my wife and i recently went to Roatan (one of the Bay Islands,

off Hondura's north coast) for a week's vacation. the diving was

awesome; we had a blast.  boat rides were short, currents were

slim to none, and no waves to speak of.  a-ok!

   we stayed at the CoCoView Resort, one of several all-inclusive

dive destinations in Roatan (the other big ones are Fantasy Island

and Anthony's Key Resort).  we have nothing but good things

to say about the resort, even though i wish they had air conditioning

in the dining room (did i mention i wish they had air conditioning

in the dining room?)... anyways...

    just a couple of pictures for now:

     this was a grouper (possibly a tiger grouper?) being cleaned by

neon gobies.  i got pretty close, and the grouper didn't move.  i backed

off not to disturb his cleaning.  at another station, i got to about the

same distance, but the fish being cleaned didn't like it at all and

(1) shook off the gobies very delicately, almost like saying "enough,

boys," and (2) took off at an alarming rate of speed.

    i understand the clearner fish NEVER get attacked by their clients.

however, you have to be a dedicated fish-cleaner to be safe.

apparently, if you're only a part-time cleaner (like the juvenile hogfish),

you are in danger of becoming a meal.

     AN AWESOME THING that happened was that, at a different

cleaning station, i offered my hand to two gobies.  they carefully

studied my hand for a while, dashed over, took a nibble, and

dashed off.  i kept my hand there, and they came back.  this time,

they nibbled around my hand for a few seconds before darting

off.  after a couple more tries, they just made themselves at home

on my hand and nibbled away.  it was an awesome experience

feeling their nibbles.  didn't hurt... just sort of pricked a little.

    now... this is another odd thing.  this was a crab INSIDE A SPONGE.

yup... he was hiding in there, midning his own business.  you can see a

small fish towards the middle-right of the picture.

    at another location, i saw TWO crabs and a lobster hiding in a

sponge. i took pictures, but unfortunately i got too close and they

came out blurry.  so... what exactly do two crabs and a lobster

do inside a sponge?  curiouser and curiouser...

    ok... well... thanks everyone for reading and looking at my pics

and posting comments.  i'll be back with more of my dive pics shorty.