Day 3 of the trip couldn’t have gone better. Today is July 22, also known as the day of my birth, and spending my birthday underwater and at the resort with my buddies and teachers made today very special and memorable for me. I woke up to my alarm this morning, rather than the rooster, and headed downstairs for an early morning breakfast. I ate a big plate of bacon and pancakes, had a glass of water and a banana, and headed for the drying room to grab my scuba gear. We all hoped aboard the “Twin Sister,” manned by Lee and Lucy, and set off on our day 3 adventures.
As we reached our first dive sight of the day, “Bonnies Arch”, I looked over the side of the boat into the clear, blue water. I was excited for this one. We got a briefing about the dive plan from Lee, set up our gear, and jumped into the warm waters. Accompanied by Henry, and following behind our leader, Lucy, I descended down into the color filled ocean, spotting the yellow, red, blue, and green coral that completely surrounded me. From the beginning of the dive, I could spot numerous amount of squirrelfish, parrotfish, butterfly fish, grunts, trumpetfish, angelfish, wrasses, sergeant major, blue tang, and barracuda, along with many different types of brightly colored colors as I’ve seen and described in my previous dives and logs. I also was able to see some new fish, such as the horse-eye Jack and a Southern Stingray. The horse-eye jack can be identified by its steeper face, large eyes, silver skin, yellow rear, and large size. Also, the Southern Stingray is distinguished from other species of stingray through its dark coloration, flat and diamond shape bodies, and mid-range size, ranging from 2-4 feet. These stingrays, like most others, move across the ocean floor, disrupting the sand and the fish within it as a source of food. My favorite part of this dive was seeing and passing underneath the arch that was covered by coral and fish. I was able to use my GoPro on this dive, capturing much of my experience for remembrance purposes later on. We resurfaced after our 3 minute stop time, jumped back aboard the boat, took role, and headed of to our next sight.
Our next dive sight was called “Schoolhouse.” Once again, we got a quick debrief of our dive and set off into the water. Here, I didn’t get an opportunity to see any new things; however, I still had a really fun time chasing down large, beautiful angel fish and parrot fish. Like the first dive, I captured plenty of video footage of these fish and of my experience. After 51 minutes and a max depth of 76 feet, I headed towards the surface and hoped back on the boat. We left the dive sight and were back on land in just 5 minutes. I was ready for lunch and a nap, but there’s no time for napping when sea turtles get involved.
After lunch, the crew and I quickly gathered onto the bus and left for the turtle farm. I was surprised to sea how large these sea turtles were, almost 6 feet. I was provided a child’s life jacket, although I’m now 17, and entered the lagoon to swim with the sea turtles. I took a couple laps, swam next to some turtles, and jumped out, only to get interested in some Minos near the shore. We headed through the bird sanctuary–I didn’t get to see to many birds–and off to the predator tank. There I got to see a couple nurse sharks, a tarpon, a barracuda, and some other undetermined fish. After the predator tank, we entered the touch tank area of the park, my favorite part of the whole day. I held many green sea turtles and waded with a few. They were adorable and got 10 times cuter when they would flap their flippers. I also enjoyed seeing the newly hatched sea turtles. These would fit in the palm of my hand, and I have little hands. They were dark in color, and very cute. The gift shop came last on our excursion to the turtle farm. I picked out a few things for my family and myself, checked out, hoped back on the bus, and we drove back to the resort.
At the resort, we planned out a debate, executed the plan, and had a really fun time discussing. The debate or discussion was over the pros and cons of Stingray City. Originally, I was in a neutral zone about the topic; however, after hearing both sides of the argument, I would have to say I lean further towards the “for” side because of the beneficial effects such as protection of coral reefs from tourism, the freedom that the stingrays are provided, the benefit that other animals receive from the area, and the safe, less polluted area that marine life is given to live. After the debate, I ate a medium rare New York strip with potatoes, vegetables, and a strawberry lemonade, a quality meal that I really enjoyed. I was surprised with two birthday cakes, a rum cake from Joey, and a chocolate cake with a nice sparkler candle and a cherry from the kind waitress staff. I was also surprised by a birthday song from my classmates and an applause from all the guests. Dinner, the cake, and the sunset was much fun, but what excited me the most was the night dive we had planned for the late evening.
Once again, I grabbed my fins, mask, snorkel, boots, and GoPro, along with a new item, an underwater spot light, and climbed down the latter towards the dark, mysterious waters with my partner, Michael. I swished my hand around in the water, causing the bioluminescent creatures to emerge. We saw phytoplankton, small, translucent organisms, almost trident-looking, a yellow stingray, a light colored ray with yellow spots, and a large tarpon.
After what I was able to see today, my excitement for the rest of my four days here has exploded. I really hope to see more tarpon, a sea turtle, a nurse shark, an eagle ray, and an octopus. Today was an exciting day, a great birthday, and a once in a lifetime experience.
