Memorial Zamami - Day 1

Happy Memorial Day!  We decided to honor those who served and fell by living life to the fullest.  Thank you also goes to the USMC, who takes federal holidays seriously by offering 96-hr liberty instead of the usual 72. We decided to return to Zamami with car and kayaks in tow, only this time we opted for an air-conditioned room rather than the campground.

The Memorial Day weekend coincided with a full moon, which meant that the low tides were really, really low. Low tides occurred in early afternoon the entire weekend, allowing us to swim in the morning, catch our breath in the tidepools around lunchtime, and cool off in the late afternoon with another swim or some fishing.  I liked this arrangement very much.

We arrived just after noon, and there were plenty of tidepools to explore.  We were not alone.  Several locals, covered from head to toe, were out looking for coneshells or surf clams.  The weather didn't look especially pleasant, but we only had to contend with winds and overcast skies.  After all the rain in Okinawa, we were pleased to have a break from the deluge.  

In no time at all, Ryan found the first new animal of the day: a blue-ringed octopus!  This one was small, no more than 2-3 inches across.  Ryan suggested putting the camera in the tidepool with the octopus to get photos without ripples, but I have to admit I was more than a little wary of sharing the octopus' space because of their reputation as having venom in their saliva that packs a potentially fatal punch.  Not knowing much more than that, I opted to be content with some video and a few photos.

Another tidepool find was a sea turtle that seemed more or less trapped in the shallows.  It had a good area for swimming around, and paused here and there when something presumably caught its attention.  Again, not much more to share here than some photos and video stills, but this was the closest I've been to a sea turtle that was not part of an exhibit.  I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing these guys.

Other beauties from today's tidepool ramblings include a mantis shrimp,

a Blue Knee Hermit Crab,

a Cushion Star,

and the smallest Giant Clam we've seen yet.

We ate fresh sashimi (is that redundant?) at a new place we found on Zamami, where we learned that we were far from the only military folks visiting this weekend.  It was strange to walk around Zamami and NOT be aware that we were in the minority.  Fresh seafood has to be one of the great things about living on an island.  Everytime we indulge in some raw ocean goodness, we get an itching to grab our poles, kayaks, and catch some for ourselves.  I need to get better about taking photos of our meals.  In addition to incredible taste, the presentation of meals in a restaurant is also a treat.

Time to get some rest so we can go underwater and beat the tide tomorrow!