Climbing down the ladder off the dock, you soon forget the cold shock of the water as your eyes adjust to the clear, sun-lit sea and all the activity a few meters beneath you. A school of small orange fish swim under your stomach, oblivious to your presence. A long, silver sword-like fish comes straight toward you in pursuit of the school. You shouldn't laugh though - not because you don't want to embarrass the fish, but because smiling gives the snorkel an aperture which will let salt water in. Equally captivating in this eclectic habitat is the surrounding mass of rocks and coral which seem to form a city of their own.
Coral is the stony skeletal structure left behind when certain marine plants and animals die.
A coral reef is a ridge formed by great masses of coral skeletons. Most of the reefs are from about two to three meters below where you are swimming, but some break through the surface of the water, ready for you to examine. Peeking out of a crevice of a rock you can see what looks like an underwater porcupine, its hundreds of prickly bristles waving ominously. Time flies when you're underwater. If you lift your head, you will see that the sun has moved considerably down in the sky.