Raiatea has some unusual flora and fauna.
Check out the colors of these water lilies for example!
The scent of tropical flowers perfumes the air, sending you off to sleep, even in mid day!
I tried my new underwater camera for the first, and last time for awhile, because I got a nasty coral cut, that is now infected. I got it from fire coral that was not visible on our balcony’s dive ladder. No more underwater photo practice for me until it heals.
I did manage to get some decent shots on my first attempt. Can you see the camouflaged octopus here? He was quite large and stuck his tentacles simultaneously down many holes searching for prey. When he found some, he ballooned his entire body around it and killed it.
So many beautiful fish, I even saw a lion fish wish I would love to show you. Lots of giant clams too.
This guy was half in and out of water!
And this one appears to live in the thatch of our bungalow.
Raiatea is surrounded by motus, which are empty atolls, that you can sail or kayak over to, and spend your day on your own private island like Robinson Crusoe!
Cheers to you from beautiful Raiatea~
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Brilliant photos Cindy 😀
Awwwww, so kind and appreciated!
They’re so sharp and capture the colours so well 🙂
Beautiful sights indeed..! so much life 🙂
I have never seen such healthy reefs, teaming with life!
Needs to be protected, it is becoming a rare sight :O
Wow, Cindy! What Chris said: BRILLIANT! (P.S. Hope the coral cut heals well, and soon!)
Thank you my friend, so kind, coral cuts can be quite nasty…..
Such STUNNING captures – enjoy Raiatea!
Touched and pleased, and thank you too!
Oh Cindy the bird that lives in your thatch is a very familiar one, we have it in Bangladesh it’s the same color as in your photograph how nice.
They are quite vocal little cuties aren’t they! They seem to be commenting on our comings and goings! 😉 😉
Beautiful, Cindy! I especially love the octopus. What fascinating creatures, yes? Praying for a quick recovery from your infection. 🙂
I watched the octopus for a long time. He was a relentless hunter and fascinated me. Thanks much for your kind wishes!
Beautiful! How’d you decide to travel to this rather remote chain of islands?
We decided to go off the beaten tourist path and boy did we! This place is very hard to describe. It is another world with very, very few tourists. The few that are here are mostly French. Our hotel is maybe 10% occupied! Very unusual!
Thanks for the idea. I’m definitely putting this place on my list.
What beauties. All of them. Sorry about the cut. I do hope it heals fast.
Thanks much for both thoughts & cheers to you~
Brilliant colour, clarity and composition!
Awesome alliteration! <3
Cracking set of photos. Those flower colours are so vivid.
Thanks much I had never seen the blues before and thought they were so striking!
The colours are just breath taking. What a wonderful experience .
Leslie
It is so quiet here, you just fall asleep without intending too!
Yes, I was surprised and mesmerized by the colors!
It looks idyllic but even Paradise has it’s pitfalls. I’m so sorry about your hand and hope it’s soon OK again. The pictures are beautiful. I’d want to live there if it wasn’t that I can’t eat fish. Mind you, if you want to slip a couple back in a bag for my tank………..
xxx Huge Hugs xxx
The astounding variety of types of fish is remarkable! I have never seen so many and so many species! Fascinating to watch them~
These are all so beautiful. Really love the water lilies, so colorful.
Aren’t they beautiful! I hadn’t seen this color before~
Beautiful. Thanks Cindy.
How are things going with you two down under?
New post coming later today telling all 🙂
These photos are absolutely delightful. You gave us the full tropical tour, Cindy, including the coral cut. Those can be really nasty, so good thing to stay out of the water for now; but kind of a bummer. I’m glad you got the incredible photos you did, and I am certain there is still a lot of frolicking fun. Enjoy! 😀
Lots of frolicking and fun, but none in the water., except for Jim….. #$@%! 😉
I love the photos of the fish, gorgeous colors! Water lilies are exquisite. The island is so beautiful via your lens. I have never see photos of this island. Thank you for the tour, Cindy! 🙂
It is so peaceful, quiet, untouristed, I am constantly dozing off……
Beautiful photos! 🙂
So happy you enjoyed them!
Fantastic photos Cindy! I hope that your cut heals fast! Hugz Lisa and Bear
I hope so too, but I know wounds heal slowly in the tropics and it is hot!
OMG what beautiful photographs. The fish with the electric blue lines…Wow! Amazing underwater shots. Just wonderful. I hope your infection goes away soon.
Thanks much, I just hope I heal quickly enough to get back in the water and keep practicing with my camera!
Beautiful!
Mil grazi~
Cindy, Great shots. DO NOT give up on underwater shots, they were magnificent. Especially the octopus. As for the Indian Mynah bird, they are a real pest in Melbourne. I know they look good and in some places they are kept as cage birds – but not here. (PS, thanks for always being such a great supporter of mine even although I don’t get around to you as often as I would.
Thank you for identifying Mr. Bird. He certainly behaves like a Myna bird, always having something to say and tapping away on the thatch. Thank you for your encouragement on the underwater photos, so bummed I am not practising now! Hubby is the lagoon!
Wow, Cindy, utterly beautiful. Get well soon.
Such as array of beauties…
Everywhere you look more!
Beautiful beyond words!
So pleased you enjoyed!
Gorgeous colors! Thanks for sharing that tropical warmth with us. Best wishes on a quick recovery from the coral cut and infection too Cindy!
This part is no fun. I am on three different antibiotics, enough to treat a Clydesdale!
Oh I can imagine, and for this to take you away from further aquatic adventures… 🙁 Rest well and hang in there Cindy!
These are amazing shots and what a wonderful place to be. I hope that nasty coral cut heals soon and you get to use your underwater camera again soon.
The water lilies are beautiful.
Your kind thoughts are very much appreciated & cheers to you~
Your photos are stunning. They are the difference between looking at and being in. I’m in them every time I see them. Like being on your adventures. Just stunning and such a pleasure to be part of.
You make my travels, and my life at The Holler, so much more fun! Thanks for coming along~
Awesome pictures and awesome experiences there.
Thanks my friend, all except for the boo boo! 😉
The flowers are gorgeous — such brilliant color — but I’m with you: no more underwater camera stuff for a while. I will say, however, that the photos you took underwater were brilliant. Just maybe not worth the cut! Thanks for sharing.
Eeeks, coral cuts are bad news, especially in the heat! I visibly watched the infection spread like a time lapse photo! Surreal…..
Thanks for sharing such awe-inspiring photos! No pain no gain….wishing you speedy recovery from the coral cut! ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ
I like the no pain, no gain, puts it is perspective!
(>‿◠)✌
<;
Wow, you are in paradise!
Your photos are wonderful, especially the 1st 3 flowers. Thank you! _Resa
(I got a nom today!)
I should know this I am sure, but what is a nom???? I am certain it is a good thing, so big congratulations……..And why don’t you fly over here Resa, you would love the change in scene! 😉
Oh Cindy!
I got a “Canadian Screen Awards” nomination for best Costume Design in the TV mini series adaptation of Terry Fallis’ “The Best Laid Plans”
I’m beside myself. (Wish I didn’t want to win so much!)
I will fly thereto see you one day! 🙂 😎 🙂
Resa
WOOOOO HOOOOOO! Congrats!!! You SOOOOOO deserve this!!! I am totally jazzed for you! The nomination is a VERY BIG DEAL! The nomination is an award in itself! You already won my deah. Hugs and so happy for you!
Love the colors in this.
Very pleased you do & cheers too~
Perfect photos! They are beautiful!
Amazing.. just amazing! Your photography brightens my day, thanks 🙂
Itching to get back in the water and practice, but your kind comments brighten my day!
Amazing beauty, nature’s masterpieces! Thanks for sharing, Cindy.
Thank you more for appreciating & cheers to you~
Gorgeous sights. And almost all to yourself since there’s only 10% occupancy. Hope your coral cut is improving. They can be nasty little blighters
Yes, the cuts are turning out to be so! I am so careful, but I didn’t see the cluster on the bottom rung of the dive ladder. Ah well, cest le vie! I got to go see what a hospital looks like in Raiatea which was most educational! 😉 Hot here, must have been like this when you were growing up in Fiji and the sights would look familiar to you I am sure!
Yes I see similarities to Fiji right down to the coral cuts!
Coral cuts do put a touch of a damper on paradise don’t they!!! Laughing……Here I was just now in our idyllic south sea bungalow, following the meticulous directions from the doc for wound care, when a sweet little gecko running on the rafters above me, let loose his load on the cuts that are to remain sanitary. How the heck does one stay sanitary in the tropics!! Plus there is another creature that lives in the thatch, that yaps at us at various times. The problem is, I have no idea what he is trying to say. I have actually asked Jim to smoke a cigar, hoping the smoke may encourage them to go pester someone else. Fat chance! Ahhhh, the joys of paradise.
Hm – in those coral cuts nasty bakteria can hide! I hope you’ll get better soon, Cindy!
I love those octopussies! They are so smart! You can play with them, if they are in the mood. And this fascinating ability to change colors! You should take one of those beautiful water lilies as a present for one of the octopodes – perhaps he would imitate the blossom 🙂
Yes, I had a fire coral encounter in Bonaire where I barely brushed the coral and the reaction, fierce, came weeks later. This injury is worse because there were multiple pretty deep lacerations. Tonight it looks like it is halting in the spread of infection due to three antibiotics. I used to handle octopi when I was a child. Master camouflagers and fascinating creatures with camera eyesight. I saw one again today, but I can’t go in the water due to my cuts. I watched him though, incredible to watch the hunting process. They stick all their tentacles into the holes in the reef, searching. When they find prey, they stretch their body thin and wide and envelope the prey like balloon. This I had never seen before. They also propel themselves at great speed when they swim, curling their tentacles partly in. I am with you, I am fascinated by them! Hope to watch more. Cheers to you and glad you know about octopi! Vielen dank. Freundschaft~
Good to hear that the infection comes to rest, my friend! Three antibiotics are no fun too… hope they won’t disturb your immune system!
When I was young I had the idea to study marine biology at the university (not fulfilled) and I have always been very interested in ocean life. I’m quite jealous, that you sometimes had the possibility to interact with octopi – I always dreamed of diving at the californian coast, where the Enteroctopus dofleini lives – they must be really fascinating! In Ålesund, Norway, there lived a nice little Octopus in the Aquarium, whom I visited every time, when I was there. He obviously was bored and liked to observe me, when I made a show for him (or her?). 🙂
I do love going off the beaten path… The reward’s striking, the price – painful. I hope you heal quickly.
Ahhh, my wise and kind friend Lea. Plus they speak French here! What are you doing, in the next few days? Want to fly over? They speak your language here although they prefer their own. Mare, spelled wrong most likely, means thank you! <3
Ah, Cindy a kind and tempting invitation. Alas, that would mean leaving France which is something I am not keen to do. There is still so much here to discover… 🙂
There certainly is, and I look forward to seeing more of it <3
As do I! Bisous!
Cindy, perfection all around you! Fantastic photos, thank you! <3
Cheers to you for capturing a bit of the beauty around you to share with us.
Amazingly beautiful photos, Cindy! Thank you for sharing this beauty with us <3
Absolutely stunning, Cindy! Among your best!!
What a gorgeous place! And your photos are exquisite. Thanks for taking me out of the gloom and gray of winter for a short time – wish I were there!
Oh, Cindy, I love these photos, esp. the cobalt blue fish! Thank goodness octopi aren’t bigger – their feeding sounds scary! I hope your cut heals quickly – coral can be nasty. Hope you have a good antibiotic to put on it. Tea tree oil (if you can stand the smell) is a good, natural one.
Absolutely stunning photos, especially the first one. The purple is so intense. So inspiring to see these beautiful photos instead of looking out the dreary window at winter. 🙂
Take care of yourself, Cindy — I don’t imagine there’s an Urgent Care facility right around the corner?! Your photos are gorgeous! How heavenly it must be, sniffing and having the scent of tropical flowers envelop you!!
This must be paradise!
The vibrancy of your photos always warms my day….and it’s cold outside!
The array of colours in nature are surely a marvelous thing. Thank you for the share.
Cindy, love the images, this is paradise! Hugs! Veraiconica