It’s the little things that make diving so much fun and exciting. While Mango Halto on Aruba has a reputation for being a bit boring, it was the only place I saw a music volute…until this week. Music volutes are mollusks that look a bit like very ornate snails. In fact, the pattern on their shells resemble sheet music; hence the name.

Buddy’s Reef was very nice 2018, so we returned this year for a few dives. On our way back from the reef one afternoon, I was exploring the rocky bottom when I saw my second music volute crawling between some coral debris. If I saw nothing else the whole dive, that critter would have made the dive for me. That said, we saw a ton of other cool things at Buddy’s Reef including the omnipresent tarpon, a few ocean triggerfish and a cubera snapper.

All the highlights are in the Sea Life section of the video below. Of course, if you are interested in where the reef is, how to get their and other tips, start at the beginning. (We think that is good too!)