Mangroves of Paguera

Saturday Jeff and I went with friend Tim in his little boat out to the mangroves in Paguera. Jeff had been invited to go spearfishing and I usually don't go ...it is hard to be on the water for hours and hours if all you are doing is snorkeling or beach or boat sitting. I decided I needed a break from the house mess, and since we didn't have to kayak out there I figured it would take a lot less time and be kind of fun. I was right! First we met at a reasonable hour at the Mayaguez Paguera "campus" - the spot where you take the little ferry across to the island  where Tim is doing Grouper studies. We piled into his boat and headed out.

While the guys swam around spearfishing I explored a little island that was new to us. Usually we just go to Cat Island because I don't want to kayak too far out against the wind. We had the opportunity to go to this different and very nice little island that had a channel/lagoon in the middle of it. I walked around the whole thing watching birds and small fish doing their thing. Mangroves are like aquariums and are fish nurseries. I came across this "coconut" circle obviously put here by aliens. 



Then I started  to have camera problems. I take the camera into caves all the time where it is moist and or wet. Walking around in full, hot sun vaporized the moisture in the camera and I had instant fogging inside the lens. This is a bummer since the camera has worked reasonably well considering the abuse it gets! None-the-less I aired it out in the shade and then continued with these foggy shots! I found this patch of morning glory that was reminiscent of spring wildflowers in the mountains of Washington. Different flowers of course but a sweeping ground coverage thing that brought me from sea level up (in my mind).

The guys took a break and we had lunch. Then we picked a spot on the other side of the island where there was some nicer reef, more depth and some fish. I did some snorkeling around until they were done for the day. Then it was back to the island to moor the boat, catch the ferry and go home. The little island is covered with all kinds of iguanas that are kind of good-creepy.

On the ferry back (a 2 minute trip) we enjoyed looking at all the colors of the houses along the water. The foggy camera doesn't show them in their best light but you get the idea!

Thanks to Tim for a nice day on the water. He got a couple Lion Fish and Jeff caught a Jack and Parrot Fish. We had a nice fresh fish dinner. Yum!