Scuba Diving - Onna ToiletBowl and Diamond Beach

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Scuba Diving - Onna ToiletBowl and Diamond Beach

Due to Columbus Day, I've been afforded the opportunity to continue diving on Monday and Tuesday. Today I went with two of my friends to Onna ToiletBowl and Diamond Beach. After determining that the water was simply too rough at Bolo Point, we headed farther north to see what the conditions were like elsewhere.

Onna ToiletBowl was by far the better of the two dives. The water was pretty clear and I got see see various types of aquatic wildlife including two cuddlefish and a sea turtle. The two cuddlefish we saw were very curious as to what we were up to when we were swimming around. Unlike the other cuddlefish I have seen while diving around here, these two pretty much stood their ground...err, reef.....as we swam up to them. I'd say we were only about 5 feet away from them so I was able to snap several photos and take a few videos. These were also the largest cuddlefish I've seen since being on Okinawa, as they were about the length of my forearm. When swimming around near the coral, the cuddlefish mimicked the colors of the coral; when swimming away from the coral and into the open water, the cuddlefish turned blue. The video I have uploaded shows this change nicely.

The dive at Diamond Beach was fun because I caught two pufferfish. One was a blackspotted pufferfish and the other was a ballonfish. The first one was easy to catch as it swam into a crevice where it couldn't escape. I simply had to reach in and grab it. The ballonfish proved to be a bit more difficult to get. I came up over some coral and saw about 8 ballonfish hanging out together. I swam up underneath them very slowly and then made my move to grab one. It saw me coming so I had to chase it down but I finally captured it. They are so slow moving when they blow up with water...it's hilarious to play with them. Yes, they are probably scared out of their minds but I had fun....I'm so mean.

To see more pictures of the dives visit these links:
1.) http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u53/kimdupak/Okinawa/Onna%20ToiletBowl%20-%2013%20Oct%202008/

2.) http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u53/kimdupak/Okinawa/Diamond%20Beach%20-%2013%20Oct%202008/

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Photos

Spotted Boxfish - Male Variation
Diamond Beach

Dive Buddies with Ballonfish
Diamond Beach