Powdery white sand, glowing turquoise water, distant thunderheads, the atolls are the epitome of a tropical paradise.

I was lucky enough to get some high clouds for a single evening. With tropical weather, sunsets are often hard to predict as the atmosphere changes so rapidly. Most of the time, the sun was blocked by towering cumulonimbus clouds, but sometimes the sun will poke through an opening and start the evening color show.

This pier piling supports the water access platform of the overwater bungalow. I tried to stick the camera as close to the puffers as possible without spooking them. It was tough to stay still as the current was very strong during the outgoing tide. I had to use a safety rope at one point even with fins on. When the tide bottoms out however, you can notice a dramatic shift in water levels and it becomes a swimming pool.

It was amazing to see all the different shades of blue and green depending on the depth and underwater topography.

I tried my best to render the colors in the photo above as accurately as possible, but there is no other way to describe the color of the midday sky that afternoon other than a distinct shade of purple. I’ve never seen anything like it before, and no, I did not have sunglasses on. Thunderstorms were passing through the atolls all day, perhaps that had something to do with the atmospheric optics.

A lot of those little coral pieces along the tide line on the sand are actually hermit crabs. If you walk too hastily you’ll miss them because they will hunker down in their shell, but stay still for a moment and all the pretty shells will start to come alive!

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South America