Last week the Caribbean basin off the coast of Belize was tormented by Hurricane Rina. The mainland community, along with residents on Ambergris Caye and our northern neighbors in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico watched like sitting ducks as the fierce Category Three hurricane threatened us within miles of our coast. Fortunately the weather system averted land and petered out before causing harm to property or life. Although we were spared the trauma, we could see fierce waves crashing on our bordering reef to the east and one can only imagine the cacophony of disturbance the Caribbean Sea and her creatures endured during Rina’s wrath.
After such a storm it is not unusual to come across hurricane flotsam on the beach, which can be littered with deep-sea corals and creatures that have fallen prey to a terrible turbulence. Within the shallow waters between the reef and our beaches are also creatures who have now found themselves suddenly relocated to a habitat that is as foreign to them as they are to a snorkeler who is quite familiar with the marine life in the area. Such was the case when a few days ago while snorkeling off the dock at Wet Willy’s we came across a most bizarre creature!…MORE