SNORKELING!!! YAY!!!

Somehow this didn't get posted last year. Hope you enjoy it.

We have had a LOT of fires since my last post. They were all put out safely.

I’m in Dar es salaam now and have gone to the beach a few times. I have seen on one or more time(snorkeling sometimes): Black Brittlestars(Ophiocoma erinaceus), thousands of Oval Urchins(Echinometra mathaei), Needle-Spine Urchins who gave ma a few spines in my foot and leg(Diadema setosum), Fireworm(Scary, very scary[Eurythoe complanata]), sea cucumbers, Hundreds of Textile cones(eee. ah. Don’t step on them or near them. [Conus textile]), 2 Elongate giant clams(one of which I accidently found out to have SHARP edges[Tridacna maxima]), quite a few black damsels(one of which may have had a nest?[Stegastes nigricans]), 2 large white spotted pufferfish (who were way cool and skiddish[Arothron hispidus]) an indian lionfish(wow [Pterois miles]), half-moon butterfly fish(Chaetodon lunula), a few floral morays(creepy[Echidna nebulosa]), SEAWEEDS OF ALL KINDS, CORALS OF MANY KINDS, a black edged conger(Conger cinereus cinereus), and a pipeworm who looked really scary even though he was only about 3 inches long, and other fish.

It has been really cool, and sometimes scary.

SO, if you ever come to dar and are near Coco Beach, I suggest you bring, borrow, or rent snorkeling gear ang go snorkeling right of Coco Beach.

Happy holidays,

                        Joshua

Floral Moray

Black edged conger

a brittlestar in the middle and a leg of another near the sea urchin.

some fish

you see what I see?

on the rock - is a pipefish. yes its that seahorse-faced long wormy thing

Just coral

Oh, yes they do hurt(needle-spine urchins)

They're not street urchins. Uh, no. They're sea urchins.

a sea cucumber feeding

Hmm. Wonder who that is. oops, I put the tip of my snorkel underwater. glug glug glug. :)