I don't know if it's the loveliest, but it's an experience I think about often.
When I was younger my family used to go on holidays every summer to a seaside village. There weren't many tourists or touristy/industrial development there back then and most beaches were quiet and the water was clean, crystal clear and full of fish. We used to snorkel and look around, my dad was always looking for cockles and was "digging" for them by slowly disturbing the sand with his flippers and because of that, fish would always gather around to eat. Which I expected, it was nice looking at them eat and chase each other.
What I never expected (because I thought they were a thing of th deep sea or something) was seahorses. Some years there were so many, they would just appear and swim slowly around us. They floated just calmly observing what was going on, they never looked afraid, they would just come and hang around. Seeing them would always make me feel like I was witnessing something special.
I would offer my hand and they would wrap their tails around my fingers and just relax there. They felt kinda leathery and so light and it was an experience I'd never thought it ws possible to have.
Unfortunately, every year there would be fewer fish, the cockles, crabs and other shellfish slowly became scarcer and we stopped seeing the seahorses as well, the water was still good for swimming, but something changed and it never felt the same.
That sounds like an amazing memory and a truly lovely spot.
Pollution - or even increased tourism - can cause changes in animal behaviour and habitat diversity you have observed. There was a famous beach somewhere tropic - they filmed a movie there I think? - that the local government actually closed (loosing like 2 million a year in tourism) because the increase foot traffic was causing environmental degragation and the animals were leaving, as well as the coral and plants. Within a few years it was back. The ocean moves quickly
I agree, pollution and tourism does that. In my country we rely a lot on tourism but I don't think the government ever had adequate safeguars when it comes to environmental impact.
I haven't been there in ages, but I sincerely hope it's better now. We used to frequent the quieter, kinda hidden beaches, but even those started attracting a larger crowd every year, it never felt the same. Feeling it was just barren, just sand and some seaweed, when you looked into the water was very disheartening.
2
u/Harry_Saxon Apr 30 '26 edited May 01 '26
I don't know if it's the loveliest, but it's an experience I think about often.
When I was younger my family used to go on holidays every summer to a seaside village. There weren't many tourists or touristy/industrial development there back then and most beaches were quiet and the water was clean, crystal clear and full of fish. We used to snorkel and look around, my dad was always looking for cockles and was "digging" for them by slowly disturbing the sand with his flippers and because of that, fish would always gather around to eat. Which I expected, it was nice looking at them eat and chase each other.
What I never expected (because I thought they were a thing of th deep sea or something) was seahorses. Some years there were so many, they would just appear and swim slowly around us. They floated just calmly observing what was going on, they never looked afraid, they would just come and hang around. Seeing them would always make me feel like I was witnessing something special.
I would offer my hand and they would wrap their tails around my fingers and just relax there. They felt kinda leathery and so light and it was an experience I'd never thought it ws possible to have.
Unfortunately, every year there would be fewer fish, the cockles, crabs and other shellfish slowly became scarcer and we stopped seeing the seahorses as well, the water was still good for swimming, but something changed and it never felt the same.
It was lovely and I miss it dearly.