La Gomera 2004 ! Life under the surface

Our Beautiful World

IN THE WATER

If anything at all could scare us or make us afraid down here on La Gomera,
it must have been the first time we met this fellow.
Its name is
Portuguese Man of War.

We soon learned that this was a baby which may have been 3 inches ( 9 centimeters) long.
The older onescan be up to to 12 inches ( 30 centimeters) long and may extend as much as
6 inches (15 centimeters) above the water. Beneath the float are clusters of polyps,
from which hang tentaclesof up to 165 feet (about 50 meters) in length.

Normally they have a crest above, so if you are aware they are in the neighbourhood,
you can easily (?) spot them as they float upon the water, not down in the water.

However, they look like toys some kid has left in the water, and we met an elder man
who thought this was kind of a toy, and picked it up. Well, he shouldn't.

Take it easy! This was our 15th (or so) visit to the Canarian Islands, and we have never
either seen it nor heard about it before. And they showed up for only 2 or 3 days this time.
There were other creatures in the sea also, much more fun with them:

How about this one?

Do you wish to feed them?

It's really fun!

Well, there is a lot of ways spending your time down here.
But let's see what else is down here by the waterside.

This strange fellow uses its two big wings to 'fly' through the water.
Its some kind of a snail with no home to stay in - or may be he (she?) has lost it?
Length about 10 cm (4 inches)

Here is another guy that comes out very fast if you don't take care of your waste.
Its also very curious. When we layed sunbathing, it came up between us. My wife screamed,
but I told her there was no danger. These little fellows were afraid of us people.
Five minutes later he came again, and as I pointed it out, it run up under my wifes throut,
and then came some strange sounds from ... well, not allowed to say any more.

Walking by the rocky seaside always brought up surprises. Here the crabs were already
red in colour, as they were boiled right away. They were up to 20 cm in size (8 inches),
and what really surprised us, was their ability to jump from on rock to another.

Then there were all the black crabs. Although not as big as the red ones,
it was thrilling to see them also jump around, especially when we came by,
but also when some of the waves were larger than others.

We wondered what kind of rock that was,

and wondered even more if it had come all the way down from La Merica, some 800 m up.

Take a close look at this one. You see the hole in the front?
It goes all the way out under the rock to the ocean. And guess what happens when
a huge wave comes in?