This morning we woke up at the crack of dawn to have a fulfilling breakfast and make our way to the harbor for our first dive of the trip: a two tank morning dive. Once we reached the harbor we were given a briefing on the diving trip and set off on the boat to reach our diving destination. After putting on all of our gear and wet-suits we took our first giant strides of the trip into the warm Hawaiian water. After performing a weight check and gathering our group together, we descended 30 feet to the bottom of the the area. As we swam I noticed many different species of fish which we learned about in class. Some of the fish were mostly common in Hawai’i such as the Reef Triggerfish (the state fish of Hawai’i) or the Moorish Idol. Near the end of the dive we entered a volcanic tube which is a unique volcanic structure that is home to many marine animals. The first marine animal I saw after entering the tube was a white-tip reef shark. White-tip reef sharks spend most of their time in shaded and protected areas such as caves, which explains why we saw one in the volcanic tube. On our second tank dive I noticed that the floor of the ocean looked different than the previous dive. The floor was smooth and looked a lot like rolling hills. This type of geological formation is due to the lava flow that 200 years ago. After the dive we visited the Monk Seal Hospital to observe one of the monk seals in rehabilitation and learn more about the efforts of the center. After that we went to a briefing about the Black Water diving trip in the pelagic zone (open ocean). We were introduced to the many species we may have the chance to see while doing the dive and how the dive was actually going to happen. We also got to learn a bit about Joshua Lambus who is the photographer taking us on the trip and also what are two groups names were in real life (pyrosomes and siphonophores). I would conclude that today was just as fulfilling and exhausting as yesterday, and also just as amazing. Tomorrow I am looking forward to the Manta two-tank dive and being able to share my experiences through the blog.
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