I woke up at 7:00 because our alarm went off, and like every other day I was one of the first up and went and made some coffee for everyone. Today I drank my coffee on our patio with Austin because we had bug spray. We could feel the sea breeze and we could see the ocean and many other islands. Then our whole cabin packed for the day all of our gear and we went to the commissary and ate breakfast. Today for breakfast I ate a chocolate covered donut, grapes, and some cherry yogurt. After we had all eaten breakfast we learned about tagging sea turtles from Dr. Shannon Gore and then went to what is to this date my favorite snorkel spot; Savanna bay. Savanna bay was a stunning sight to see, on the road to get to the beach you can see the atlantic on one side and the Caribbean on the other. The Caribbean was still and glass-like, where as the Atlantic was rough and had major surge. When we got to the beach we almost immediately geared up and began to snorkel the fringe reef. While on the snorkel we saw a giant spiny Caribbean lobster, multiple of the typical fish like blue tang and damselfish, a christmas tree worm, and a copious amount of sea urchins. While we were snorkeling our instructors were collecting samples of multiple invertebrates for us to interact with and identify in touch tanks. Some of the samples of invertebrates were the lettuce leaf snail, pencil urchin, and a few others. After we had finished that we still had time so we snorkeled for like 30 minutes and then headed to shore. Once we reached shore it started to rain heavily on us. While it rained me and a few other students got back into the ocean because it was warmer and played a pick-up game of Marco-Polo. Then Glenn got there and took us to the harbor where we ate at an outdoor bar named Rendezvous and had some cheeseburgers and fries. While there we got to see some of the British Open on TV and watch Spieth finish his round at two under. Next, we went to a reef near Savanna bay and went turtle tagging. To turtle tag we were in two groups and held on to two different tow lines and were trolled around behind the boat over and around the reef. While turtle tagging Byrne saw a sea turtle and started tracking it before I realized it. Once I figured out what was happening I started swimming as fast as I could to where Byrne was. When I arrived he said he had lost it and then thats when Austin, Byrne, and I were looking for it. Then I spotted it and pointed it out to them and we started following it. We chased it for a good while and then it finally stopped to rest and Riccione and I were the only two there when it stopped however it was 25 ft down and I couldn’t get the breath I would need to get it. That is when Jackson and everyone caught up shortly and Caitlin the instructor went down with Jackson and got in front of the turtle to distract it and then Jackson swooped up behind it and grabbed it behind the front fins and brought it up to the surface. It was a green sea turtle and it hadn’t ever been tagged before. We all took photos with it and then took some measurements of the turtle. Then we released it then looked for more, but were unsuccessful. After looking and not finding any for a while we stopped and snorkeled some. Next, we went back to the harbor and I did a little shopping and then we went back to Guavaberry until 6:15, when we went to Mad Dogs and ate some lasagna. Finally, after a long day of tagging, learning, and snorkeling we went to our cottage to crash for the night.
Andrew Suarez
