Reef slopes are among the most interesting places to observe marine life, yet many visitors only pass over them briefly. From the surface these areas appear as darker sections of water where the reef suddenly descends toward deeper ocean. Snorkelers…
The first seahorse I ever found underwater, I almost missed. My dive guide — a young Indonesian woman named Dewi, with the kind of eyes that see things other people don’t — stopped above a sea fan, hovered for a…
There are dives you forget almost immediately — pleasant, uneventful, a way to pass an afternoon underwater. And then there are dives that restructure something in you, that make you resurface as a slightly different person. My first encounter with…
I once watched an octopus open a jar. This wasn’t in a laboratory. It was in a shallow bay near a research station in Queensland, where a local biologist had lowered a sealed jar with a crab inside it to…
Grand Cayman Island is known for its clear waters and vibrant marine life, a draw for divers and snorkelers alike. However, recent reports have highlighted a concerning situation for those venturing into the sea. A solitary male dolphin, often referred…
The briefing was simple: don’t touch, don’t overtake, don’t get in front of it. Stay at its side. Match its pace. When it dives, let it go. I’d heard those instructions before diving with large animals, but something about the…