Yesterday I woke up at 6:30 because of a bird and laid down until 7:00 when I got up and did my daily routine. Our cabin was late to getting picked up at the cattle guard by Glenn because we thought we had to be there at 7:45 not 7:30. We all rushed out the door when Doc came and got us and got to the cattle guard about 5 minutes late. Upon arriving we were picked up by Glenn and taken to the marina to eat breakfast just as the day before. When we arrived we loaded our equipment on the boat and went to the Dive BVI shop and ate. Today for breakfast I ate a strawberry banana yogurt, two pieces of peanut buttered bread, a Powerade, and a banana. After we had finished eating we went to Sea Cat and put our bcds on the boat. Then, we waited for marine bio 2 to board Sea Monkey and we went to Long Bay, where the Jesuit reef is. As we arrived the Sea Monkey anchored and the Sea Cat tied up and then anchored. We were then briefed by Casey and we were shown what to do with the coral. Whilst the marine bio 2 guys moved their artificial reefs made from cinder blocks and sticks to their designated spot, us marine bio 1 guys went to an area where a ship’s anchor had torn some coral and we collected and savaged as much coral as we could. We collected staghorn coral, from diseased or algal covered coral as well as damaged coral. While collecting coral I hit some fire coral and the outcome was not to good, it didn’t hurt too much but it was bothersome. We had finished collecting our samples and the marine bio 2 guys had finished placing their reefs so we we were once again briefed by Casey on who our two marine bio 2 guys were going to be and what we were to do. I was pared with Gavin and Clayton. Then, we all got our equipment on and hopped in off the stern of the boat. Later, we met up to swim to the buoy marking the general location of the reefs. Upon arriving we descended and found the reefs they made. At each of the reefs we planted 2 staghorn corals. Our group finished relatively fast so we swam around for a few minutes because this was gonna be our last dive. Next, we got on the boats and ate lunch. For lunch I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a turkey and cheese sandwich. Then we were given about an hour to relax and do whatever we wanted on the boats. A group of us played some games like charades, others snorkeled, and a few had a diving contest. When the hour had ended we prepared the boats and left for the harbor. It was about 20 minute boat ride and when we arrived we unloaded all the scuba gear from the boats. Almost immediately after we finished we were picked up by Glenn and were driven back to Guavaberry, where we had about a 2 hour break before we went to mass at 5:30 at St. Ursula’s Catholic Church. After mass we were driven back to Guavaberry. When we got to Guavaberry we went down to Guavaberry beach. At Guavaberry beach we had a cookout on the beach for dinner and I ate hotdogs and hamburgers after eating we had a few minutes to let the food settle and then we went on the night snorkel. On the night snorkel we saw a lot of things that you usually don’t get to see during the day, such as spiny Caribbean lobster, a lot of sea urchin activity, squirrel fish actively swimming in the open, a lot of usual fish, and an octopus. After the night snorkel we came back to the Cottage, where I showered again. At about 10:00 we called it a night and went to sleep. Today I woke up at 7:00 and got ready for our day of service. We then went to the commissary watched some of the Open and ate breakfast. I ate 2 pieces of banana bread, yogurt, and cereal. After breakfast marine 1 was dropped off by Glenn at our service site. We re-developed and touched up the wall painting that last year’s class painted and it is a Jesuit cross inside a shield the color of the dive flag. Then we walked back to Guavaberry and showered off all of the paint. Later, we were taken to the harbor where we had lunch and learned about lion fish. For lunch I ate some chicken wraps and fries. Concluding lunch we were driven back to Guavaberry to have free time to pack, play on the beach, or whatever pleased you. At about 4:30 we were forced to pack our bags for our departure. After packing we went to dinner at Mermaids and got to try some lion fish. This dinner was our goodbye dinner/banquet. Finally we went back to Guavaberry to get as much sleep as possible.
Andrew Suarez
