Today started similar to the other days of the week with me waking up to an alarm at 6:30 before heading to breakfast at 7. After a fairly small breakfast of cereal, we were bussed to the second dock on a different part of the island where weather conditioned were deemed better. Once we entered on the boat, we had about a fifteen minute ride until we reached the first site. When we reached the first site of Kittiwake, which is a popular wreck diving spot in Grand Cayman, we were given a briefing on how to approach the dive and how to be careful around the many boat openings as well as the other divers. When we entered the dive I found it really interesting to see the level of growth of coral and plants as well as the diversity in marine life around the wreck. This somewhat altered my previous perspective on our human intervention within the ocean. It has helped elaborate on the lesson we talked so often about on the main campus as our intervention is not simply detrimental to the ocean as it can bring with it, in some cases, an environment for growth and marine life. After our Kittiwake dive, we headed to our second dive site, the Doc Paulson wreck. It was interesting to compare the level of growth in Kittiwake (which sank in 2011) with the level of growth on Doc Paulson wreck site which sank in the early 70s. During this dive we had the pleasure of seeing lionfish, garden eels, and a variety of reef fish which species we were able to tell by specific characteristics in their behavior and appearance. After the two amazing dives, we headed back to the resort to an amazing lunch and some down time before a beach cleanup in the afternoon. The cleanup was an amazing experience and it really highlighted the service aspect that I love so much about Jesuit. During the cleanup I found many pieces of bottlecaps and straws and because of the current media, I was able to understand just how significant these pieces of trash are and the damage that they can do to the marine life in the Caymans. I feel that I sometimes find it hard to understand the magnitude of destruction we are causing to our planet and in doing this activity, I feel that my perspective was further opened. We as a group were able to pick up a large sum of trash and had a great time doing it. After the cleanup we headed back to the resort for some down time to prepare our reflection for tomorrow’s prayer service. After this time we ate dinner and began to wind down for the night. It has been an amazing day here and I am looking forward to our dives tomorrow.
Till Tommorow,
Ben Levis
