Creature of the day:  Green Moray


Well, we were looking down on him from at least twenty feet, so he looked more like an old tire.  He was lying in the sand, right under the speedway for boats, snorkelers, and divers.  It's the first time we've seen a moray eel completely out in the open.  Usually you just see the head snaking out of its hole.


Today went diving in the same spot, and saw two morays- two!  entire morays! chasing each other, in & out of crevasses.  AND they were five feet from me.  I decide the morays here are quite forward, compared to the shy ones in Utila.

Creature of the day:  Scrawled Filefish

These guys are very slow-moving, and the first one we saw was camouflaged to near-invisibility.  Only the fact of him being two feet long popped him into view against the coral.  Lorenzo gave up and was swimming away when he spotted another, much brighter one of similar size.  

Airplanes, airplanes and more airplanes. OH MY!

Pippa here-
Upon arrival to the Phnom Penh International Airport, general concensus: we love Korean Airlines.
The flight from LA to Seoul was not quite as long as expected, but it was far more comfortable than I believe any of us expected. The seats were roomy, the in-flight service was excellent (one of the first things which was offerred once the stewardesses could walk around the cabin safely was complementary wine --red or white-- juice, or water). I believe that if any of us had almost ANY abilities whatsoever to peacefully sleep either in chairs or airplanes peacefully, then it would have been perfect. The entertainment was equally great (although I was surprised at the lack of Korean dramas and the small variety of music --for instance, they only had the 2nd album of Korean Pop Sensation "Big Bang"; I suggest looking up on YouTube either their recent video "Tonight", or their collaboration with girl band 2NE1 "Lolipop").
When we arrived at Phnom Penh the desk for visa applications was a madhouse. There were no distinct lines until about three feet in front of the desk, one just had to push forward. Thankfully our hotel had not failed us in providing a driver, so once we got our visas and had our passports cleared we were good to go.
(figured I'd start from the beginning. We will be going to Siem Reip today; home of Ankor Wat. Once there, I'll try and post photos and more accounts)


Hal says-
At nature reserve outside Phnom Penh. 2 hr tuk tuk ride. Ate with locals. Pippa doing well. Ate her first chicken foot. Having reservations about the crickets though. A wonderful time!

Creature of the day:  Porcupinefish

Yesterday we went swimming in a rainstorm- very nice underwater.  We watched one of these guys for a while- his size made him easy to follow.  He went pretty deep, below where we could see him, and then came up to shallower water, turning around to show all possible angles.  We didn't scare him- when frightened, they blow themselves up into a spiky ball.  Very cute fish- pug lovers would find him irresistible.  

Creature of the day:  Caribbean Reef Squid


We were following a mixed school of fish, and I went to see them closer up - something about their fins looked weird.  Then I recognized- SQUID!  Though they were with other fishes, they were swimming together in a line- typical for them.

So on Christmas, in between showers, we took the dinghy over to the iguana farm- right here on the anchorage.  At midday, there are hundreds of iguanas sleeping and sunning themselves in piles.  It's quite a sight.  Their benefactor is Sherman, who owns the surrounding land.  His website informs iguanas it's a good place not to be eaten.  He very sweetly asked us to lunch with his family, quite a treat.  We look forward to seeing the iguanas have their lunch- it's supposed to be a real feeding frenzy.  

 

may you get everything you ever wanted for Christmas!