As we set out on our dive boat there was a rainbow ahead of us. A foretaste of the colours waiting below. This time I’m not describing the myriads of iridescent reef fish with dots, dashes and stripes,. No, today it was the corals of Little Cayman which really captivated me. I’ve been diving ( Americans say “I’ve doved” but being a Brit I still struggle with that!) months after hurricanes have blown through reefs and I’ve seen the utter devastation left behind; remnants of battered coral and deathly grey landscapes. Very occasionally my heart would almost stop as I detected the slightest hint of colour on the tip of a dark blasted coral – new life struggling to push through. But the coral on this Cayman reef was definitely alive and well. It was so affirming to see this amount and variety of living coral and what a joy to swim in and out, above and below and through the fronds and edifices. The colours. at times so demanding of attention, like small children calling out, “Look at me, Look at me”.
From royal purple to hints of lavender, from iridescent blue to vibrant orange and then round a rock face a bright yellow curly bit laughing in our masks. It was like an artist’s palette, a mix of random and chosen colours, sometimes brash and almost uncouth, sometimes a dash, sometimes a dab and frequently, radiant blocks of solid colour like the two below. I loved them all! I could have swum all day.
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