Another view of the Palm Forest.

Laura and Jack patrolling the beach among the roots of undermined palm trees.

On one snorkelling trip, this Lesser Noddy (Anous tenuirostris) landed on Liz. It had obviously been a victim of a falcon attack....

We gave it peace and let it rest on Gilana. By morning it was gone....

There were more bird stories to unfold. We were on the migration route of many Swallows and Swifts. These Cliff Swallows, (Hirundo pyrrhonota) nested in our cockpit overnight. The next morning there were three dead. We went to the beach and found hundreds of little bodies littering the island. We have no idea why there was such a high atrition rate, and have tried to find out more information.

Totally exhausted!

A sip of water helps.

Another Whacky moment. during a snorkelling trip, I placed the dinghy anchor on an exposed rock, and then posed for a picture.

While being towed behind the dinghy we were followed by this school of Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)

Caribbean Stingray (Himantura schmardae)

Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)

The above picture of a nurse shark was taken in a cave, here, Laura hovers at the cave entrance watching Liz take the pictures of the shark, so Liz took one of Laura too.

Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris)

French Angelfish (Pomacanthus paru)

Glasseye Snapper (Heteropriacanthus cruentatus)

Close-up of a Stingray feeding. They blow huge craters in the sand to find food.

Here I show Laura where I had spotted another Nurse Shark. We had found some caves, and had returned to explore them some more. These underwater caves extended at least 100 meters and probably more. (note the lights) They very likely continued right under the barrier reef based upon the current and the water temperature we found inside them. They were interlinked and it was possible for us to swim through the longest one holding our breath, a trip of just over a minute, although it felt like 10! We could then find air holes to stop and breathe, before continuing.....

Liz, on her way into one of the caves, the girls wore gloves to be able to hang on to the rock in current.

Liz nears the exit on one of the longest transits. She is kicking quite fast now at the end of a breath.

A "Breathing Hole" thaires air thair

Here I wait for Liz to appear, while she took a photo of me. It is very dark under there, and the pictures are not that good, but you get the idea....

Another breathing hole.

An exit.

Another fun thing to do is blow bubble-rings. Here Laura blows a beauty!

Back on land, Liz was most concerned about the apparent effects of the sea level rising. The islands are a lot smaller than portrayed in recent aerial photographs.

The undermining of Palm trees results in the toppling into the sea, and instead of gently sloping beaches, steep fresh sand cliffs are the norm now....

But it is still a little bit of paradise.