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Sunday at the Oceanarium

March 10, 2002

Dear Friends and Family,

Today we did a very ordinary thing; we went to an aquarium - or, more properly, an oceanarium. Lisbon's fish house is the second largest in the world and it gave us a wonderful way to spend some cloudy hours.

We wandered through the water zoo like kids. I took a hundred pictures or so. Most didn't turn out. Catching fast-moving things in low light behind heavy glass and water is not easy. Another case of ya-shoulda-been-there, but we'll give you a bit of a picture show:

The central tank was filled with ocean fish, everything from sharks to crabs. Low light and fast movement foiled most pictures but in person the effect was wonderful.

One of my favorite fish was this little curious guy. He's only a couple inches long and he seemed to be staring out as much as the people were staring in.

Jelly fish are magical in person. Photographs don't do them justice.

Can you see the sea horse in here? His lacy "wings" were unlike anything we'd seen before. This maybe the most unique fish in the oceanarium for us.

It took more than one look to see all the fish hiding in the sand. When they moved, it was easy, but, as soon as they settled to the bottom, they almost disappeared.

Part of the Arctic bird collection. The setting was very natural, except we could almost reach out and touch the birds.

Everybody loves penguins and there were plenty of them marching around the rocks. From underneath, we could see them almost flying in the water, quite unlike the cute hobble they perform out of the water.

Now we know how it works. The big birds give direction to the smaller birds. This guy was directing the little guys over to where we could see them better. We appreciated it.

The underwater sea life was most colorful. Seeing anemones like these was a real treat.

Here's another anemone sitting in a tide pool. For fans of these creatures, we have many more pictures. It's hard to pass up the colors.

This one looks like an underwater mushroom.

A spectacular star.

So there it is. Our cloudy Sunday.

Meanwhile, take care and visit a zoo, aquarium, oceanarium or stream this weekend.

John and Marianne

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Created March 14, 2002

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The central tank was filled with ocean fish, everything from sharks to crabs. Low light and fast movement foiled most pictures but in person the effect was wonderful.	One of my favorite fish was this little curious guy. He's only a couple inches long and he seemed to be staring out as much as the people were staring in.

Jelly fish are magical in person. Photographs don't do them justice.	Can you see the sea horse in here? His lacy "wings" were unlike anything we'd seen before. This maybe the most unique fish in the oceanarium for us.

It took more than one look to see all the fish hiding in the sand. When they moved, it was easy, but, as soon as they settled to the bottom, they almost disappeared.	Part of the Arctic bird collection. The setting was very natural, except we could almost reach out and touch the birds.

Everybody loves penguins and there were plenty of them marching around the rocks. From underneath, we could see them almost flying in the water, quite unlike the cute hobble they perform out of the water.	Now we know how it works. The big birds give direction to the smaller birds. This guy was directing the little guys over to where we could see them better. We appreciated it.

The underwater sea life was most colorful. Seeing anemones like these was a real treat.	Here's another anemone sitting in a tide pool. For fans of these creatures, we have many more pictures. It's hard to pass up the colors.

This one looks like an underwater mushroom.	A spectacular star.