by Leanne Guenther

“Oh oh oh!” I gasped out, pointing and backing away from the pool of water in front of me. Darren was backing up too so I knew he’d seen it.

“That…” he said in a voice slightly higher pitched than normal, “is an eel.”

The eel was about 2 feet long, white and speckled. It bared its teeth at us with an expression that reminded me of a cat hissing and backed up against the rock, eyeing the waves for an escape from the tide pool it was trapped in.

“Oooh!” I responded to the eel’s menacing surge forward, teeth still bared in a menacing smile. I held my hands open in what I thought was the universal sign of “we come in peace” but the eel seemed unimpressed with my efforts at reassurance.

Darren, who unlike me, had retained the ability to form complete sentences seemed overly amused by my Groot-like attempts at improving human-eel relations.

We watched from the beach just inches from the edge of the eel’s pool, fascinated by the opportunity to see an ocean creature we’d only read about in books from the safety of dry land.

Darren and I explored dozens of tide pools on our morning walks along the kilometre long beach in front of the Sofitel in Moorea spotting translucent fish, mollusks, starfish and plant like worms too strange to describe.

The coarse sand was littered with coral, shells and crabs that skittered away as soon as we got close… moving so quickly they seemed to hover away rather than walk.

Water birds that reminded me of sand pipers stood motionless by the tidal pools, waiting for an unwary fish or crab to venture out of the nooks and crannies of the worn coral they hid in.

Each pool contained its own little world and we took turns pointing at the sea creatures as they played their life and death game of hide and seek among the rocks.

We smiled at each other when we noticed the kids and dogs exploring the pools just a bit behind us. What a perfect way to work up an appetite for our breakfast of fresh fruit, croissants and French press coffee.

Disclaimer: As always, my opinions are my own. Resorts do not provide me with free accomodations, room upgrades or even French press coffee. No one involved is ever even aware I’m doing it.

You might also enjoy visiting these sections on DLTK's Sites:

• Alphabet Poem: Letter E
• Eel Coloring and Tracer Pages
• More Family Travel Journals