Snorkeling - 1

On Moorea, we snorkeled in cool-running current between two motu (tiny coral islands) where were saw a dozen kinds of coral and still more fish. This is the Turbinaria coral, as best I can determine.


On Bora Bora, we swam with sting rays as part of an outing that included swimming with sharks. First, the rays. Everyone asks about that guy, Steve Irwin, who was killed while swimming with sting rays (click on his name for an account of his death). The cardiologist we rode a shuttle boat with said that the man's mistake was removing the stinger, which against all odds had pierced Irwin's heart. We agreed that we would resist the urge to remove any stingers from our stabbed hearts, should it come to that.


In fact, the rays are accustomed to being fed and surrounded us like eager goats looking for clover. But they were so large (2 - 3 feet across) and so soft and graceful that the entire party of gawkers giggled uncontrollably the closer they came. There are three rays found in the Polynesian islands: eagle or spotted, sting, and manta. We saw the spotted ray from a distance, but were disappointed about not seeing the manta ray.