Scuba Diving – September 2019

/ SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 / 89

generous enough to lend her skills and
serve as a model for a few shots, and
in the near endless visibility, Bahamas
Aggressor is clearly silhouetted above.
There are more wonderful sites and
surprises off Conception Island Na-
tional Park, such as Utopia and Calyp-
so Sponges with stunning topography
covered in coral, unusual sponge growth
and even clusters of social feather dust-
ers. Some of my favorite tropical fish
for macro photography—fairy basslets
and black cap basslets—are sprinkled
over the reef like purple confetti. Nassau
grouper peer out from their lairs, and the
occasional indigo hamlet makes a shy
appearance. Even a bottlenose dolphin,
named Calypso, stops by for a brief visit.
No trip to this slice of the Bahamas is
complete without a trip to Pig Beach in
the Exumas. We pile into the tenders one
early morning to find the marine-friend-
ly porcine pack is waiting eagerly for
some tasty treats. It is hilarious to see
enthusiastic pigs swimming in the shal-
lows, but it is challenging to photograph
them at their best. Particularly when ev-
eryone has a camera in one hand and a
highly desirable apple in the other. I look
toward Mesgleski, who shows how to do
it like a pro. His pig’s nostrils are planted
firmly on his dome port.
Before the trip is over, the north-

ern Exuma islands have one more spe-

cial treat in store for us. A little dive site

called Lobster No Lobster or Close Mon

Reef —as in too close to the island, mon—

offers a lovely surprise. Flourishing in

only 25 feet of that beautiful Bahamian

water is the kind of archetypal healthy

coral reef that so many of us hope to find

in the tropical Atlantic, but so rarely do.

Cascading layers of color and life spill

over every contour while movement from

dozens of species pulses in every direc-

tion. I don’t need to fire a shot—or even

move. It’s enough just to enjoy it and

know it will still be there when I leave

the water. What a fantastic way to end a

great 10 days of diving.

Clockwise from top: Mike Mesgleski at the site
Cut N Run; the famous swimming pigs; a red
sponge thrives in the undercuts of Dog Rocks;
a neon goby at Jake’s Hole.