Waking up right before the alarm I had set to go off would usually make me upset, however given the location, waking up to the sound a rooster trying to tell me the sun is about to come up only brought excitement for the day. After a delightful breakfast, we had a boat meeting outside the dive hut to go over the necessary logistics to ensure everyone would have a safe and fun day. The valet service provided by the dive instructors allowed us to board our boat for the week, the Twin Sister, quickly and with ease. All of our gear (excluding mask and snorkel) was perfectly set out for us upon entering the haul. After a two minute boat ride to the first dive spot, we arrived to out first dive spot. The most common fish that I saw on the first dive included the ones that I had seen the previous day during my snorkel (parrotfish, French grunts, blue headed wrasse, and butterfly fish). Two fish that I saw for the first time on Grand Cayman were the sergeant major and the trumpet fish. I first identified the sergeant major by the thick, vertical, black stripes along its body. No matter which stage, juvenile, adult, or terminal, this particular fish will always have thick lines on its body that are a shade of blue or black. The sergeant major that I saw was in the adult phase. I knew this because the yellow scales were lined horizontally across the middle part of its body, and the yellow was slightly faded. These are common signs of a sergeant major in its adult phase. Upon further research, I read that another factor that can determine the phase of a sergeant major is its location in the ocean. Typically, juvenile sergeant majors will be in tide pools whereas adult/terminal are more often found along coral reefs, so it is fitting that I would see one while diving along the reef. Upon seeing the trumpet fish, I immediately thought to myself, “why would such an elongated body be optimal for survival in a coral reef?” Because of the unique shape of the fish and its ability to open its circular mouth quickly, this certain trait provides it with an advantage: rapid suction. The trumpet fish will stalk smaller fish and quickly open its mouth, filling its long, tubular mouth with water and its prey.
The second dive had all the fish mentioned above, but also included a miracle – a hawksbill sea turtle. After reviewing types of sea turtles with Ms. Mathews after dinner, we determined the turtle was a hawksbill, because it had a serrated shell and was tear drop shaped. I called the sight a miracle due to the rarity of sea turtles. Sea turtles have been around since the Jurassic times, survived through almost any species-threatening predicament to date, and have maintained similar attributes to its prehistoric ancestor. To show how hard it is for a sea turtle to survive, we watched a TedTalk about the life cycle of a sea turtle. A simulation was shown to represent this in the video. Of 1000 sea turtle eggs laid, 800 will hatch, 400 will make it to the water (the others being eaten by predators on the beach, such as birds and crabs), 200 will start towards adulthood, and 20 will survive to breeding age. This is based off of information when there is no human interference. Beach development, plastic waste, illegal hunting, bycatch (accidental catching while fishing), and chemicals, decrease their survival rate even further. With human intervention, in the given simulation, less than %1, or 2 sea turtles, will survive to breeding age with human interference. Observing the sea turtle truly was a miracle.
Following the second dive, the gang sat down for a buffet style lunch featuring Jamaican jerk chicken, sweet chili sauce fish, and burger sliders. Immediately following lunch, I proceeded to dive into a two hour food coma.
Dinner was also quite splendid. On day one, Mr. Marr said to me, “Many places start out with really good food on the first day, and then it goes downhill from there”, shaking his head he proceeded, “this isn’t that kind of place.” He was correct. I have never like fish in my life, however, the pan seared snapper and shrimp ravioli with unique cayman sauce, brought multiple, metaphorical tear drops to my mouth.
Following dinner we listened to Ms. Mathews present details about sea turtles and showed us videos that gave me information I presented briefly above. Tomorrow’s afternoon adventure will be a visit to the local Turtle Centre. I look forward to whatever experiences tomorrow brings!
