The Indians, BVIs

The Indians out of the water

Fish watching Chris freedive

Beautiful colors on the redband parrotfish

Sun shining through the fins of this yellowtail snapper

The Indians are a group of rocks in the southwestern BVIs, popular as a snorkeling spot. We stopped there one morning early, before most of the charter boaters were up and about, so ensure that we could get a mooring. The moorings are scattered around the formation, so you can just hope off the boat and start snorkeling, no dinghy required. On the west side it’s quite deep, so instead of the interesting things to see being below you, they’re beside you on the rock wall. There also were large schools of fish feeding on plankton floating in the water. Though the water was extremely clear, we felt like we were swimming in jelly soup, there were so many ctenophores (grape- to walnut-sized relatives to jellyfish [Mmmm, grapes, walnuts, jelly… Can you tell I haven’t had breakfast yet while writing this?]). Back to snorkeling. The east side was quite shallow, a fairy land of colorful sponges and flowing sea plumes and jewel-like fish. I think it was the low angle of the early morning sun that that seemed to brighten the colors so much; often we snorkel later in the day when the sun is overhead and the light seems harsher. Then…the tunnel (That’s for you, Lord of the Rings movie fans.  Which movie, and who said it?). There’s a short tunnel that you can swim through. It’s not difficult, but here’s a good tip: when swimming through a tunnel, don’t stop to see if you can get a second photo, because you float up to the ceiling and have to pull yourself out. By the time we finished our snorkeling, the charter boats were circling like sharks, waiting to pick up a mooring the moment the previous tenant let go. A good reason to get an early start to the day.

Ctenophore (the little pink floating things) soup

Getting crowded as we leave the Indians

Through the tunnel