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One of the things that made Atlantis stand out to me was their incredible Marine life diversity. As we've seen from our adventures to The Dig, this little island resort is the home of a huge array of aquatic life. Indeed, the hotel and more specifically The Dig is the largest open air Marine Aquarium in the whole world.
A simple stroll around Atlantis will reveal just how diverse the marine life is, not only that, you get a sense of how well the exhibits are integrated into the very foundations of the hotel.
In today's edition of travel with me, we'll be visiting a lesser known part of Atlantis, known as the Predator Lagoon. Although it doesn't feature very much beside the more popular attractions such as The Dig and the Aquaventure Water Park, it is certainly no less amazing.
From the Royal Towers, you can actually follow a path on the edge of the hotel, all the way to Predator Lagoon. It takes about 15 minutes and you'll have some terrific views of the vicinity along the way.
Our destination is the circular building with the seashell roof labelled Lagoon Bar & Grill. In the above map, you can see it is adjacent to a beautiful sea connected lagoon called Paradise Lagoon which is one of the best places to swim in natural sea water. (As opposed to the other swimming pools at Aquaventure)
Below, you can see the Lagoon Bar and Grill with its very distinctive seashell roof, and a lovely view of the Paradise lagoon. Because the lagoon is connected directly to the sea, there are many fishes in the lagoon which have settled around the natural reefs and plantations. It is a really nice place to do some light snorkelling or paddle boating.
This is a view of the Casino from the outside near the Predator Lagoon. Although not as formidable looking as the Royal Towers, it certainly commands it's own presence, especially with the waterfalls which themselves, circulate water from the dock side of the sea, to the paradise lagoon.
Together with the Royal Towers, it's simply an amazing view.
Just to give you an idea of the scale of the Casino building, this is me sitting on the ledge with the waterfalls only just out of the picture. I look so small!
Can you see the Casino building on the left? That's where I sat on the ledge! Doesn't look that big from a distance, especially beside the Royal Towers.
As I mentioned earlier, the Atlantis hotel has the largest open air marine aquarium in the world. Here are some of the interesting creatures I saw on my way to Predator lagoon!
Sea Turtles. Atlantis supports the conservation of sea turtles through their "Sea Turtles Conservancy Tour de Turtles" program.
I was amazed to see so many Saw-fish in the shallow pools.
There were actually quite a number of these saw-fish.
Atlantis is the first zoological facility in the world to have successful births of the critically endangered small-tooth Saw-fish.
There are also hundreds of Cownose stingrays in their shallow lagoon. During the day, people can snorkel with them or even feed them!
These are some shots of the fish at The Dig from the outside.
At night, the lights turn on, and the shoals of fish become like moving silhouettes.
I love how they form these circular vortex's.
How could I forget the cute little feral kittens running about the place.
Predator Lagoon
After a lovely walk outside, we finally arrive at the Lagoon Bar and Grill which is the building behind me with the seashell roof. The Predator Lagoon is located right beneath it so a good idea is to grab a bite to eat and then proceed to the exhibit below.
The underside of the roof has magnificent artwork depicting many many of the creatures that inhabit Atlantis.
A walk down the spiral staircase and we're in the Predator lagoon!
Once we reach the bottom, we're treated to an absolute feast of gorgeous marine life. Hundreds of different kinds of fish swimming around, chasing each other's tails.
Some of the fish are ginormous. You'll find various kinds of sharks, barracuda's and tarpons to name a few.
Large shoals of fish swimming in near unison can be seen through the crystal clear glass.
There's also quite a number of large Stingrays. They are so impressive as they glide through the water with their wings propelling them forward.
Up close, you can get a sense of how large they really are. It's also a great opportunity to see their underside as usually we can only see them from the top.
I'm not sure why the fishes make this vortex formation. But it is remarkable to see.
Below are some of the other varieties of tropical fish you can expect to see here.
The Tunnel
Perhaps the highlight of the Predator Lagoon and indeed any Aquarium, is the Tunnel.
It's a visual beauty as well as a treat to see Stingrays, Sharks, Saw-fish and lots of other fish swim over your head.
I was in the tunnel for quite a while because I wanted to catch a photo of the big saw-fish swimming over.
In case you didn't know, the saw-fish is often mistaken for being a Shark because of it's top down profile being very similar to sharks. Sometimes they are referred to as carpenter sharks because of their saw-like rostrum which is the primary tool they use to unearth buried crustaceans (their primary diet).
Sawfishes are actually classified as Rays. And like rays, the Sawfish's mouth and nose are flat on the underside.
I really like how they look from the bottom. Their mouths make them look like they're perpetually grinning!
Be sure to check out the video!
And that wraps up our visit to the Predator Lagoon at Atlantis. Even though it's not as popular as The Dig, it's definitely a hidden gem. Sure you get to see Stingrays and Sawfish in the open air aquarium, this is the place to go if you want to see them up close.
Hope you enjoyed my post!
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今天我想继续带大家探索这个大到一天走不完的亚特兰蒂斯酒店，这个占地占了整个天堂岛一大半的酒店，里面可谓是藏着都是宝。其实我坚持选择来到这家酒店的最大原因，就是酒店各处都住着难得一见的海洋动物，了解我的人应该知道我最大爱好是照顾小动物，各种各样漂亮的海洋生物也是我从小到大一直的最爱。在这家酒店里，只要是有水，有水池的地方，里面就有鱼，这也变成了一个最为吸引人的独特卖点，在全世界都很难找到第二个遍地都养着鱼的酒店。所以虽然这家酒店价格上有些残酷，但是我咬了咬牙，十几个小时飞到巴哈马，如果错失了和海洋生物住在一起的机会，那就太遗憾了。
今天就请大家跟我一起好好探索一下住在酒店各处的鱼兄弟们。去看海洋生物的路上，要经过眼前这片像海水一般蔚蓝的天堂湖，一层层台阶上的水流下去汇成了小瀑布流进天堂湖。中午的时候有人在湖上游船，不过应该很晒。远看这个小瀑布像是从建筑里流出来的，主楼附近的建筑都很统一风格，非常喜欢这种桔粉色的色调，又豪华又复古，带着阵阵忧伤，毕竟主题是失落了的帝国。我爬上建筑坐在边缘，身下就是天堂湖，不知道万一失足掉下去是否就碰见鲨鱼哥了，所以拍照的时候心情很忐忑，生怕没坐稳摔下去，好在用绳命换来了很酷的照片，这个画面可是我自己diy的。走进这片水池，最先游来的是漂亮的海龟，我第一次见到纹路这么漂亮的海龟，这家酒店还建立一个项目专门帮助海龟慢慢适应自然的环境，最终放生，多么有意义的项目。接下来游到我身边的是sawfish锯鳐，这大概是我第一次看到这种鱼的品种。我好激动，之前只听说这家酒店到处都可以见到鱼，但没有想到都是些这么稀有的鱼品种。这种鱼身体平扁，有点像锯鲨目的鲨鱼。好喜欢它银灰色的肤色，在太阳照射下闪闪发光非常性感。我感慨，比起一般的鱼，这种鱼好大好长。听说有的锯鳐身长可达5米，平时喜欢把身体埋在泥沙中。锯鳐主要生活在浅海，所以可以看到这个池水真的好浅，好适合它居住。它主要生活在世界各地的暖水海洋中，是国际濒危灭绝的鱼类，想到这家酒店能找来这么多肯定费了不少功夫，希望他们能好好善待这些鱼，帮助它们摆脱濒危灭绝得困境。锯鳐主要以海底甲壳类动物为生，所以看下面这个gif，这么大一只龙虾走过来，看到这三条怪鱼都后退了，特别搞笑。
接下来看到的是黄貂鱼的小宝宝，它们又叫魔鬼鱼，是一种与鲨鱼有近亲缘关系的鳐鱼。从大约1.8亿的远古时代繁衍至今，黄貂鱼和鲨鱼也是唯一的2种古代软骨鱼。小宝宝游起来的速度好快，身体像没有长骨头特别柔韧，还挥舞着像蝴蝶一样的翅膀。酒店池水里的鱼大多可以从陆地上和地下宫殿观看，不同的视角会有不同的感触。现在我们就深入天堂湖旁边的捕食者池，走进地下近距离观察一下这些可爱的海洋生物吧。地宫下有一段拱形的海底隧道，这里有各种品种的鱼，鲨鱼，大黄貂鱼，还有好长好大的锯鳐从我头顶游过，记录下了这个美妙的瞬间。希望大家喜欢对于海洋生物的探索，之后还有更多有趣的内容在等着和大家分享。