After waking up at seven o’clock, we walked over to the chaperone hut to eat breakfast. Next came our first ocean water dive at the island Bronco Billy, which went swimmingly… I had never seen clearer water or more vibrantly colored marine life. Our first dive came to a close, and we swam to the surface for a between dive interval. During this break Zoltan allowed us to jump off the second floor of the boat, and Patrick immediately lost Brennan’s go pro under water. After the break we geared up for the second dive: exploring the chimney at George Dog island. The “chimney” was a tunnel through an underwater crevice that I ended up getting stuck in. After the second dive we swam back to the surface and raced to the second floor of the boat again. Later we drove back to shore, ate lunch, and drove back to the huts to shower. We then presented our projects to our dive guides for suggestions and feedback. Glenn then drove us into town for mass at the top of a hill. Just before the sun set we drove to the beach to walk around, and walked back to the cabins when it was dark.
Today Zoltan taught my project group about the different types of cleaner fish found near Virgin Gorda and the d fervent things they clean off the fish. I also learned that fire coral stings for about ten minutes after Mason swam straight into some. Tomorrow I am looking forward to beginning our survey on Parrot fish and how often they visit cleaning stations, and continuing our study throughout the week.
