Note: I was unable to post this last night as the resorts internet connection was down. I know you were all waiting for this post. ;o) Sorry for the delay
THE EAR IS BETTER! Since our boat dives weren't until 1:30 we slept in til about 9:30 (woo hoo). Shannon and I had breakfast and just lounged around the condo for a while. We had talked about renting scooters for sight seeing tomorrow but after going into town and actually looking at the scooters she seemed a little leary. I found out that only two-wheeled vehicle she has ridden is a bike, except for the one time she rode a scooter and crashed into trash cans. Needless to say we are not renting scooters tomorrow.
As the departure for our boat dives drew near, we ate a quick lunch and geared up. Our first dive site was called Something Special. It was named for all the rum bottles that used to be found on the bottom, rum from Venezuela called Something Special. The site was what we have come to expect except this time the current was really pushing against us on the way out. A 15 minute kick on the way out took about 2 mins on the way back, with little kicking at all. We did see quite a few eels and a few of the group saw the elusive frog fish. We got back on the boat and had a rest while we motored to the next site called Joanna's Kiss.
As soon as we got into the water Daneilo showed us a tiny black sea horse at only 12 feet deep. We then followed him along seeing massive schools of fish all around us. About halfway into the dive Shannon spotted a sea turtle (yay!) and we turned into paparazzi all crowding around snapping pictures while he went about his daily routine. Soon after that we saw two orange sea horses at about 60 feet deep. 
These things are pretty cool and while Danilo is quick to make sure we all got pictures and got to see them, he is also watches us very closely to ensure we do not disturb the little guys.As is usually the case Shannon and I have to turn back sooner than the rest of the group since we use air like its going out of style. On the way back we somehow swam past the boat about 100 yards. On the way back to the boat we did see a flounder that Shannon got a great picture of and what I think is a barracuda (although others say it wasn't they can't tell me what it is...so it was a barracuda damn it). All in all our last boat dives were pretty entertaining. We got back on the boat and headed back to the resort making sure to thank our dive guides for some amazing creatures that we may never experience again.
Although our dives in the daylight hours were over, there was still time for one more night dive among the giant Tarpon right in front of our resort. Five of us geared up and got into the black water. Shannon's tank had issues and she had to get out of the water and switch tanks. The other three divers went on without us while I waited for her. The second tank didn't have issues and we were on our way.
Since I had the camera with me on this dive I had to rely on on Shannon's light. Almost immediately after descending Shannon motioned to motioned with her light that she saw something by a small outcropping of rocks. I came over and was greeted by a lobster than must have been at least 2 feet long. Easily the largest lobster I have EVER seen in or out of the water. Instead of going to the right as we had in our previous two night dives we decided to go left this time. The tarpon were back again but after a couple minutes they had gone. Apparently the fishing was better to the right. Even though we didn't see many Tarpon we did see lots of eels, crabs and lots of other creatures that come out to hunt at night. We ended up seeing the other three divers and stayed at about 30 feet for the duration of the dive. It was a great 45 minuets underwater and a bittersweet end to a great week of diving.We got out of the water for the last time, rinsed our gear and got ready to head into town for dinner. A group of six of us found a nice little Italian restaurant (of course along the ocean front) and had another great dinner with wine and conversation. We relived dives of the week and got to hear stories from the other divers of trips to locales like Fiji, Palau, Cozumel and Cocos. As great as the diving was here the stories we heard have made me anxious for the next dive trip I am fortunate enough to attend.
Tomorrow should be a fun filled day of touring the island, souvenir shopping and relaxing before getting ready for our flight home EARLY on Saturday. Our flight leaves at 7:30am local time which means we will have to leave the resort about 5:30am (2:30am PST). Not looking forward to a long day of travel but definitely looking forward to seeing loved ones when I get back!
I hope to have more images of the island for you tomorrow!
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