous Brain Coral.

Our second dive was Yucab, known for its amazing cacophony of life. Lobsters were everywhere today, waving their “feelers” around as if conducting a symphony. One poor lobster was actually the meal today for a shoal of Ocean Triggerfish. Snappers and others were in on the action too, but mostly the Ocean Triggers were winning the biggest parts of the meal.

2015-07-01 12.25.44 yuc lobsters — Caribbean Spiny Lobsters “conducting”.

2015-07-01 12.39.23 yuc ocean trigs eating lobster — Ocean Triggerfish can be aggressive, so I was cautious.

2015-07-01 12.39.59 yuc snapper eating — Snappers are aggressive when feeding as well…this one was shaking that lobster like a dog shakes a toy!

I came upon a very large Black Grouper on “Casa Blanca”, and a peek-a-boo Tiger Grouper on Yucab. Another great find was a sleeping shark and its buddy, a Green Moray. There were 5 nurse sharks on “Casa Blanca”, and 3 Hawksbill Turtles. In Cozumel one tends to forget how endangered the Hawksbill Turtle is…they are many here since their laying ground is across the channel near Playa del Carmen. However, thanks to BP, Playa del Carmen is the epicenter for North American Hawksbill breeding…the oil spill killed huge numbers of them and ruined their nesting beaches on the Gulf Coast.

2015-07-01 12.33.07 yuc rainbow parrot close — Incredible color on this Rainbow Parrotfish!

2015-07-01 12.33.11 yuc rainbow parrot closer — They are so difficult to photograph with a flash…so glad I know how to get photos of them now!

2015-07-01 12.17.39 tiger grouper peeking — Hello…..says the Tiger Grouper.

2015-07-01 12.17.44 tiger grouper peeking more — You look okay to me…

2015-07-01 12.17.49 tiger grouper peek close up — so I will come all the way out for a greeting! Gorgeous Tiger Grouper today!

So there was a great start to the diving this trip, and the snorkeling has also been superb as we saw an Eagle Ray right off the beach entry.

I will be keeping you up to date!

Randy is in Cozumel!

June 30, 2015 By Tam Warner 10 Comments

Fearing to jinx it, I haven’t said anything about our trip to Cozumel this summer. It has been two years…and Randy is finally back in our ocean home!

Seeing him snorkel has been so wonderful…there have been times during the last 22 months that I’ve wondered if I would ever see him snorkel or dive again. We even saw an Eagle Ray flying by on our snorkel today!

Yeeeehawwww!

A few pictures while playing with my camera…tomorrow I dive!

Flamingo tongue's are the coolest mollusks! — Flamingo tongue’s are the coolest mollusks!

One of our favorite coral heads on the reef outside our home.

PS Always buy travel insurance!

Fab Photos Friday: Angelic Angelfish

June 25, 2015 By Tam Warner 4 Comments

The Queen Angelfish on Paradise Reef, Cozumel, Mexico.

Angelfish are among some of the most beautiful fish in the ocean. They live on coral reefs, in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Each ocean has different types of angelfish. They are closely related to Butterflyfish, and when they are babies, they, like Butterflyfish, are “cleaners” (cleaning debris from other, larger fish). The largest species, the Gray Angelfish, live in the Atlantic Ocean, and are almost always seen in pairs. Gray Angelfish can grow to a length of 24 inches andare protogynous hermaphrodites, meaning that if all of the fish are female, one can turn into a functional male.

When seen on the reef, most Angels tend to be in pairs, and they mate for life. The pairs are very much “together”, always keeping one eye on the other…never venturing far. Their patterns and colors are dramatically different from baby to juvenile to adult. I have seen Angelfish in all 3 oceans, and it is difficult to say which is the more beautiful. They hang out on the reef during the day, and hide at night, and when a turtle is feeding nearby, you can be sure a few angels will be hanging around for the leftovers since they both love to eat sponges!

A juvenile Queen Angelfish on Paradise, 2011.

Queen Angel on Paradise Reef, Cozumel, 2014.

Queen Angel, Palancar Horseshoe, Cozumel, Mexico, 2008

A "hybrid" Angelfish in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. — A “hybrid” Angelfish in Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

Not a great photo, but this is the only time I have seen a juvenile Gray Angelfish!

Grays don’t want to be challenged for leftover sponges! Not a great photo, but look at the determination!

Travel Adventures!

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