What a day that we had! For me, without doubt, the snorkeling outing was outstanding. We saw a lot of tropical fish, sharks, sea lions, turtles and a giant Manta ray flying through the water. Manta rays can reach a maximum of about 20ft, and we estimated that the one we saw first from the Zodiacs, then in the water, must have been at least fourteen ft! The snorkelers swimming alongside this wonderful animal were completely dwarfed - what a relief it only eats plankton! We got so close to the manta ray that we even saw the remoras (suckerfish) attached on the upper side of this giant of the oceans.
We can recognize suckerfish immediately by a laminated adhesive disc on top of the head, which is a modified spinous dorsal fin. The spines of the dorsal fin have divided and become flattened to form a series of paired transverse, flexible ridges called laminae. Juvenile sucker fish already have a fully formed disc by the time they measure 27 mm, and they may or not hitchhike on the back of hosts at this stage: the smallest fish found attached were 48 mm. Adults range in size from about 17 cm to one meter.
Today's water temperature was a delectable 80 F.
