Snorkeling at Banana Reef @ Maldives [Part of Excursion Package]

Expecting to see hanging bunches of fruits on Banana Reef is the last thing on my mind although i did wonder how the name came about. Whatever the case, a plunge is necessary to explore the reef.

I didn't think the water would be this deep and my fear of height almost gave me a panic attack; it seemed that the fear for height remains unchanged in water.

Can't help being envious that this Maldivian chap was able to remain calm and composed at such a depth with just basic snorkeling kit! Lousy me. :(

One type of marine creature was in abundance at Banana Reef; the unicorn fish! Speaking of its appearance, i personally felt that pinocchio would be a more appropriate name. 

There was the usual sergeant major fish too, which never failed to attract attention with its obvious, vibrant colours! In the past, i used to confuse it with Pacific Regal Blue Tang; the famous blue fish known as Dory in "Finding Nemo".

As you can deduce from the above photograph, there were countless fishes right in front of me then. In all my snorkeling trips so far. i have yet to experience a view like this! 

Alex, as expected, needed to show his power as the holder of the highly sought bread bottle. Unlike Turtle Reef, he had much better luck in enticing the fishes in Banana Reef to feast on the soggy bread. 

Cobwebs in water? I have no idea how they came about but strangely, the texture was almost similar to spider webs on land. 

The guide swam to the seabed to pick up this sea cucumber for us. The sea cucumber, known also as the sea ginseng, is an expensive Chinese delicacy! 

Love this photograph due to the contrasting colour; a bit like yin and yang with the green coral being the balance of both elements. Coincidentally, mixing blue and yellow colours would give us green! 

Little fishes hiding out in the corals. The picture quality of this underwater Olympus TG-3 was actually quite good and i had a great time taking tons of photographs! 

If not for the strong waves that affected the stability of my hand, i believe the clarity would be better.

Frankly, i was getting giddy once again from the pounding waves and my enthusiasm to take as many pictures as i could aggravate the problem further.  

Found a spot where i could plant my feet firmly to the ground; bad move, the waves were even more aggressive in shallow water!

Dunking my head in water was in fact far more comforting! Furthermore, you can get really cold with the wind blowing at you when your body is above water!

What do you call this seashell?!!?!? I spent like 15 minutes, without success, on google trying to find a name for it! The best part is that we used to have one kept in the living room's display cabinet! 

A saddle back butterfly fish was as curious as i was; was that even a seashell? After a second look, i guess it was half of a shell. 

Spotted the little bugger which had camouflaged itself relatively well in the sand. If not for its slight movement, i could have totally missed its existence.

Two other photos showcasing the view at Banana Reef before i end this post!

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Satellite Location Map

As above (near Guraidhoo local island). Now we know where the banana comes from; from the satellite view, the reef does have the shape of a banana!

For my six days, five nights 

Maldives itinerary, click here.