I became a happy Soneva Fushi Marine Biologist Intern two weeks ago today! And ever since my second day on the island I have been snorkeling non-stop. Since I am mostly familiar with the life in the Atlantic Ocean, during these first few days of being in the water I had lots of “firsts” and quite a few “favourites”.
As we got to our first snorkeling destination, the thrill begun from the moment I hopped into the water and saw all kinds of fish that I had never seen before. The colours, shapes, sizes and different behaviours blew my mind instantaneously. I was amazed by the colours of the Parrot fish, but I giggled the most when I saw the Spotted Unicorn fish with its funny horn, which caused water to leak into my mask, but nothing really mattered at that time, the only important thing was that I was finally home, in the deep blue. Not too long into the snorkel, I was welcomed by two beautiful Spotted Eagle Rays that glided graciously beside us, showing off their aquatic flying ability. Although the Eagle Rays didn’t seem to be shy, the Lionfish seemed to be the masters at hide-and-go-seek, but we managed to find them in their coves, peeking out just enough for us to see their spikes.
In the following days, the more marine life I got exposed to, the more I fell in love with the ocean. On the house reef I got introduced to the big and astonishing Titan Trigger fish, although we may never be best friends for life, we seemed to get along just fine. Also in the same area, the octopuses, allowed us to witness their fascinating color change as they mated in the shallow waters, and a very determined Giant Moray quickly swifted below us to its final destination. Coming out of the house reef, a baby Blacktip Reef shark made quite and entrance swimming just a few centimeters from us and guided us towards the shore. However, in the past couple of days I was overfilled with joy at the sight of a juvenile Batfish on the side of the main jetty, as I had never thought I would have the opportunity to see it. Additionally, I saw for the first time, yesterday, an adult Batfish and a Feather Tail Sting Ray. Yet, the highlight of the day was a curious Hawksbill Turtle that approached us and gave us a danced show as we trended water and watched her in deep fascination, she definitely got her 15 seconds of fame.