the great barrier reef: nemo and friends

"fish are friends, not food"
-Nemo

today i went diving at the great barrier reef! i had high expectations of the day and they were all surpassed... what an incredible experience! i had a total of 3 dives for the day - the first was the final dive needed for my open water diving certification. we had to review all the skills i had learned through the course. and i passed with flying colors!
the second dive we dove under the boat (when it was anchored) and fed some of the HUGE fish that were hanging out there. my new instructor Dirk also taught me new underwater tricks, like putting my head on the sand and spinning around and i taught him how to do an underwater backflip. very educational overall :)
the third dive was just a fun exploring dive in a different part of the reef. we played with nemo (clown fish) but my favorite part were the GIANT clams (almost the size of me) that would snap at your hand or fin if you brought it too near. my second favorite was the type of flowering coral that was common in the Little Mermaid, where when you touch the flowers they retreat into the coral (you have to see it to know what I'm talking about!). another love was the beautiful iridescent fish that seemed to change colors as they moved. less fun was the sea slugs that would shoot out what looked like silly string when we picked them up. the coral and reef life alone (even without the fish) was stunningly beautiful, so many shapes and colors it was overwhelming

overall an absolutely amazing day!!