Revisiting the Reefs

The arm of a whale lapped on the ocean surface, followed by a glimpse of what appeared to be the whale’s eye and then its water spout.

It took moments before I could process what was happening before my eyes. It occured to me that I was seeing a blue whale for the first time.

But before I could relish the moment, I woke up. I blinked and the interiors of my room came to focus.

I just saw a blue whale in my dream and it was so big and so real. It was lapping in the water right in front of my room!

Maybe, I told myself, maybe I should stop watching videos of wild animals.

The day before, Cherry and I went snorkeling at sunset time. She wanted to swim to the floating raft while I talked her into spotting the resident sea turtle at a nearby islet.

She had two beers that afternoon and we giggled as she burped while snorkeling.

Underwater, I saw the reefs thriving with corals, schools of fish, gigantic sea urchins, and huge starfishes.

I’ve never seen starfish that huge. They were over one feet wide and very thick like rubber.

It occurred to me that I could no longer see the umbrella structures where we used to plant baby corals.

Since five years ago, they have grown into communities of corals, with varying colors, fan structures, and complexities.

In the pockets between their branches and hidden spaces were various kinds fish seeking shelter and anchor from the strong currents.

There were striped fish, spotted fish, tiny fish 1 to 2 inches long, and large ones as long as my arm.

One some days, there are sightings of baby sharks and manta rays here too.

Cherry went ahead of me on the floating raft. While she may be tipsy, she had jumped from the six-foot high sea wall, while I chickened out and took the steps, before we headed out to sea.

Now there at the white raft, she used one foot to push against the raft and jumped into the water, just as she did from the sea wall.

In no time, she went back up, with bright red blood spreading on the white floor of the raft.

What happened? I asked.

She told me she kicked the raft as she jumped, and I thought it could’ve been the barnacles on the side.

She was whimpering and studying the cut on her toe, while blood oozed without stopping.

Oh no, I said, you still want to swim? We can go back if you want.

She just kept whimpering. Dip your foot in the water and see how it feels, I said.

She dipped it and pulled it back, and now opening the cut again.

Oh my God, I said. It was so raw and gory, she was practically dripping blood all over the white raft.

I said, it’s up to you if you still want to go snorkeling. I started cupping saltwater in my hands and washing away the blood on her foot.

No, she said, I think we can continue.

We washed all the blood with saltwater, put on our snorkel gear, and started swimming towards the islet.

The islet was a chunk of rock that Philipe said was home to a sea turtle couple, until one of them died.

Beneath the water surface, the islet had a skinny waist that had been eroded by tides, creating caves and caverns.

We went around the islet but couldn’t see the turtle. Maybe it was out exploring for a new sweetheart?

On the way back to the raft, I saw giant clams two to three feet wide. Their lips were bright blue and purple, with pouting holes that looked that eyes.

There were so many such clams, and even baby ones embedded on the corals. They were pouting like they were sucking on milk.

Other corals were glowing green, pink, and red, while others were orange and blue.

I was happy that the reefs have returned to health from all that dynamite fishing madness. All for a quick buck.

On the raft we watched the sunset, this perfect circle of majesty, and we were hypnotized for a moment until it dipped behind the mountains and disappeared.

On the swim back to the shore I told Cherry that I’ve never tasted raw sea urchins before. I heard they taste like oysters?

Yes, they’re delicious! she added. She said she’ll have one of the boys pick some sea urchins for us one of these days.

I felt my tongue already wanting to spit it out. But I’ll try, I’ll dare myself to. I mean, how hard was it to eat a raw and wild animal?

The sight of the ocean feels so homey. <3 I don’t think I ever want to be away from the ocean again.

// 05 Jan 2024