Whale Shark

This is an incredible shot Mickey! Gives you some perspective on sizes.

This is an incredible shot Mickey! Gives you some perspective on sizes.

First of all, my thanks to Mickey and Jayne of Flamingo Divers for allowing me to share these amazing and spectacular photos with you.

The whale shark was spotted in shallow water as Flamingo Divers headed towards their dive site. They slipped into the water and snorkeled with this magnificent creature.

Wow.........what a sight! A whaleshark in the Sandbore Channel.
Wow………what a sight! A whale shark in the Sandbore Channel.

Jayne tells us  “I’ve seen one about 6 years ago – a fleeting glance as it passed over head. Mickey’s never seen one before. This one was great as we got to snorkel with it in shallow water, and it swam circles around and through our group! Loved it!

That's "little" Mickey swimming along to get up close to the whale shark. Thanks Paul for this great shot!

Look how tiny Mickey is as he swims along to get up close to the whale shark. Thanks Dave for this great shot!

The whale shark is the largest fish in the sea with an average length of about 26ft . It’s actually not a whale but a shark and it is quite different than most other sharks in the way that it eats. It has a very large mouth in front, a big square head and distinctive coloring. They have little eyes, big gills, six ridges along their backs and pale white dots evenly spread about the body with a white belly.

Face to face with the gentle giant of the seas.

Face to face with the gentle giant of the seas.

Even though it is so huge, the whale shark does not pose significant danger to humans. They are docile fish and sometimes will allow swimmers to hitch a ride (not recommended as these are wild animals). Whale sharks are actually quite gentle, can play with divers and thus you can swim with this giant fish without risk. Keep out of the way of the shark’s large tail fin though!

Close up view of feeding time.

Close up view of feeding time.

Our wedding couple along with friends have been diving with Mickey and Jayne at Flamingo Divers for a full two weeks now. They were hoping to see a whale shark. No whale shark but huge amounts of other sharks on almost every dive. Our bride and groom did take time out for their wedding though! (see my previous post)

We hope you’ll join Mickey and Jayne and Flamingo Divers as they guide you through some spectacular dive sites and the reefs of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Grab your dive buddy and book your dive adventure today…..Call or email Flamingo Divers at  Toll Free: 1 800-204-9282 or greatdiving@flamingodivers.com  You can also contact me to arrange all your diving needs too.

Marta

 

 

 

http://www.diving.tc

Another Taylor Bay Sunday

"Groovin" on a sunny Sunday afternoon on Provo......it just doesn't get any better than this!!!

"Groovin" on a sunny Sunday afternoon on Provo......it just doesn't get any better than this!!!

I wish my photos did justice to the true colours of the sand, seas and skies on yet another perfect Sunday afternoon dreamily lazing around at Taylor Bay. We got a late start at about 3 pm and cruised on down to Taylor Bay anchoring in 2 feet of water fairly close to shore. The tide was on it’s way out so ever so often we’d drag the anchor further back.

The boat was out in two feet of water as we lay around in the gently rippling water

The boat was out in two feet of water as we lay around in the gently rippling water

As the sun slowly sank lower in the sky, we pulled up anchor and headed towards home. As we came towards the marker buoy off Ocean Point, we were greeted by over a dozen sailing boats anchored out in Sapodilla Bay.

Note the marker buoy in the foreground with a Royal Tern perched ontop of it.

Note the marker buoy in the foreground with a Royal Tern perched ontop of it.

 

Here's a closer view of a Royal Tern taken down in Blue Hills

Here's a closer view of a Royal Tern taken down in Blue Hills

Sapodilla Bay had more boats anchored out than I’ve seen in a long while…………. a beautiful sight to see especially as the sun was starting to set.

At least two dozen boats were gently rocking back and forth out in the bay.

At least two dozen boats were gently rocking back and forth out in the bay.

A parting shot of the sunset and Sapodilla Bay boats as we motored home to Harbour Club's Marina

A parting shot of the sunset and Sapodilla Bay boats as we motored home to Harbour Club's Marina

A lovely tranquil afternoon. We’re fortunate to be able to enjoy all the stunning beauty around us in the Turks and Caicos Islands. We hope you will book your next holiday and vacation in these “beautiful by nature” islands. See you soon.

 

 

Marta

 

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Anole Cocktail Hour

A sunset drink with our friendly little Anole Lizard

A sunset drink with our friendly little Anole Lizard

We went up on the hill overlooking our Marina at Harbour Club Villas for sunset cocktails and were joined by our friendly little Anole Lizard. He’s joined us before but I only managed to get one photo. Well this time he decided to stay a while and enjoyed licking the beads of moisture off my Corona beer.
A good close up of his little tongue licking the bottle.

A good close up of his little tongue licking the bottle.

He wasn't the least bit afraid as he sampled the cold beads of sweat on the bottle

He wasn't the least bit afraid as he sampled the cold beads of sweat on the bottle

He was pretty thirsty but it gave me a chance to get some good photos.

He was pretty thirsty but it gave me a chance to get some good photos.

 

It was fun just sitting watching him as the sun started to set……….a great way to end a busy day!

Cheers!

 

 

Marta

 

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

 

Silver Argiope Spider

I'm not one for spiders but this one just begged to be photographed.

I'm not one for spiders but this one just begged to be photographed.

Spiders are not my favourites I must admit but the Silver Argiope Spider is such a colourful spider with an interesting web. They weave a distinctive zigzag pattern within their web and makes them easy to identify. There may be as many as four stabilimenta in a web forming an X and it seems to make the spider larger with leg extensions.

White , yellow and stripes of this unique looking spider

White , yellow and stripes of this unique looking spider

The total length of the female Silver Argiope measures up to 12mm. It has a silvery carapace and the abdomen is silver with a pair of darker longitudinal bands.

The underside of the Silver Argiope spider as it spins its web.

The underside of the Silver Argiope spider as it spins its web.

See the smaller spider? I think that's the male.

See the smaller spider? I think that's the male.

This one went crazy spinning his web!

This one went crazy spinning his web!

This spider is one of nature’s many pest control agents so I guess we’ll just let them be even though I don’t really care for them!

 

 

Marta

 

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Taylor Bay Starfish

First time sighting of sea stars in the shallow waters of Taylor Bay

First time sighting of sea stars in the shallow waters of Taylor Bay

Malaika was sooooo excited when she first saw some small starfish as she played in the shallows at Taylor Bay this passed weekend. She wasn’t too sure about holding them.

Do you want to hold it as I'm kinda not sure about all this?

Do you want to hold it as I'm kinda not sure about all this?

We tried to get her to "gently" lay them back in the water but she liked it better when she plopped them into the water

We tried to get her to "gently" lay them back in the water but she liked it better when she plopped them into the water

Malaika quite liked the starfish after a while and was reluctant to leave them behind.

Malaika quite liked the starfish after a while and was reluctant to leave them behind.