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