Photo Adventures with Curiosity and Learning

First off - was snorkeling at Mapur Island. Doyle and I had such a great time last month, I was anxious to see it again. Here is The Bintan Agro Beach Resort - absolutely the best - Reception

and pool

The View

Our room

Ellen ignorning me as I click click click

Our porch where we enjoy the evening breeze

At low tide, you can investigate little crabs and shell fish

Our new friends from China / Singapore: Jeff and Landy

And off we go to Mapur Island

passing a fishing boat

Jeffrey getting ready to take a photo of Landy

and Landy with a smile

Dropping anchor

And fantastic green staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis)?

Table coral Acropora pulchra - so many colors - green, gray, ...

Even a rust color and yellow

There are huge sea urchins

Here a reef fish swimming over the brownish coral

More colors

Not so many fish here - but here is a black fish

More green and rust coral

A fish with stripes

Stag horn coral?

These fish have blue faces

Another view

Closer

This is a very interesting reef fish - with a long snout.

Another view

Sea urchin and the eye (anus in disguise)

Two urchins

Some sort of coral

Some sort of black fish

and theses interesting spiral folding structures: cabbage coral?

White coral and black fish

Three urchins

This is a long story. I was so concentrating on photographing some clown fish that this guy or one of his friends collided with my face. Quite a sting (12 hr) around my jaw - but the mask did its protecting of my eyes and forehead. - Painful? Yes - worth it - Yes Yes.

Another view - you can see the long stringy things - they are the problem - particularlly when they are 2 - 3 m long

A good view of the interior

and a closer view

Yes - I'm moving out of the way

More reef fish

and wonderful white coral

A Sergeant (Major?) fish and lots of small fish + urchin

Two urchins

Another view of the ever present jelly fish

and this lovely blue-green something

Several fish feeding from the stag-horn coral

Then my big big surprise. Two clown fish (Amphiprion Frenatus- I suspect a mom and her little one. THe little one has no black while the larger mom has a big black body - all swimming in a sea of purple base anemone, Heteractis magnifica

Just fun watching (and if you have the patience, you can watch the video above

A view from the top

Clown faces - head on

Look at the size comparison

Closer

Little one hiding while mom is guarding

Last look

Our snorkel place

A giant clam?

Table coral and brown stag horn coral

Our friend, the jellyfish with two sea urchins

I think this is some sort of butterfly fish. Here you get a good idea of the snout in front - apparently designed to eat from hard-to-get-to places

These appear to be mushroom coral

C. Frank Starmer

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